Presented at the 2011 ICSS Conference

1. Primarily Teaching:
Using Primary Sources to
Engage Students in the
Study of History
Stefanie Rosenberg Wager
Email: stefanie.rosenbergwager@gmail.com
Twitter: @srwteacher
Blog: www.stefaniewager.blogspot.com
Websites: www.technologynow.wikispaces.com
www.usingprimarysources.weebly.com

2. Poll Everywhere
 Question: Do you use primary sources in your
classroom at least once a week?
 http://www.polleverywhere.com/multiple_choice_
polls/MTQ1ODUzOTA3Ng

3. Using Primary Sources?
 In a recent study, teachers cited three main
reasons they don’t use primary sources:
 No time to find primary sources.
 Too many resources available. It’s hard to funnel
down to “best” resources.
 Don’t know how to effectively use primary sources
with students.

4. So, What is a Primary
Source?
 What is your definition of a primary source?
 Primary Source Sort
 Working with your elbow partner, rework your
definition of a primary source.
 Be ready to share out!

5. One Definition
 Primary sources provide first hand testimony or
direct evidence concerning a topic under
investigation. They are created by witnesses or
recorders who experienced the events or
conditions being documented. Often these
sources are created at the time when the events
or conditions are occurring, but primary sources
can also include autobiographies, memoirs, and
oral histories recorded later.

6. Using Primary Sources
to Teach Inquiry

7. Guiding Questions
Observe Reflect Question I Know
• What do you • Why do you • What do you • What do you
notice first? think this wonder now know
• What people image was about? about the
and objects made? • Who? image after
are shown? • What’s • What? examining it?
• How are they happening in • When?
arranged? the image? • Where?
• What is the • When do you • Why?
physical think it was • How?
setting? made?
• What details • What can
can you see? you learn
from
examining
this image?

8. Political Cartoons
 Cartoon analysis guide
 Have students label
elements of political
cartoons
 Symbolism
 Exaggeration
 Labeling
 Analogy
 Irony

9. Prints & Photographs
 Zoom in
strategy
(use
magnifying
glasses)
 Prequel/
Sequel

10. Continued…
 Dividing the image

11. Continued…
 Put yourself
in the image
 Thought
Bubbles
 30 Second
Look and Then
Dig Deeper

12. Analyzing Maps
 The Devil is in the Details
 Give students pieces of a map and have each
student examine one piece of the map.
 Have them record what they know on sticky notes
and place on the map.
 Then have them share with a partner or larger
group.
 Finally, have students put the map together to see
the “big picture.”

13. Analyzing Documents
 Quote MVP
 Give students quotes and ask them to select their
MVP (most valuable point) related to the lesson
essential question.
 Tampering with History
 Change the document so it’s easier to read for
struggling readers.
 Jigsaw with cooperative learning groups

14. Music/
Sound Recordings
 Use a song or sound recording as a class opener.
 Using music to teach a certain time period in
history
 Example: Civil War music, Great Depression, etc.
 LOC Jukebox (www.loc.gov/jukebox)
 LOC Sound Recordings
 Example: WPA Slave Narratives
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/voice
s/

15. Using Art to Teach
Historical Analysis
 “Reading” a Portrait
 Smithsonian American Art Museum
 Discussion of art as a primary vs. secondary
source

18. General Strategies
 Weighing the evidence
 Example: Give students 5-7 documents related to
causes of the Civil War. Students have to “weigh”
which documents carry more weight and answer the
essential question.
 Civil War Causes and Effects
http://docsteach.org/activities/3895
 Sorting/categorizing primary sources
 Five senses chart
 Students analyze various documents and record what
they hear, see, taste, feel, and smell.

19. Continued…
 Historical Debates
 Have students play the role of historical figures.
 Four Corners
 Pose a historical question and ask students to
move to the corner of the room they agree with.
Label corners agree, strongly agree, disagree,
strongly disagree.
 For example: Slavery was the cause of the Civil
War.

