Using Primary

Sources to

Maximize Student

Learning

Goals for Today

• Understand and identify the purpose for using primary sources to enhance teaching.

• Analyze primary sources by observing, reflecting, and questioning.

• Learn to navigate the Library of Congress (LOC) website to locate primary sources aligned with the Essential Standards.

What are primary sources?Watch the following video for information created by the History Channel which showcases the Library of Congress (LOC). The LOC is an online library filled with easily accessible primary sources.1. Click the link:http://www.loc.gov/teachers/professionaldevelopment/selfdirected/introduction/index.html2. When site opens, click “Begin Program”3. Click play on the video

What are primary sources?

• photographs• documents• letters• posters• speeches• maps

• telegrams• cartoons• flyers• artifacts• music

As shared in the video, primary sources include the following:

Can you think of any other primary sources? (STOP AND DISCUSS)

Thinking about Primary Sources

Now take a moment to think about the primary sources that you create on a daily basis…….

• What would a future historian be able to tell about your life and our society based on evidence of your daily activities?

• What primary sources exist in your home? • What primary sources exist in your classroom? • How can we use primary sources to teach our students

about the past, our present, and prepare them for the future?

Share your thinking…… (STOP AND DISCUSS)

Why Should Students Analyze Primary Sources?

• Primary source artifacts aid students' understanding of history, allowing them to construct links to the past from multiple perspectives.

• The use of primary sources enable students to place themselves into a specific historical context.

• Primary source analysis can be integrated across the curriculum.

Why Primary Sources?Listen to the teachers on the following video as they share their perspective on how using primary sources in their teaching engages students while building knowledge.1. Click this link:http://www.loc.gov/teachers/professionaldevelopment/selfdirected/introduction/index.html2. Click on “Begin Program”3. Click the “Next” button until you have forwarded to Chapter 2: Page 6 of 7

Why Primary Sources?

Now let’s analyze some primary sources.Two activities you will do today to become familiar with using primary sources are “Crop It” and “Zooming-In”. For the first activity, “Crop-It” you will need to use the pictures that have been provided in your packet. There are three sets of pictures (one set for each grade level). Lay a set of pictures out for each grade level team to view.(Continue to the next slide to begin the activity.)

Crop ItFollow the directions below to participate in a “Crop-It” activity:1. Choose a picture from the packet.

“Crop It” continued…….

2. Using the cropping tool, crop the photo to show what first caught your eye. Think & Discuss: Why did you notice this part?

“Crop It” continued…….3. Crop to show who or what this image is about. Think & Discuss: Why is this person important?

“Crop It” continued…….4. Crop to a clue that shows when this is happening. Think & Discuss: What helps us recognize specific times?

“Crop It” continued……..

5. Crop to a clue that you have a question about.

Think and Discuss: What is your question?

Why are all the students standing at the board together?

“Crop It” continued…..

Now that you have experienced a “Crop It” activity……

What did you enjoy most about this activity?Did you notice the questions you had as you participated? What piqued your interest?Talk about how this activity could be engaging for your students.How could you integrate a “Crop It” into any content area?

Remember, prints, photographs, drawings, editorial cartoons and other primary sources help our students visualize and further understand what they are studying.

“Crop It” continued……

Here are some additional statements/questions you might consider using when cropping primary sources with your students.• Crop to a clue that shows where this takes place. Think: What has happened at this place?• Crop to show tension or a problem. Think: Do you see other problems?• Crop to a clue that you have a question about. Think: What is your question?• Crop to a fact that this image definitively tells us about the past. Think: How do you know this is a fact?• Crop to why this image was important during the time that it was

created. Think: What else was going on during that time period?• Crop to a place where you would add something to this image. Think: What would you add and why?

“Crop It” continued…..

Interested in finding out more about the picture you chose?You can refer to the Teacher’s Guide Primary Source Set: Children’s Lives at the Turn of the Twentieth Century (a paper copy has been provided in your packet)The LOC has many other primary source sets that can be used for creating your own “Crop It” activities (click the link to explore the options).http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/primarysourcesets/childrens-lives/

“Zoom-In” is another activity you can use to analyze primary source photographs.

Let’s give it a try!

“Zoom-In” Inquiry Model Activity

Describe what you see in this photograph.

“Zoom-In” activity

(STOP AND DISCUSS)

Does seeing any more of the picture help make sense of it?

When might this picture have been taken?

“Zoom-In” activity continued….

(STOP AND DISCUSS)

Can you see other details that help you see what’s going on?

“Zoom-In” activity continued….

(STOP AND DISCUSS)

With more details visible, can you find other clues to what has been happening?

“Zoom-In” activity continued…..

(STOP AND DISCUSS)

Does seeing the whole picture help you understand more about this historic event?

