|
|
 |
|
Learning to Love Primary Documents: Why Use Them in Your Classroom?
Primary documents are the tangible "stuff" of history created by people who actually saw or participated in an event or era. Original materials such as diaries, letters, newspaper clippings, audio/video recordings, photographs, memorials, tombstones and maps provide direct eyewitness accounts far more vivid than any textbook. History becomes relevant and real when students explore primary sources.
Lesson plans developed by the Indiana Historical Society suggest various strategies for incorporating primary sources into your classroom; the Scrapbook includes a wide selection of digital documents. Use these resources as you work with your class to examine primary materials, to determine their value to the students researchers, to analyze and evaluate the documents for bias or contradiction, and to know the difference between a primary and a secondary source.
For more primary documents and suggestions on how to use them, click on the links below:
Back to Top
|