20. Continued…
 Structured Academic Controversy (SAC)
 Socratic Seminars
 DBQs (Document Based Questions)
 Check out the DBQ Project (www.dbqproject.com)
 Reading Like a Historian
 Sourcing, Contextualizing, Corroboration, Close Reading
 Wordle (www.wordle.net)
 Copy and paste text to create a visual image
 Great discussion starter and to compare documents

21. Historical Book
Backdrops
 Book backdrops are a way to infuse primary sources into
children’s literature.
 Steps:
 Find a piece of children’s literature that deals with some historical
aspect (slavery, WWII, etc.)
 As a way to teach the book, select 2-3 primary sources that
connect to the book in some way. This varies depending on age
level and other factors. For younger students you might just select
one image. For older students, you can usually select one short
piece of text and photographs.
 Use primary source strategies to not only teach the book, but also
the historical aspects of the book through the use of the primary
sources. (You can also bring in technology such as QR codes to
help with this step.)

22. Book Backdrops
Example QR
Codes
For a more detailed explanation go to www.stefaniewager.blogspot.com

23. Continued…
On loan from the Benjamin Shapell Family Manuscript Foundation
(070, Lincoln to Grace Bedell)
http://myloc.gov/Exhibitions/lincoln/vignettes/CandidateLincoln/ExhibitObjects/LincolnsBeard.aspx
The Library of Congress www.lov.gov/teachers

24. Where Can I Find
Primary Sources?
 Top Ten Places to Find Primary
Sources
 Other sources?
 One of the best places to find
primary sources is….
 The Library of Congress (www.loc.gov)

25. Key Parts of Library of
Congress Website
 American Memory (contains over 20 million digitized items)
 Exhibitions (place to view all exhibitions that have been at LOC)
 THOMAS (access to past and present Congressional records)
 World Digital Library (key primary sources from each region of the
world)
 Veterans History Project (oral histories of veterans and other resources)
 Kids and Families Section
 Teachers Section (lots of resources on using primary sources, lesson
plans, etc.)
 Researchers

26. Quick Guide to
American Memory
Click on American Memory
and then more browse options.

27. Here you can
search for primary
sources by date,
topic, region, etc.

28. Today in History at LOC
Click on Today in
History. You can
either see the
document of the
day or search
by a specific date.

29. Exhibitions at LOC
Go to www.loc.gov. At the bottom, click on more exhibitions. You can
see a list of every exhibit that has been at the Library of Congress.

30. LOC Resources for
Teachers
Go to www.loc.gov
and click on
Teachers.
Here you can
find a wealth
of resources
specifically for
Teachers.

31. One example of the
resources available
to teachers on the
LOC site. These are
ready-made primary
source sets.

32. Using Primary Sources to
Teach Historical Thinking
 Historical Thinking Skills
 Chronological Thinking
 Historical Comprehension
 Historical Analysis and Interpretation
 Historical Research Capabilities
 Historical Issues- Analysis and Decision Making
 An Introduction to Historical Thinking Skills
www.teachinghistory.org/historical-thinking-intro

33. Technology to Enhance Your
History Classroom
(Find many more links at www.technologynow.wikispaces.com)
 C-SPAN Classroom- Especially check out American History TV
 www.c-spanclassroom.org
 Glogster– Poster yourself
 www.edu.glogster.com
 Stixy– Create virtual bulletin boards
 http://stixy.com
 Live Binders- Create virtual binders
 http://livebinders.com
 Scribble Maps- Maps you can scribble on, add pictures, text, etc.
 www.scribblemaps.com

34. Continued…
 Docs Teach- Hundreds of ready-made activities around primary source
documents from NARA.
 www.docsteach.org
 Voicethread- Collaborate around almost any type of media
 http://ed.voicethread.com
 Weebly- Create easy to use websites
 http://education.weebly.com
 Fotobabble- Create and share talking photos
 http://fotobabble.com
 Bitstrips- Create your own comic strips
 http://bitstrips.com

35. Continued…
 Capzles- Create virtual timelines
 http://capzles.com
 Dropbox- Free doc space and can share docs
 www.dropbox.com
 Show Document- Free web meetings
 www.showdocument.com
 Easy Bib- Create free bibliographies in MLA and APA
 http://easybib.com
 Edmodo- It’s like Facebook for K-12 education
 http://edmodo.com

36. Continued…
 Tube Chop- Easily edit any YouTube video
 www.tubechop.com
 Skype- Talk with anyone in the world… for FREE
 www.skype.com and http://education.skype.com
 Living Room Candidate- Presidential campaign ads
since 1952.
 www.livingroomcandidate.org
 Cool Tools for Schools- Collection of Web 2.0 tools
 www.cooltoolsforschools.wikispaces.com

37. Questions?
Comments?