After the San Francisco Earthquake—The "Call" Building from Grant Ave., San Francisco, Cal. 1906. Photographs from the Detroit Publishing Company, 1880-1920. American Memory. Lib. of Congress. Retrieved 6 Sept. 2011 <http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/det.4a13247>.

“Zoom-In” activity continued……

(Stop and discuss then click the box below to reveal the source information about the picture—did you guess correctly?)

“Zoom-In” Inquiry Model Activity

Now you can explore some additional “Zoom-In” lessons. The link below will take you to several examples of, “Zoom-In” inquiry lessons and powerpoint presentations (directions to create your own are included).

Click on the link then explore and discuss one of the “Zoom-In” presentations and lessons with your team.http://tpslessons.org/tps/step1/workshop/4/m_a/zooms/index.php

Navigating the Library of Congress Site

Now that you understand and can identify the purpose for using primary sources to enhance teaching AND you have had the opportunity to analyze primary sources, it’s time to navigate the Library of Congress (LOC) website to locate primary sources aligned with the Essential Standards.

Navigating the Library of Congress SiteThe Library of Congress is filled with teacher resources, watch the following segment of one of the modules to learn about how to find what you are looking for, and more!1. Click this link:http://www.loc.gov/teachers/professionaldevelopment/selfdirected/introduction/index.html2. Click on “Begin Program”3. Click the “Next” button until you have forwarded to Chapter 3: Page 1 of 13.4. View this chapter.

The following chart illustrates examples of types of primary sources and strategies for designing grade-level appropriate activities that

align to the Essential Standards.Grade Level Primary Sources Strategies

1 Introduce diary entries, drawings, simple maps, and

other primary sources with limited text, such as tickets, receipts, menus, and catalogs

Expand primary source connections to family: observe/analyze/compare primary sources;

diagram similarities and differences; and,

distinguish fact from fiction

3

Introduce newspapers, broadsides, documents, letters, charts and other primary sources with larger amounts of text; and,

include primary sources with multiple viewpoints

Expand primary source connections to community and local region: invite students to discern point of view and

bias;

conduct more in-depth analysis

5

Introduce more complex historical documents (e.g., the Declaration of Independence), different types of maps; and,

include primary sources in multiple formats on the same topic

Expand primary source connections to nation: compare drafts with final versions;

compare multiple points of view and bias; and,

synthesize learning and construct new knowledge

What’s Next?Now it’s your turn to explore the Library of Congress! As a team, use the following resources:1. the chart on the previous slide(also found in the “Primary Sources and

Elementary Students” newsletter that has been provided)2. the Essential Standards for your grade level

Locate at least one primary source that would support a specific Essential Standard.http://www.loc.gov/teachers/

Want to Learn More?The next two slides include links to all of the workshops and modules that are offered on the Library of Congress if you would like to explore the site in greater detail.

Library of Congress Workshop Series“Zoom-In” Inquiry model activity is just one activity that is shared in the LOC Workshop series. If you are interested in pursuing additional activities or completing the workshops click on the links below:

Workshop One: Explore the Library of Congress Foster personal connections between students and the Library of Congress collections. Workshop Two: The Art of Reading Primary Sources Promote student information literacy and critical thinking skills through analysis of primary sources. Workshop Three: Using Primary Sources to Build Big Ideas Assess student understanding through investigation and interpretation of primary sources. Workshop Four: Inquiry through Digital Primary Sources Differentiate inquiry to challenge and support students in achieving state standards and curricular goals. Workshop Five: Using Primary Sources to Assess Student Understanding Evaluate primary source-based Lesson Plans for Best Instructional Practices.

Library of Congress Modules

This presentation focuses on a few components of the six modules that are available on the Library of Congress website. Below are links to all of the modules if you wish to explore the modules beyond what is shared in this presentation.

•Introduction to the Library of CongressGet an overview of the digitized materials and K-12 resources from the Library of Congress.•Supporting Inquiry with Primary SourcesTeachers and students demonstrate how primary sources can be used to support inquiry learning. Inquiry encourages students to draw on their prior knowledge, personal experiences and critical thinking skills to construct meaning.•Copyright and Primary SourcesLearn how to evaluate primary sources from the Library's collections for the best use within copyright. Listen to several teachers as they evaluate the use of primary sources for use with their students.•Analyzing Primary Sources: Photographs and PrintsLearn how photographs and prints from the Library's collections can increase student engagement in the classroom.•Analyzing Primary Sources: MapsLearn instructional strategies for using maps in the classroom.•Finding Primary SourcesUnderstand the breadth and depth of the Library's collections and listen to teachers as they find primary sources for their students.

Additional InformationIn your packets today you have been provided some sample resources from www.teachinghistory.org . You can visit this site to secure additional free resources including teaching materials and ideas for best practices.

Coming Soon on UCPS Moodle Pro Social Studies Grade Level Links

• Suggested teacher lessons from August training

• Creating Book Backdrops using the Inquiry Method

• Links to great Social Studies

websites