Vital witnesses: using primary sources in history and social studies

Part 1: Understanding primary sources. The world of primary sources

Print documents : paper and electronic

Visual documents

Maps

Photographs

Editorial cartoons

Film/video

Fine arts

Folk culture and mythology

The built environment

Material culture

The natural environment

Part 2: How can primary sources be used in the classroom? The big-picture inquiry-based learning method

Classroom exercises

Which way is up?

What did the Declaration of Independence say?

European immigrants arriving in the United States, early 1900s

What type of community is it?

Using primary sources to open a unit of study

What did ancient Egyptian society need to have to build the pyramids?

"I'd rather not be on relief"

What did a community need to build and maintain this structure?

Document-based questions (DBQ)

Using visuals to meet the needs of all learners

Part 3: Accomodating common core. Accomodating common core literacy standards

Accomodating the C3 framework.