Library of Congress
Visit the American Memory Learning
Page for lesson ideas on Primary Sources @ http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/lessons/index.html
Objectives
Students will:
* Construct their own understanding of primary source
materials.
* Enrich their understanding of U.S. history.
* Develop a research vocabulary.
* Develop research skills using off-line and on-line
collections.
* Become critically aware of the complexities of
archival collections.
* Create a poster which organizes primary source
materials to tell a story.
Time Required 12-15 teaching periods of
approximately one hour each.
Recommended Grade Level
Grades 4-8
Resources
1. Off-Line
* Student mementos e.g. baby pictures, artwork, stories,
toys, awards.
* Textual and graphical materials from local archives.
e.g. school archives or those from a local historical
society .
* Colored folders for student organization of archival
materials.
* Poster construction materials (poster board, glue,
scissors, etc.)
2. On-Line
* Touring Turn of the Century America: Photographs
from the Detroit Publishing Company, 1880-1920
* Early Motion Pictures,1897-1916
* American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the
Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1940
3. Technology Resources
* Classroom Internet access
* Demonstration computer
* A minimum of one computer for every three students
* Networked printer
* Diskettes (one per group)
The Library of Congress Learning Page contains a
unit which introduces students to primary sources
&emdash; what they are, their great variety and how
they can be analyzed. The lesson begins with an activity
that helps students understand the historical record.
Students then learn techniques for analyzing primary
sources. Finally, students apply these techniques
to analyze documents about slavery in the United States.
