What are the children doing in this photo? Be specific and use details from the image to support your conclusions. Compare and contrast this classroom with yours. What are the similarities and differences? Look at this image of where the children gather before school. What do you notice? Read the source record. How does this…
The sensory exploration graphic organizer is a great way to introduce students, especially younger ones, to primary source analysis. It also helps with vocabulary development. Encourage students to write words in each column for each sense or allow them to draw pictures. After, you may have students create a poem of their choice using the words they brainstormed;…
Review these advertising persuasion techniques. Describe the technique(s) you find present in this 1900 newspaper advertisement for Gold Medal flour that appeared in the New-York Daily Tribune. Review the headlines on this page and scan the articles (online | .pdf). Do you think the audience for the articles is the same audience that Gold Medal flour…
Zoom into this newspaper (online | .pdf). What is the most important topic on this page? What details support your conclusion? There is a question in the newspaper’s nameplate, or top, section. What is the question and what do you think is the answer to the question? What details support your answer? What information about El…
According to this political cartoon, what were the pros and cons to immigration in 1903? Take a look at this black-and-white version to more clearly read the cartoon’s text labels. List each group represented and the cartoon’s representation of their views. Investigate historical newspaper articles from 1903 discussing the immigration problem and immigration benefits. List…
According to the summary of this political cartoon, who were the three candidates for president in 1844? What was the president’s salary at this time? What is the president’s salary now? According to the cartoon summary, who is the favored contender? What details in the cartoon—positioning, symbols, text labels—support this view? Use the Primary Source Nexus search…
Click the newspaper image above to zoom into the page. What is the riddle of Mars? Does the article answer the headline question? What evidence does the article give that there is life on Mars? What evidence does the article provide that Professor Lowell believes these Martian extraterrestrials are superior to mankind as the subhead claims?…
This is a guest post from Barbara Evans, a middle school language arts teacher at Holden Elementary in Chicago, Illinois. After working with TPS-Barat during the past year as part of the Chicago Public Schools Social Science Academy, I was excited to use primary sources in our literature studies. The primary source analysis tool is a great resource that I…
What is the purpose of this poster? What emotions does this poster tap into? Use specific evidence from the source to support your responses. Who is the audience for this primary source? How do you know? What more do you learn from the source record? Do you think this poster was effective with its target…
With summer reading programs getting into full swing, this seems the perfect time to kick off a new post category. Literature Links posts will provide primary sources and teaching strategies to help students better connect to and understand some great works of literature. Kate DiCamillo: Stories Connect Us Teaching with the Library January 14, 2014…
This is a guest post from George Mueller, a high school U.S. history and world studies teacher at Dunbar Vocational Academy in Chicago, Illinois. As part of the CPS Social Science Academy, we were tasked with developing and implementing a lesson using primary sources from the Library of Congress. The TPS-Barat Primary Source Nexus has so…
This is a guest post from Ruth Ferris, an elementary school librarian from Billings, Montana, and a grantee in the TPS Regional Grant Program. I originally learned about the TPS-Barat Primary Source Thinking Triangle through Martha Kohl of the Montana Historical Society. I loved it! I work with K-6 students and many of them struggle academically so I am always looking…