Students learn the power of pairing pictures with poems to tell stories about historical and contemporary issues. Display the paired primary sources (Image 1 | Image 2), showing only the images (i.e., cover up the text) and inform students that the poem accompanying these illustrations has been removed. Ask them to predict what the poem is about using details from the images to support their conclusions. Display the bibliographic records for the sources and ask students what new … [Read more...]
Integrating Technology: Making Myriopticons
May 24, 2018 by 1 Comment
OK, so this post isn't about digital technology but it does present an idea for combining history with a maker lab of sorts that incorporates math, engineering and art. Let's take a look at a blog post from In Custodia Legis, which features, “A Historical Panorama of the Rebellion” myriopticon, a toy manufactured by Milton Bradley around 1865. "The myriopticon was an educational device targeted at prepubescent boys that consists of a box containing a painted scroll and two scroll tubes. A key … [Read more...]
Learning from the Source: Primary Source Trail of Western Migration
August 12, 2015 by 3 Comments
Background The “Corps of Discovery” expedition led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark in the years 1804-1806 was instrumental in opening up western North America to settlement. After this defining exploration, fur companies further investigated westward routes. Financed by John J. Astor's Pacific Fur Company, an 1812 expedition led by Robert Stuart began on the west coast at Fort Aster on the mouth of the Columbia River and forged eastward. A significant portion of the route … [Read more...]
Analyzing Primary Sources: Elementary Image & Text Analysis Sheets
May 21, 2015 by 1 Comment
Primary sources engage all students—elementary, middle and high school. Below are some worksheets to help elementary students, in particular, to analyze primary source images and texts. These worksheets were created in collaboration with master teacher Kimberly Heckart, who teaches third grade at Prairie Ridge Elementary in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Elementary Social Studies Methods at the University of Iowa. Kim whose accolades include Elementary Social Studies Teacher of the Year for both … [Read more...]
Learning from the Source: The Negro Speaks of Rivers
April 23, 2015 by 1 Comment
Lesson objective In this primary source lesson students will gain a better understanding of the meaning and tone of "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" by completing a scaffolded close reading of the poem using multiple source types (written text, spoken word, music, photos, illustrations and maps) while developing personal, lasting connections to literature by creating their own related interpretive pieces. Background Writer and poet Langston Hughes was a prominent figure in the Harlem … [Read more...]
Guided Primary Source Analysis: Official Program Woman Suffrage Procession
April 7, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Review the Official Program Woman Suffrage Procession and read the program forward (page 3). What goals for the procession does the forward set? How do the accomplishments of the highlighted women on pages 3 and 4 seem to support those goals? Closely read the first 11 paragraphs of page 4: Why Women Want to Vote. What is the tone of the text? What specific words and phrases support your conclusion? What group of women do you think was the primary audience for this text? What specific words … [Read more...]
Analyzing Primary Sources: Learning from Newspapers
December 10, 2014 by 1 Comment
The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) strike a balance between the reading of literature and informational texts and promote the use of a wide range of text types: “Through reading a diverse array of classic and contemporary literature as well as challenging informational texts in a range of subjects, students are expected to build knowledge, gain insights, explore possibilities, and broaden their perspective.” [English Language Arts Standards: Key Design Considerations] Some items in … [Read more...]
Guided Primary Source Analysis: Great Moon Hoax
October 29, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Read the summary of the Lunar Narrative from the Museum of Hoaxes. What details from the articles do you see evidence of in this illustration? Why do you think the illustrator created an inset, or a picture within a picture? Access this .pdf to see the image in more detail. Compare and contrast the information about the Great Moon Hoax from the following sources. What did you learn? What similar information is presented? Are there any discrepancies? Historic Hoaxes The Spokane … [Read more...]
Teaching Now: Determining the Main Idea of a Text
October 2, 2014 by 1 Comment
This is a guest post from Glenn Jensen, a national board certified U.S. and world history teacher at Kennedy High School in Chicago, Illinois. Glenn has developed an exercise that is a great way to begin analyzing primary source texts because it has students focus on what they know, what they can extrapolate from that knowledge, and how they can apply that knowledge to their own lives. Below he describes how he recently implemented the text analysis with his students; the activity, which meets … [Read more...]
Literature Links: My Daniel – Hunting Dinosaurs in Nebraska
September 18, 2014 by 2 Comments
Below you will find numerous primary source activity ideas to use in conjunction with the novel My Daniel by Pam Conrad. Let us know which ones work for you. Publisher overview "All I want to find is one dinosaur," Daniel was saying. "And I'll find it right here. Like I do all my fossils." Wandering through the Natural History Museum with her grandchildren, Julia Creath feels the presence of her dead brother, Daniel, she remembers a time when fossil fever hit everyone, old and young -- a … [Read more...]
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