15 Primary Source Activities


Book Description

Contains ready-to-use plays, readings, simulations, map projects, and other motivating activities based on historical documents.




Oscar's American Dream


Book Description

If you want to see 20th century American history unfold before your eyes, stand on a city street corner and watch it change! It all starts when an immigrant named Oscar opens a barber shop... When Oscar lands on Ellis Island, he has only a suitcase and a down payment in his hands. And he has a dream-- to own his own barbershop. After it opens on the corner of Front St. and Second Ave, Oscar's barbershop becomes a beloved local fixture... until the day Oscar decides to move on and become a subway conductor. Over the years, this barbershop will change hands to become a lady's clothing store, then a soup kitchen. A coffee shop follows, then the space becomes an army recruitment center, then a candy shop. As the years pass and the world changes, the proud corner store stands tall, watching American history unfold around it. Barry Wittenstein and debut husband-and-wife illustration team Kristen and Kevin Howdeshell tell the rich, fascinating story of key moments in American history, as reflected through the eyes--and the patrons--of the corner store.




Document-Based Assessment Activities


Book Description

Take students beyond textbook history to explore various people and events from ancient Egypt through the 20th Century using primary sources. Students will develop critical-thinking and essay writing skills as they analyze the various documents including photographs, posters, letters, maps, and more. Multiple social studies topics are included for grades K-3, 4-8, and 9-12. This resource includes engaging digital resources and is aligned to College and Career Readiness and other state standards.




The Teaching with Primary Sources Cookbook


Book Description

This collection brings together the work of archivists, librarians, museum professionals, and other educators who evoke the power of primary sources to teach information literacy skills to a variety of audiences.







100 Activities for Teaching Research Methods


Book Description

A sourcebook of exercises, games, scenarios and role plays, this practical, user-friendly guide provides a complete and valuable resource for research methods tutors, teachers and lecturers. Developed to complement and enhance existing course materials, the 100 ready-to-use activities encourage innovative and engaging classroom practice in seven areas: finding and using sources of information planning a research project conducting research using and analyzing data disseminating results acting ethically developing deeper research skills. Each of the activities is divided into a section on tutor notes and student handouts. Tutor notes contain clear guidance about the purpose, level and type of activity, along with a range of discussion notes that signpost key issues and research insights. Important terms, related activities and further reading suggestions are also included. Not only does the A4 format make the student handouts easy to photocopy, they are also available to download and print directly from the book’s companion website for easy distribution in class.




The Knowledge Gap


Book Description

The untold story of the root cause of America's education crisis--and the seemingly endless cycle of multigenerational poverty. It was only after years within the education reform movement that Natalie Wexler stumbled across a hidden explanation for our country's frustrating lack of progress when it comes to providing every child with a quality education. The problem wasn't one of the usual scapegoats: lazy teachers, shoddy facilities, lack of accountability. It was something no one was talking about: the elementary school curriculum's intense focus on decontextualized reading comprehension "skills" at the expense of actual knowledge. In the tradition of Dale Russakoff's The Prize and Dana Goldstein's The Teacher Wars, Wexler brings together history, research, and compelling characters to pull back the curtain on this fundamental flaw in our education system--one that fellow reformers, journalists, and policymakers have long overlooked, and of which the general public, including many parents, remains unaware. But The Knowledge Gap isn't just a story of what schools have gotten so wrong--it also follows innovative educators who are in the process of shedding their deeply ingrained habits, and describes the rewards that have come along: students who are not only excited to learn but are also acquiring the knowledge and vocabulary that will enable them to succeed. If we truly want to fix our education system and unlock the potential of our neediest children, we have no choice but to pay attention.




The Educator's Handbook for Teaching With Primary Sources


Book Description

Educators across subject areas are striving to integrate primary sources into their pedagogy and teaching. Yet, despite their importance to authentic disciplined inquiry, the implementation of primary source activities in the pre-K–12 classroom has been limited. This lack of utilization can largely be attributed to the perception that these activities are too complex to design, implement, and grade. Many teachers also feel that primary source analysis and the construction of evidence-based narratives is too difficult for students to complete in the traditional classroom. Waring argues that this is not the case and, with this handbook, provides teacher candidates and inservice teachers with detailed and specific perspectives, activities, approaches, and resources to help them effectively and authentically use primary sources in their classrooms. Book Features: Introduces teaching with primary sources, including detailed examples of authentic and tested instructional ideas and approaches.Designed to meet the needs of classroom teachers and teacher candidates in social studies, English and language arts, mathematics, science, and other fields.Offers dozens of primary sources and links to resources throughout the book.Aligns to national standards, frameworks, and the C3 framework for social studies.Can be used to meet the needs of emerging English learners and students with special needs.Focuses on ways in which educators are utilizing a variety of emerging technologies to engage students in deeper and more authentic ways of learning. Contributors include Peter DeCraene, Lisa Fink, Eric J. Pyle, Stefanie R. Wager, Sarah Westbrook, and Trena L. Wilkerson.




Primary Sources: Investigating Geography Kit


Book Description

Primary Sources help teachers integrate authentic resources into the classroom. Primary sources capture students' curiosity about the past, so they naturally begin to use critical thinking to analyze historical events. This kit expands the study of geography beyond the confines of the classroom, builds visual literacy, critical-thinking skills, and global awareness. Investigating Geography kit includes: Eight Photograph Cards including Expanding desert in Somalia; Blood Falls in Antarctica; Greater Sudbury Superstack in Canada; and more; Eight Primary Sources including NASA satellite image of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill; Monitoring the rainforest in the Congo with GIS; Demographic transition model; and more; Teacher's Guide including lesson plans, student activities, and document-based assessments; and Digital resources including student reproducibles and additional primary sources.




Teaching What Really Happened


Book Description

“Should be in the hands of every history teacher in the country.”— Howard Zinn James Loewen has revised Teaching What Really Happened, the bestselling, go-to resource for social studies and history teachers wishing to break away from standard textbook retellings of the past. In addition to updating the scholarship and anecdotes throughout, the second edition features a timely new chapter entitled "Truth" that addresses how traditional and social media can distort current events and the historical record. Helping students understand what really happened in the past will empower them to use history as a tool to argue for better policies in the present. Our society needs engaged citizens now more than ever, and this book offers teachers concrete ideas for getting students excited about history while also teaching them to read critically. It will specifically help teachers and students tackle important content areas, including Eurocentrism, the American Indian experience, and slavery. Book Features: An up-to-date assessment of the potential and pitfalls of U.S. and world history education. Information to help teachers expect, and get, good performance from students of all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Strategies for incorporating project-oriented self-learning, having students conduct online historical research, and teaching historiography. Ideas from teachers across the country who are empowering students by teaching what really happened. Specific chapters dedicated to five content topics usually taught poorly in today’s schools.