Primary sources have become a popular topic of discussion and interest among social studies teachers and students. Teachers have seen the positive impact they can have on the curriculum and the students. As for students, they have seen history come alive through primary sources. Additionally, these sources have become easier and easier to find as the Internet resources continue to grow.
According to Yale (2008) a primary source is an item or document that can “provide first-hand testimony or direct evidence concerning a topic under investigation.” While typically these sources are created at the time of the event or occurrences, Yale states that included items created later by people who experienced the event, as long as they still give first hand insight into what occurred. While teachers typically think of documents when considering the use of primary sources, a primary source can also be an item from the event, a work of art inspired by the event, or any other item that directly relates to the event. Documents seem to be the most frequently used, likely due to the accessibility of historical documents.
While primary sources can be used in a variety of disciplines, they are most commonly associated with social studies. Social studies often include topics that could benefit from the use of primary sources. As the Alabama Course of Standards (2010) states, “Primary sources enrich the social studies program and enable students to visualize and empathize with people of other times and places.” (p. 7) By using items from the time period, event, or topic being studied primary sources can contribute to an engaging classroom that allows students to discover the content in a unique way. They allow insight that the typical textbook can...
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...ation, 32(2), 213-247. doi: 10.1080/00933104.2004.10473253
Milman, N. B., & Bondie, R. (2012). An examination of teachers’ ratings of lesson plans using digital primary sources. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 12(4), 391-407. Retrieved from ERIC.
National Council for the Social Studies. (2008). A vision of powerful teaching and learning in the social studies: Building social understanding and civic efficacy. Retrieved from http://www.socialstudies.org/positions/powerful.
Percoco, J. A. (1998). Passion for the past. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
University of Alabama College of Education. (2014). Conceptual framework. Retrieved from http://education.ua.edu/about/conceptual-framework/.
University of Alabama College of Education. (2014). Secondary education social science. Retrieved from http://education.ua.edu/academics/ci/ssse/.
...eriences. I was able to learn in depth, about the extensive and agonizing journey immigrants experienced to arrive to America by reading from the primary sources which gave me a better understanding of their situations. For example, I learned that if a husband or wife died half way sea, the other person is held responsible for paying for the dead (Hollitz, 45). The pictures and maps also enhanced the way information can be interpreted through primary sources. The paintings of Puritan children clearly demonstrate their feelings and attitude. I was able to see through their uncomfortable position, life style, and virtue by observing their posture, facial expression, and the way they dress. The primary source documents turned out to be very useful in many ways that assisted me to come up with a better understanding in details with chapter 2-4 in Give Me Liberty.
(newspaper, map, image, report, Congressional record, etc.) This document is a newspaper article from World’s Work. 3. Is it a primary or secondary source?
What two significant historical events/ trends were occurring when the document was created? Do not include the specific document, but select related events or trends that contextualize the document. What is the context (background and events going on) of this primary source? Include 1-2 sentences explaining the event/ trend.
The history based on primary source and secondary source, and the history has to have both primary source and secondary source because it has real facts and analyzes. Examples of Primary Sources are speeches, news, photographs..,etc., and examples of secondary sources interpreted topics. This article is primary source essay, and Primary sources are original documents. Primary sources for this article are Christopher Columbus’s Letter,1493 and Fray Bernardino de Sahagun Relates an Aztec Chronicler’s Account of the Spanish Conquest of the Aztecs,1519.
Historical information in the form of a textbook still proves to be valuable because there is no inferring that one must have to do. There is no perspective from one's point of view, no imagery. It is probably the most concrete source of information compared to films, novels, and documentaries. Often times, films and documentaries give the reader's digest version of their subject, and pertinent information is mentioned briefly or just omitted. Information in the form of a textbook is rich and extremely factual. It is in a textbook, that one would be most likely to find information regarding gender, class, ethnicity, and identity. The other sources are, more or less, concentrated on one or the other. Essays are same, in the sense that they can be factual as well. However, like a novel, it may be characterized as having a general theme, or view that is prominent throughout the context of the essay. This may cause for a different portrayal of the Vietnamese gender, class, ethnicity, and identity, based on the writer's perspective, much like that of Duong Thu Huong and her perspective of the North Vietnamese during the Vietnam War.
