Chinese children at play--"the dragon's head"

Analyzing Primary Sources: Grade 3 Writing Prompts & Activities

Primary source images are great resources for integrating language arts with social studies. The activities below were designed around the grade 3 Common Core State Standards for writing. These third-grade writing prompts and activity ideas build on the K-2 writing prompts and activities. Text Types and Purposes Grade 3 Writing Standards Writing Prompts / Activity…

Children playing "ring around a rosie" in one of the better neighborhoods of the Black Belt, Chicago, Illinois

Analyzing Primary Sources: Grade 2 Writing Prompts & Activities

Primary source images are great resources for integrating language arts with social studies. The activities below were designed around the grade 2 Common Core State Standards for writing. These second-grade writing prompts and activity ideas build on the K-1 writing prompts and activities. Text Types and Purposes Grade 2 Writing Standards Writing Prompts / Activity…

Migrant agricultural worker's family.

Learning from the Source: Zooming into Documentary Photography

Zoom into the picture above and you will see a face recognizable to many. The mother in the photo is Florence Thompson, most famously known as the migrant mother. This photograph was one in a series taken in 1936 by Resettlement Administration photographer Dorothea Lange. In this primary source lesson, students will examine photographs individually…

Clifford Shorts' children playing

Analyzing Primary Sources: Grade 1 Writing Prompts & Activities

Primary source images are great resources for integrating language arts with social studies. The activities below were designed around the grade 1 Common Core State Standards for writing. These first-grade writing prompts and activity ideas build on the kindergarten writing prompts and activities. Text Types and Purposes Grade 1 Writing Standards Writing Prompts / Activity…

Children playing with Campbell kid dolls.

Analyzing Primary Sources: Kindergarten Writing Prompts & Activities

Primary source images are great resources for integrating language arts with social studies. The activities below were designed around the Kindergarten grade-level Common Core State Standards for writing. Text Types and Purposes Kindergarten Writing Standards Writing Prompts / Activity Ideas 1. Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose opinion pieces in which…

Civil rights march on Wash[ington], D.C.

Analyzing Primary Sources: Bloom’s Taxonomy Image Writing Prompts

Remembering List the different shapes you see. How many people do you see? How many __________ do you see? List all of the objects that start with the letter “___”. Circle all of the people with _______. List all of the __________ that you see. What makes them different or the same? Understanding Estimate how…

Sam Ozaki, Veterans History Project

Learning from the Source: Digital Stories of Our Heroes

Engage students with a real-world activity that has them learning about U.S. history while adding to the collective American memory. This project allows students to learn and use interview and digital presentation skills to discover, elicit, and relate the stories of local veterans and others who contributed during times of conflict. To complete this project,…

Woman suffrage headquarters in Upper Euclid Avenue, Clevelan

Learning from the Source: Tactics in the March to Suffrage

Collective action can lead to change. “The basic functional requirements of a social movement,” according to Herbert W. Simons, Emeritus Professor of Communication, Temple University, “are an ability to mobilize human and material resources, to exert external influence, and to mount resistance to counter-pressures.” [1] In this primary source learning activity, students will examine the tactics supporters of…

City Hall, Brooklyn, showing the elevated railroad and the site of the new subway station

Primary Source Learning: Progressive Era Primary Source Set

Have students use the primary sources in this set to tell a story about the period 1900-1929. The Progressive Era was one of economic growth and prosperity but also one in which many worked to make American society a better and safer place through environmental, business and government reforms. The story about this time of…

JB-eyes

Learning from the Source: Close Reading in Service of a Cause

Activity overview Close reading is an opportunity to read and reread thoughtfully and with purpose. By breaking down the analysis of texts and other primary sources into distinct chunks, you can increase rigor and help students more easily climb the staircase of complexity required by the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). In this primary source…

Address of John Brown to the Virginia Court

Analyzing Primary Sources: Close Reading Markup Strategies

The plan today had been to post a CCSS-aligned primary source activity focused on close reading of images and texts but input from a great group of teachers at a professional development session necessitated a blog detour. So, instead, we’ll share a close reading markup strategy remix and resource list. Keep in mind that close…

Mount Rushmore, Rapid City, South Dakota

Learning from the Source: Monumental Men

George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt were monumental men who made significant contributions to the United States. Through the lens of both primary and secondary sources, students learn about the characters and contributions of these presidents and determine for themselves the qualities and accomplishments that make someone worthy of a lasting tribute. To…