Using Pictures to Read the Past

What makes a source primary or secondary? Middle schoolers read a definition of each term before exploring different examples and applying their knowledge to a research project.

Show your class the difference between primary sources and secondary sources. The first page provides a list of examples of each type of source. While they research, pupils can refer back to the list quickly to make sure they are reading...

Students discover what primary and secondary sources are and how to use them in this lesson from PBS Wisconsin Education. They watch video clips from the documentary "Wisconsin Hometown Stories: Neenah-Menasha," identifying the primary...

Research famous figures from history through the primary sources they created! Explore how these types of documents can enrich our study of the past with your middle and high school learners. They create picture books to illustrate...

Not all sources are created equal, so how do you evaluate them? Writers learn how to evaluate print sources based on elements such as audience, tone, and argument in the sixth handout of 24 in the Writing the Paper series from the...

A picture speaks a thousand words, no matter how old! Scholars use political cartoons from the era of Prohibition and the Temperance Movement to analyze what, a primary document (in this case, a bootlegger's notebook) is telling them...

Young historians play the role of history detectives as they investigate some primary source texts and images related to the early colonization of America, The Jamestown Settlement, and the Mayflower Compact. 

Definitions and examples of primary, secondary, and tertiary resources.

A link to a beautiful Animoto presentation is included, giving examples of primary sources that a student might want to contact when doing research. Using the Topaz Internment Camp in Utah as a sample topic, middle schoolers view a slide...