Primary Source Toolbox
Five Primary Source Archives
1. Wilson Center Digital Archive: This website specializes in international relations and history. Students can look into specific regions and find primary sources of that country's relationship with other countries. The majority of the primary sources from different regions have been translated into English.
2. Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History: This website focuses on American History. It provides a variety of primary sources and gives general information on any era of American history that students will have questions about. However, this is a fee to get access to the primary sources.
3. Digital History: This website also focuses on American history. Like Gilder Lehrman, this also provides more information on various topics of American History. It also offers resources for teachers on the topic and for students to write papers and analyze sources.
4. National Archives: Also focusing on American history, this provides a huge variety of primary sources on just about everything relating to America. Unlike Gilder Lehrman and Digital History, which only offered specific primary sources solely for the purpose of education, the National Archives focused more on having the sources available to the general public. So educators and students can branch off and look into more sources that the two previous websites did not provide.
5. Shmoop: This website focuses a lot on student education, not just in history but a huge assortment of school subjects. For the sake of History, the website acts a Cliffnotes website by providing primary sources, general information, and resources for teachers to make the lesson plans and for students to learn the material.
2. Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History: This website focuses on American History. It provides a variety of primary sources and gives general information on any era of American history that students will have questions about. However, this is a fee to get access to the primary sources.
3. Digital History: This website also focuses on American history. Like Gilder Lehrman, this also provides more information on various topics of American History. It also offers resources for teachers on the topic and for students to write papers and analyze sources.
4. National Archives: Also focusing on American history, this provides a huge variety of primary sources on just about everything relating to America. Unlike Gilder Lehrman and Digital History, which only offered specific primary sources solely for the purpose of education, the National Archives focused more on having the sources available to the general public. So educators and students can branch off and look into more sources that the two previous websites did not provide.
5. Shmoop: This website focuses a lot on student education, not just in history but a huge assortment of school subjects. For the sake of History, the website acts a Cliffnotes website by providing primary sources, general information, and resources for teachers to make the lesson plans and for students to learn the material.
Two Primary Analysis Tools
.1. Written Document Analysis
-The most typical type of primary source is a written document. In class, students are handed a copy of an excerpt of a primary source, and a handout of the Written Document Analysis worksheet. The goal then for the students is to fill out the sheet. The main purpose of this tool is to read the document and interpret it to find out what kind of message does the author want to give out. -The sheet has specific instructions for analyzing a written document: -What type of document it is, the date, author, and intention. -Students are to analyze the document and interpret the message, to understand the motivation behind it and the purpose of why it was written. |
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2. Poster Analysis Worksheet
-Another typical form of primary source is the poster. A poster can be put up in class or can be looked up at the smart-phone. The goal for this worksheet is for students to look at the poster and to read between the lines of the poster, to find out what kind of message does the poster give out to observers for that time period. -The sheet has specific instructions for analyzing a poster: -Focus on the colors, imagery, and wording -Find out what kind of message (straight-forward or subliminal) it wants the audience to take in. |
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Primary Source Analysis Examples
Motion Picture Analysis
Music-Sound Recording Analysis (Courtesy of Shmoop article) http://www.shmoop.com/vietnam-war/music.html