Primary Sources in the Classroom

The following websites are intended to support educators in using the primary sources they find on this site and other online sources. These resources are not only intended to help students understand and analyze primary sources, but they are also intended to increase their literacy skills by providing ways to carefully and thoughtfully examine textual and visual sources. Method/Curriculum/Professional Development Websites Library of Congress Teachers Page (http://www.loc.gov/teachers/) From the library of congresss teachers page you can access their Using Primary Sources materials and Professional Development page. From Using Primary Sources you can find resources for citation, copyright, research, and classroom implementation. They have their Teachers Guides and Analysis tool available for free download. The Professional Development page offers free online modules and links to information about other training events. Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (http://www.parcconline.org/) PARCC is a consortium of 23 states (including Georgia) plus the U.S. Virgin Islands working together to develop a common set of K-12 assessments in English and math. To support educators in their efforts to provide their students with a first class education, PARCC is developing a number of tools and resources aligned to the CCSS and the PARCC assessments. From the PARCC website you can access model content frameworks, professional learning models, sample tasks, and rubrics. Although the content is focused on English and Math, Social Studies teachers can benefit from the resources. Literacy Design Collaborative (http://www.literacydesigncollaborative.org/) LDC is a model for teaching literacy in the content areas. It was created to support the implementation of Common Core Literacy Standards in the classroom. The website offers detailed information about the LDC model, fill-in-the-blank templates, sample modules, and other guidance and support. Some districts in Georgia have already begun training groups of teachers in the LDC method. SCIM C (http://www.historicalinquiry.com/) SCIM-C is a method for analyzing primary source documents in the classroom. The initials of SCIM-C stands for the phases of the model: Summarizing, Contextualizing, Inferring, Monitoring, and Corroborating. Each phase has a series of four questions that serve as a scaffold to promote student participation at all levels. The model promotes historical inquiry and has built in scaffolding. The website offers an explanation of SCIM-C, demonstrations of SCIM-Cs use and research and evidence to support the SCIM-C approach. Stanford History Education Group (http://sheg.stanford.edu/) The Stanford History Education Group has multiple projects dedicated to supporting history education. They have developed a curriculum called Reading Like an Historian for United States History. They are also developing a new form of assessment called History Assessments of Thinking.

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The Historical Thinking Project (http://historicalthinking.ca/) The Historical Thinking Project is an initiative of the University of British Columbias Centre for the Study of Historical Consciousness. The website provides a conceptual framework for teaching history to the 21st century student. Most of the documents and resources pertain to Canadian history, but the concepts and research are excellent resources for teaching students a framework for understanding history. Gilder Lehrman (http://www.gilderlehrman.org/programs-exhibitions/for-educators) Founded in 1994 by Richard Gilder and Lewis E. Lehrman, the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History is a nonprofit organization devoted to the improvement of history education. The website offers professional development opportunities, primary source documents and exercise, online exhibits, publications, and an affiliate school program. Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media (http://chnm.gmu.edu/) Founded in 1994, the Center for History and New Media uses digital media and computer technology to preserve and present history online. Their teaching and learning page offers free access to primary sources, building high-quality online teaching modules, and offering instruction on critical thinking skills. The research tools and apps on the research and tools page may be useful for teachers and students doing online research. In particular the web scrapbook has great potential as a research assignment. ReadWriteThink (http://www.readwritethink.org/) ReadWriteThink is a partnership between the International Reading Association, National Council for Teachers of English, and Verizon Thinkfinity. The website offers free lesson plans, student interactive, graphic organizer printouts, and professional development materials. All materials are aligned to national and state standards and are searchable by keyword, grade level, and resource type. The resources on this site are particularly helpful in implementing the literacy standards of CCGPS. Interactive Websites National Archives Experience DOCS Teach (http://docsteach.org/) DOCS Teach provides interactive modules for exploring the digitized materials housed at the National Archives. From this site, users can search primary source documents and create interactive activities with NARAs premade modules. There are also pre-made activities divided by historical eras. Teachers can also build a profile to save and share activities. Library of Congress MyLOC (http://myloc.gov/Pages/Default.aspx) MyLOC allows the user to browse the themed online exhibits of the Library of Congress to view and save specific items into your own collection. MyLOC also offers interactive Knowledge Quests, interactive displays of primary documents, virtual tours of the Library of congress, and pre-made lessons. Free online software Web-based Concept Mapping Tools Minddomo (http://www.mindomo.com/) Gliffy (http://www.gliffy.com/) Flowchart (http://flowchart.com/) Bubbl.us (http://bubbl.us/) Mindmeister (http://www.mindmeister.com/) Freemind (http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page) Thinglink (http://www.thinglink.com/)

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Multi-media Presentation Tools Voice Thread (http://ed.voicethread.com/) Primary Access (http://www.primaryaccess.org/) StupieFlix (http://studio.stupeflix.com/) Animoto (http://animoto.com/education/) Footable (http://www.fotobabble.com/) Smilebox Slidshow(http://www.smilebox.com/slideshows.html)

Blogs/Forums The Instructional Innovations Blog (http://icoblog.wordpress.com/) Powered by the Office of Instructional Consulting at Indiana University, School of Education. This blog will feature information and resources relevant to teaching and learning. Topics of discussion include general pedagogical tips that promote quality teaching, student learning, and instructional innovation, particularly in the use of technologies such as Web 2.0, podcasting, blogs, wikis, educational gaming, and other emerging educational technologies. Teaching with the Library of Congress (http://blogs.loc.gov/teachers/) Discover and discuss the most effective techniques for using Library of Congress primary sources in the classroom. Teaching strategies, outstanding primary sources, lesson plans, teacher resources, and current thinking on effective classroom practice are all open for discussion. TeacherTechBlog (http://teachertechblog.com/) This blog provides you with quality tips on how to better use technology in your classroom. You can expect to find at least two to three updates each week with new tips on software, hardware, classroom productivity, and lesson ideas. Thinkfinity (http://www.thinkfinity.org/welcome) Thinkfinity is the Verizon Foundations free online professional learning community, providing access to over 50,000 educators and experts in curriculum enhancement, along with thousands of award-winning digital resources for K-12 aligned to state standards and the common core. You can create a free login to share and participate in the community forum.

Updated August 2012