During recent Library of Congress summer teacher institutes, teachers of all grade and ability levels discussed ways to engage students in close observation of primary sources. They agreed that close observation is crucial to deep analysis and a key component of identifying and citing evidence from a primary source. One easy technique to help students improve their observation skill is to use sticky notes.
What’s a good way to get started with primary sources? Here’s a guide to blog posts about using the Library’s Primary Source Analysis Tool to begin investigating historical documents.
The first time I tried facilitating a primary source activity during my post-graduate museum education studies, I only had to guide my peers’ analysis of a single artifact for five minutes. Yet so much of what I learned from this experience later proved invaluable to me when teaching with primary sources “for real.”
What’s the most frustrating part of teaching with primary sources? They’re often incomplete and have little context. What’s the most rewarding part of teaching with primary sources? They’re often incomplete and have little context.
Sara Trettin, formerly Suiter, our 2010-2011 Teacher in Residence, was one of the first coordinators for the Teaching with the Library of Congress blog. She wrote and edited some of the first posts and provided a solid framework as we added more writers and continued to shape the blog and its message.