Primary Source (McMillan, 2012, p. 68): A primary source is an original report in which the investigator(s) presents the methods and findings of his or her own study that he or she conducted.
Upon reviewing the article Reading Primary Sources, there are several themes in which I, as the reader, have discovered present throughout. First and foremost, Kathryn Walbert consistently supports the theme: analyzing the past is an essential step to understanding why humanity is where it is today. History, by Google definition, is both "the study of past events, particularly in human affairs," and "the whole series of past events connected with someone or something." In essence, history is a connected stream of events that leads up to now. It is through primary sources that historians have been able to create factual records of the past. The question is, why? As a species, mankind is defined by where they come from; this is history. Walbert discusses the importance of primary sources, stating that "historians must rely on records left behind" to understand the people
Rael, Patrick. “How to Read a Primary Source.” Reading, Writing, and Researching for History. Reading, Writing, and Researching for History. Bowdoin College. Web. 14 February 2014.
The literature on social studies enjoys a wide range of social movement’s definitions (Christiansen 2009). This diversity of such a definition is due to the fact that theorists tend to define the term of a social movement depending on their particular theoretical formulation (Diani 1992). Therefore, this section will first consider definitions proposed by group of scholars that represent four major trends in social movements analysis. These trends are as follow, the ‘Collective Behavior Perspective’ (Turner and Killian), the ‘Resource Mobilization Theory’ (RMT) (ZaId and McCarthy); the ‘Political Process Perspective (Tilly); and the ‘New Social Movements Approach’ (NSMs) (Touraine, Melucci). Then, a definition by Della Porta and Diani is selected as this definition has been centered on the most important characteristics of the social movements and oft-cited by researchers.
In this paper I will be writing about Why we teach social studies. I will also go over why and how we teach social studies. I will also go what makes me a good candidate to teach social studies. I will go through these in good detail and try to provide good information to use in this essay.
With the widespread use of digital technology, the classroom teaching approaches and practices went through remarkable changes. When compared to the past ten years, today the classrooms look entirely different in terms of programs and technical tools used to enhance the learning skills of students.
Wright, Vivian H. and Elizabeth K. Wilson. "Teacher’s Use of Technology: Lessons Learned from the Teacher Education Program to the Classroom." 20.2 (2011): 48-58. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.
This report goes into detail about the reasons social studies is a core subject in the New Zealand curriculum, how social studies has a unique role in preparing children to be active and critical participants in a changing society, defines and explains what ‘powerful social studies’ is and lastly it will explain what qualities are required of a successful Social Studies teacher. For the purpose of this report “social studies is the systematic study of an integrated body of content from the social sciences and humanities to develop socially informed and effective citizens who are empowered with knowledge and skills in a changing society” (Barr, H., Graham, J., Hunter, P., Keown, P., & McGee, J. 1997, p. 5).
Social Studies education is a subject in today’s schools that is undervalued. The study of social studies in schools help young people develop the ability to make informed and reasoned decisions as citizens of a culturally diverse, democratic society in an interdependent world (Seefeldt, Castle, & Falconer, 2010). When participating in social studies class children are learning so much about who they are, where they came from, how to succeed in the world, and more. Most of what we teach daily includes an aspect of social studies. But, since the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001 de-emphasis or nonexistence of elementary social studies is the national focus because of high stakes testing (Sunal, & Sunal, 2008). Social studies
Mundy, M., Kupczynski, L. and Kee, R. 2012, “Teacher's Perceptions of Technology Use in the Schools”, SAGE Open, pp. 1-8, viewed 15 Jan 2014, retrieved from Sage Online Article.