Engaging StudEntS with SourcES - Smithsonian's History ...

Engaging Students

with Primary

Sources

Smithsonian National Museum of American History

Kenneth E. Behring Center

Engaging Students with Primary Sources

Table of Contents

1. What Are Primary Sources & Why Use Them? Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 What is a Primary Source?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Why Use Primary Sources? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Primary Sources, Learning Styles, and Multiple Intelligences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

2. Documents Introduction to Documents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 General Documents: Strengths and Limitations Chart. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Newspapers: Strengths and Limitations Chart. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Advertisements: Strengths and Limitations Chart. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Tips for Reading Documents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Where to Find Documents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Analyzing Documents Activity: The Sioux City Ghosts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

3. Photographs Introduction to Photographs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Photographs: Strengths and Limitations Chart. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Tips for Reading Photographs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Where to Find Photographs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Analyzing Photographs Activity: A Salmon Cannery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

4. Oral Histories Introduction to Oral Histories. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Oral Histories: Strengths and Limitations Chart. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Tips for Analyzing Recorded and Transcribed Oral History Interviews. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Where to Find Oral Histories. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Analyzing Oral Histories Activity: Spud Campbell, Liberty Ships, and The Second World War. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Creating an Oral History Source: Tips for Designing and Conducting an Interview. . . . . . . . 44 Other Data to Collect During Oral History Interviews. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

5. Objects Introduction to Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Objects: Strengths and Limitations Chart. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Tips for Reading Objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Where to Find Objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Analyzing Objects Activity: An 18th-Century Fat Lamp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

6. Bibliography and Web Sites featuring Primary Sources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Engaging Students with Primary Sources

What Are Primary Sources & Why Use Them?

Introduction

Primary sources are the pieces of evidence that historians use to learn about people, events, and everyday life in the past. Just like detectives, historians look at clues, sift through evidence, and reach conclusions. Students can use primary sources, too. By focusing on the evidence itself--documents, objects, photographs, and oral histories--students can get a glimpse into the past beyond what a textbook can provide. Introducing your classes to primary sources and making them a regular part of classroom lessons help student develop critical thinking and deductive reasoning skills that will be useful throughout their lives.

This reference guide is designed to highlight the benefits of using primary source materials in any classroom and to provide you, the teacher, with practical suggestions and examples of how to do this. It also includes a bibliography and links to other sites on the Internet that feature primary source materials.

Whether in a museum or in the

classroom, the study of primary sources

is crucial to the study of history.They

provide tangible links to the past that

help students

build personal connections

Whether in a museum or in

to history. Yet,

the classroom,

primary sources need not be limited to history class. A

the study of primary sources is crucial to the study of history.

math class can

examine a slide rule and discuss the

invention and impact of calculators. A

science class can study a page from a

famous scientist's logbook or journal and

get insight into the thought process. A

literature class reading John Steinbeck

can examine photos by Dorothea Lange.

Primary Sources are an effective way to

communicate the look, feel, and spirit

of a different time.

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Smithsonian National Museum of American History

Kenneth E. Behring Center

Engaging Students with Primary Sources

What Are Primary Sources & Why Use Them?

The National Museum of American History is committed to helping teachers use primary sources effectively in the classroom.The Museum provides opportunities for teachers and their students to make personal connections to America's history through its Web site, which features various primary source materials and teacher manuals, on-site programming that focuses on collections, and teacher workshops.



Sections 2 through 5 of this guide provide classroom-ready activities designed to provide practical lessons on using primary sources. Each activity focuses on an object or objects from the collections of the National Museum of American History.

General Outline of Activities:

1.Project or hand out copies of the introduction for each type of resource and read it as a class.

2.Use the charts as part of a brainstorming activity in which students define, give examples of, and compile lists of, strengths and weaknesses for that type of resource.

3.Use the tip sheet as a work sheet to answer questions based on looking at images of the provided objects.

4.End the activity with a class discussion in which the students compare their answers to background information provided for the teacher.

5.The introduction, charts, and tip sheets from each section can then be copied and given to the students to keep in their notebooks.

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Smithsonian National Museum of American History

Kenneth E. Behring Center

Engaging Students with Primary Sources

What is a Primary Source?

Primary Source:

A first-hand, original account, record, or evidence about a person, place, object, or an event. Oral histories, objects, photographs, and documents such as newspapers, ledgers, census records, diaries, journals, and inventories, are primary sources.

Secondary Source:

An account, record, or evidence derived from an original or primary source. Textbooks are secondary sources.

Why Use Primary Sources?

Benefits for Students and Teachers

Develop Skills: Primary sources help students develop and refine cognitive, investigative, deductive reasoning, and problem-solving skills. Students draw conclusions from information they have found through deciphering primary source materials.

Address Various Learning Styles: Through use of a variety of primary sources, teachers address the whole spectrum of learning styles. For example, oral histories for the auditory learner, and photographs and objects for the visual learners. Students experience primary sources according to each student's own learning style.

Appeal to Students: Students of any age find primary sources appealing because they are tangible and real.

Make Learning Active: Primary sources engage students in active learning. By drawing their own conclusions from primary sources, students construct meaning and direct their own learning.

Provide Different Perspectives: Different kinds of primary sources provide students with varying perspectives on a person or event and offer a sense of balance.

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Smithsonian National Museum of American History

Kenneth E. Behring Center

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