Related Readings and Other Resources for Teaching with Primary Sources

The American Archivist

• “Archives, Undergraduates, and Inquiry-Based Learning: Case Studies from Yale University Library” by Barbara Rockenbach, The American Archivist 74:1 (Spring/Summer 2011)
• “Primary Sources in K-12 Education: Opportunities for Archives” by Julia Hendry, The American Archivist 70:1 (Spring/Summer 2007)
• “An Exploration of K-12 User Needs for Digital Primary Source Materials” by Anne Gilliland-Swetland, The American Archivist 61:1 (Spring 1998)
• “From File Folder to the Classroom: Recent Primary Source Curriculum Projects” by Katharine Corbett, The American Archivist 54:2 ((Spring 1991)
• “Archival Odyssey: Taking Students to the Sources” by John Franklin, The American Archivist 32:4 (October 1969)

Archival Outlook

• “Out of the Archives and Into the Classroom: Unexpected Opportunities for Primary Source Instruction” by Julie Thomas, Archival Outlook (Jan/Feb 2016)
• “From Obscurity to Access: How Three Student Assistant Kindled Interest in a Piece of History” by Kelly Kanon, Anne Krohn, and Annika Peterson, Archival Outlook (Sept/Oct 2015)
• “La Historia de Mi Familia: Connecting Hispanic Students to History Through Primary Source Documents” by Ashley Stevens, Archival Outlook (Sept/Oct 2014)
• “A New Way to Teach in the Archives: Introducing TeachArchives.org” by Julie Golia and Robin M. Katz, Archival Outlook (May/June 2014)
• “Redefining the Undergraduate: Using Oral History Projects to Promote Undergraduate Scholarship in the Archives” by Andrea Weddle, Archival Outlook (Jan/Feb 2014)
• “High Schoolers Meet Archives: Primary Sources Fascinate Morristown, N.J., Youth” by Jenny Schooley, Archival Outlook (Sept/Oct 2010

Other Resources

• The Volunteers: Americans Join World War 1, 1914–1919. This free curriculum includes twenty-two lesson plans for secondary school classrooms that helps students analyze the history of World War I through the lens of volunteer service, both before and after the period of American neutrality, and aims to continue the legacy of volunteerism established during World War I by encouraging students to engage in local, regional, and international service. Learn more about the project, download twenty-two free lesson plans, and visit the Teacher Toolkit for additional resources.

• The South Asian American Digital Archives (SAADA) has a mission to document, preserve, and share stories that represent South Asian Americans' unique and diverse experiences. Check out SAADA's lesson plans incorporating oral history and artifacts from the archives.

• TeachArchives.org is an innovative resource for teachers, administrators, librarians, archivists, and museum educators. It offers sample exercises and informative articles based on a new approach to teaching in the archives. TeachArchives.org is the result of Students and Faculty in the Archives (SAFA), a three-year grant at Brooklyn Historical Society.

• The Library of Congress Teacher's Page offers classroom materials and professional development to help teachers effectively use primary sources from the Library's vast digital collections in their teaching. Find Library of Congress lesson plans and more that meet Common Core standards, state content standards, and the standards of national organizations. 

• The Stanford History Education Group explores how history is taught and learned. Includes "Reading Like a Historian curriculum that engages students in historical inquiry. Each lesson revolves around a central historical question and features sets of primary documents designed for groups of students with diverse reading skills and abilities.

Know of another good resource for teaching with primary sources? Email Editorial and Production Coordinator Abigail Christian to add it to the list!