Dear Coach,

I want to better understand primary sources and best practices for their use. What are primary sources and how can I use them to enhance teaching and learning in my classroom?

Sincerely,
Primary Potential

Dear Primary Potential,

A primary source is an original, firsthand account or record of a historical event or person. Primary sources can include photographs, newspaper articles, letters, diary entries, audio or video recordings, speeches, and census records. Historians use primary sources to analyze and interpret the past. In classrooms all across the United States, teachers are also putting primary sources into students’ hands with the help of technology. Archives and museums that provide access to digital collections often include tutorials on how to use primary sources in classroom lessons and units. If you are new to using primary sources, let’s consider some common questions.

Why should teachers use primary sources?

Connecting to history through firsthand accounts often piques interest and increases engagement. Primary sources give students a deep and personal view of history. They provide opportunities to develop critical thinking and deductive reasoning skills as students analyze the sources, construct meaning, and draw conclusions. Using different types of primary sources helps students understand history through various modalities, such as written text, art, and audio. Curating a set of primary sources around a specific topic creates opportunities to give students multiple perspectives on a particular historical event. Most importantly, inquiry is at the heart of examining primary sources, so when paired with effective instructional strategies, this inquiry work can promote a student-centered approach to learning. (Project Zero’s Step In-Step Out-Step Back thinking routine is a great way to promote student-led inquiry!)  

Where can teachers find primary sources?

Fortunately, there are many credible sites that teachers and students can easily access to find primary sources. Check out this infographic that includes resources to help you get started on your search.

What age group or content area is best for using primary sources?

Students of all ages and across all content areas can use primary sources. Consider these ideas for your classroom:

• Students analyze how scientists make observations and communicate ideas to make sense of the world.

• Visual artifacts like photographs and maps provide a non-linguistic approach to learning, which supports students who are English Language Learners as they access content and build background knowledge.

• Titus Kaphar in his TedTalk asks, “Can art amend history?” Students view historical paintings and photographs through different perspectives and engage in dialogue about historical erasure.

• Participate in The Great Thanksgiving Listen sponsored by StoryCorps and give students the opportunity to create their own primary sources.

• Integrate Project Zero’s Thinking Routines to scaffold student thinking when using primary sources.

Where can I find professional development opportunities that will help me learn more about using primary sources in my classroom?

• Teaching Tolerance has a series of webinars about using primary sources to teach the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and an article with embedded resources about teaching slavery.

• The Library of Congress has a wealth of professional development offerings for educators that include in-person and online resources.

• The Smithsonian National Museum of American History’s guide breaks down the strengths and limitations of different types of primary sources. 

• The National Archives holds free interactive webinars for teachers who want to learn how to use primary sources

Textbooks act as gatekeepers. They control the narrative by limiting content to a single (most often white) perspective. Primary sources expand the narrative and allow students to understand content through multiple perspectives. They help us learn that there is no single story, and that it is in our best interest to understand all of the complexities of our world. 

Best,
Coach