Session 15: Using Primary Sources Online

Focusing Questions How can we use primary resources to enrich the teaching and learning experience? How can we use primary resources as part of the inquiry method?

Instruction

Framing Our Work Accessibility of primary sources: evidence that historical events actually happened National Archives — great for historical photographs—great starting pointwww.archives.gov David Karpeles Collection on has a great viewing tool to get kids excited.

Types of Primary Resources Advertisements Audio files Cartoons Census reports Congressional records Diaries Interviews Letters Magazines Maps Memorandums Newspapers Patents Photos Press releases Reports Speeches Telegrams Videos Other

NARA ( The National Archives are not part of the U.S. government, but an independent agency. NARA didn’t open until NARA maintains records -- naturalization records, immigration records, community census records, and photos of the past.

David Karpeles Manuscript Library Karpeles was a history aficionado who started collecting many records from early American history and made them available to the public. His records can be found on an educational database called New York Learns ( coupled with a great viewer, documents come to life.

Evidence v. Tradition If there is no evidence, history is merely tradition. Paul Revere v. Betsy Ross

Primary documents in real life What if someone told you one day that your name was really Lisa Carter? Or Lou Burns? How would you prove that they were wrong? You would pull out your ID card, your library card, your report card, and you might go home and ask your mom to find your birth certificate. These are the primary documents that prove that you are really you, and not Lisa Carter. If you don’t have any of these, you can go to your local archive.

What are primary resources? They can be any resource that were created at the scene of the crime. When you were born, there were photos and a birth certificate. Both provide the historian proof that you were born. They represent one piece of the whole picture.

Becoming Historians… Guided Practice Today we are going to become historians, not just learn about history. We are going to gather evidence that represents what was really happening at a particular place and time. Remember Zack’s story…did he collect primary source evidence?

Did the Titanic really sink? How do we know? Let’s use the and the database to help us gather some evidence. Search goal: Did it sink? Interpret goal: What was the impact on different passengers and crew? What do the primary sources tell us?

Searching a database NYLearns.org!

Searching a database Nara.gov

Work Time

Getting Started Good researchers always gather evidence. They don’t rely on what someone else says. They also analyze the evidence carefully. Historians are like detectives. What evidence is there? Who created that evidence? What does it tell us about that time in history? We want students to have at least one primary source on a Works Cited page.

Work Time Now it is time for you to work in small groups and gather some evidence on either Holocaust or Immigration topics. You will have a focusing question. Your Search goal is to find some evidence to answer the focus question. Your interpret goal is to use the analysis sheet to record resources found.

Scenarios Holocaust Scenario: Let’s say that someone told you that the Holocaust never took place. Search goal: Find evidence to substantiate or refute. Interpret goal: Analyze the resources. Focus question: What was the experience of the people in Europe during 1930 and 1940 decades? Immigration Scenario: The population of New York City increased because of immigration during Search goal: Find evidence. Interpret goal: Analyze the resources. Focus question: How did the various immigrant cultures affect society in New York City from ?

Share

How did you answer the focusing question? What does it tell us about the context of that particular time and place in history? Share

New York City Curriculum Resources Information Fluency Continuum Phase: Investigate p. 18 Indicator: uses a variety of search engines to do advanced searching. New York City Performance Standards Applied Learning Standard 3a: Gather information to assist in completing project work Applied Learning Standard 3b: Use information technology to assist in gathering, organizing, and presenting information. Standards

Technology Standards ISTE National Educational Technology Standard (NETS) Standard 5: Technology Research tools: -- Students use technology to locate, evaluate, and collect information from a variety of sources -- Students use evaluate and select new information resources and technological innovations based on the appropriateness to specific tasks. Standards