Stanford History Education Group
This site contains a good number of history lessons and assessments, all structured around students engaging and analyzing primary documents. They all tend to be short and are made as accessible as possible to help students get a grasp of the often difficult language or content without being overwhelmed.
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress's website contains a huge amount of primary documents related to every period of American history. While it doesn't build assignments or directions around the documents like the Stanford History Education Group site, the sheer amount of materials helps make up for this.
History Matters: Making Sense of Evidence
History Matters is a great site for guiding students on the way in which historians analyze primary documents. It walks them through the process of dissecting and evaluating the language, authors' intent, and historical context of these materials in a way that is quick and easy to understand.
National Archives: Docs Teach
This site, provided by the National Archives, contains learning activities and information related to all U.S. history. They also have an activity creation tool that students can use to present the content in a way that best suits them and contributes to the site's online educational community.
The Gilder Lehrman Collection
This is another site that provides access to a collection of primary documents from our past. While containing a lot of documents and framing information, it does require a signup for access, although it is free.
Primary Source Analysis Tools
This site contains a good number of history lessons and assessments, all structured around students engaging and analyzing primary documents. They all tend to be short and are made as accessible as possible to help students get a grasp of the often difficult language or content without being overwhelmed.
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress's website contains a huge amount of primary documents related to every period of American history. While it doesn't build assignments or directions around the documents like the Stanford History Education Group site, the sheer amount of materials helps make up for this.
History Matters: Making Sense of Evidence
History Matters is a great site for guiding students on the way in which historians analyze primary documents. It walks them through the process of dissecting and evaluating the language, authors' intent, and historical context of these materials in a way that is quick and easy to understand.
National Archives: Docs Teach
This site, provided by the National Archives, contains learning activities and information related to all U.S. history. They also have an activity creation tool that students can use to present the content in a way that best suits them and contributes to the site's online educational community.
The Gilder Lehrman Collection
This is another site that provides access to a collection of primary documents from our past. While containing a lot of documents and framing information, it does require a signup for access, although it is free.
Primary Source Analysis Tools
Library of Congress Primary Source Analysis Tool
The above tool is a simple way to help guide students through the act of analyzing a primary document.
On the website, there is a small bar where students can select what type of primary source they are working with (i.e. photographs, maps, manuscripts, etc.). Down below are the boxes labeled Observe, Reflect, and Question. On the top right of each is a question mark. If clicked on, it provides a series of prompts that walk them through the steps that they need to take in order to evaluate the resource. These prompts changed, based on the type of primary document that students have chosen in the bar.
Each of these boxes build upon the answers of the box prior to develop the analytical skills need to break the piece down. The last box asks for Further Investigation, with prompts to encourage students to go further, take what they've learned and apply it to other documents and follow-up activities.
The above tool is a simple way to help guide students through the act of analyzing a primary document.
On the website, there is a small bar where students can select what type of primary source they are working with (i.e. photographs, maps, manuscripts, etc.). Down below are the boxes labeled Observe, Reflect, and Question. On the top right of each is a question mark. If clicked on, it provides a series of prompts that walk them through the steps that they need to take in order to evaluate the resource. These prompts changed, based on the type of primary document that students have chosen in the bar.
Each of these boxes build upon the answers of the box prior to develop the analytical skills need to break the piece down. The last box asks for Further Investigation, with prompts to encourage students to go further, take what they've learned and apply it to other documents and follow-up activities.
Docs Teach: Mapping History Tool
The document included above is an example of a tool made with the Docs Teach website, specifically their Mapping History creation tool. This tool allows one to take available primary documents and place them onto a map of the United States. Organizing these by a period in history like the New Deal above or the Depression, they can get a sense of how individuals across the country were dealing with the changes at that time, based on the record we still have from them.
Students can include photos from the era, diary entries, letters, and all other things related to how people lived and dealt with the issues of the day, and how those issues differed from coast to coast.
Primary Source Lesson Examples
Below are two examples of how a student might work with and analyze primary historical documents
Political Cartoon
The document included above is an example of a tool made with the Docs Teach website, specifically their Mapping History creation tool. This tool allows one to take available primary documents and place them onto a map of the United States. Organizing these by a period in history like the New Deal above or the Depression, they can get a sense of how individuals across the country were dealing with the changes at that time, based on the record we still have from them.
Students can include photos from the era, diary entries, letters, and all other things related to how people lived and dealt with the issues of the day, and how those issues differed from coast to coast.
Primary Source Lesson Examples
Below are two examples of how a student might work with and analyze primary historical documents
Political Cartoon
Written Flyer