Teaching “Pop Culture” via Primary Sources: The Coca-Cola Case Study

A collaboration betweenCalifornia University of Pennsylvania’s

Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources program and the Intermediate Unit One

California, PA

Who is here?

Where do you teach/work? What’s your grade level and subject area? Why are you here today?

Why did you choose this course in particular? Are you new to Teaching with Primary Sources? Have you used primary sources / oral history in your classes? Hobbies / interests?

TPS Summer Institute Participants1. Rebecca Barota

2. Teri Clay

3. Stephany Daniels

4. David Divelbliss

5. Chelsie Fike

6. Shannon Gagliardi

7. Matthew Gasper

8. Martin Gatti

9. Sharon Geary

10. Dominic Grenaldo

11. Michelle Hudock

12. Andrea Jackson

13. Donna Kovell

14. Jeanette Markle

15. Dawn Mattey

16. Kenneth Musko

17. Katie Pavelko

18. Heather Persson

19. Denise Phillips

20. Mark Render

21. Brianna Rice

22. Julie Sanders

23. Ashley Smolenski

24. Nicole Stephenson

25. Suzanne Turack

26. Denise Yoho

27. Bryan Maola

Who we are

Dr. Michael Brna, DirectorMrs. Lynne Berdar, SecretaryMr. Nik Roberts, Instructional SpecialistDr. Dave Lonich, Historian & Educator

Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources DepartmentCollege of Education and Human ServicesCalifornia University of Pennsylvania

Introduction to the Library of CongressTeaching with Primary Sources Program

What do we do at Cal U? Conduct courses / workshops / presentations on

primary source learningBring digital primary sources into the classroom

Find, research, and preserve primary sources

Teaching with Primary Sources

The Library of Congress

TPS From the Librarian of Congress..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2L2XwWq4_BY

Benefits to taking this course Teachers:

Learn how to carry out an oral history project in your classroomAppreciate the added value of primary source focused learning

e.g. direct connection, deepened content knowledge, excitement, empathy, etc.

Envision a means of engaging students in higher-order critical thinking

Become familiar with the vast array of teacher resources at the LOC

Librarians:Learn about primary source digital libraries at the LOCBe able to direct students towards an array of primary source

content Administrators:

Become familiar with current instructional and learning strategiesBecome familiar with LOC related professional development

opportunities

A Vision of Students Today

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o

A Vision of Students Today Quotes

0:11Today’s child is bewildered when he enters the 19th century environment that still characterizes the educational establishment where information is scarce but ordered and structured by fragmented, classified patterns subjects and schedules. –Marshall McLuhan, 1967

3:57"The inventor of the [chalkboard] system deserves to be ranked among the best contributors to learning and science, if not the greatest benefactors of mankind." —Josiah F. Bumstead, 1841

This short video summarizes some of the most important characteristics of students today - how they learn, what they need to learn, their goals, hopes, dreams, what their lives will be like, and what kinds of changes they will experience in their lifetime” – Michael Wesch, 2007

Primary vs. Secondary Primary vs. Secondary SourcesSources

A Primary Source is…one obtained by, coming from, or being a direct personal observation or experience.

Is Secondary Source is…one created using information provided by someone else (i.e., using someone’s recollection to create the item).

What are some examples of each?

Primary vs. Secondary Primary vs. Secondary SourcesSources

Primary SourcesArtClothingArtifactsAutobiographiesDiaries Interviews JournalsLettersMusicNews footageNewspapersPhotographsPoetry

Post-it notesSpeechesCoinsCase reportsEtc.

Secondary SourcesTextbooksEncyclopediasDictionariesBiographiesDocumentariesMonographs

Primary vs. Secondary Primary vs. Secondary SourcesSources

Why use Primary Sources in the classroom?

1. Creativity and critical thinking (e.g. Bloom)2. Bring life to historical events3. Multiple perspectives4. Empathy building5. Excites students 6. Deepens content7. Technological aspects

Where can I find digital

primary sources &

lesson plans?

In a digital library!

Is it an institution?Is it a piece of technology?Is it a website?Let’s look at a traditional library definition first

What is a traditional library?

A building where books are keptCollection & organization of materialsProvides preservation of materials and

access to themAn authority on information

What is a Digital Library?A digital library is an organized collection of

digital information

A collection of “digital objects,” including items that are “born digital”

Has unique methods for storage, searching, and retrieving those digital objects

Has unique methods for selecting, organizing, maintaining, and preserving the collection

Can be a library without wallsA modern way of dealing with knowledge in an

information society / connected age.Extra features: pronunciation guides, 3-D rotations,

“interactives.”

The LOC’s 13 Digital Collections

Historical Reading Strategies

Sourcing Consider a document's attribution (both its author and how the document came into being).

Contextualizing Situate the document and events it reports in place and time.

Corroborating Check important details across multiple sources to determine points of agreement and disagreement.

Close Reading Read carefully to consider what a source says and the language used to say it.

Primary Source Analysis Model by Dr. Daisy Martin, TPS @ Stanford University