Primary Source Archives
1. Library of Congress: The nation’s first cultural institution that is the largest library established. There is a collection of digital primary sources. There are photos, written accounts, letters, maps, and many other primary source tools to be used in a lesson plan.
2. National Archives: Documents created by the United States Federal government are kept and recorded here. It keeps the business of the United States in records and documents.
3. CivilWar.gov: A collection of resources from the civil war era. It has maps and battlefields and other important information on the civil war.
4. The National Archives Experience Digital Vaults: Holds a vast amount of primary sources and goes through them for you by subject, time period, presidents and various other ways. It is a way to keep primary sources organized and stored away to use.
5. World Digital Library: Holds vast amounts of primary sources from around the world. Has various American Civil War photos, speeches, and manuscripts.
Analysis Tools
1. Photo Analysis:
The students will obtain a photo from the time period and be asked to examine it. While examining the photograph, they will take their time and really study it. Filling out the worksheet on the photo will help them in interpreting the primary source. Giving the students some background knowledge on what it was like to have a photograph taken in the time during the civil war will help them in interpreting the photos given to them.
The students will obtain a photo from the time period and be asked to examine it. While examining the photograph, they will take their time and really study it. Filling out the worksheet on the photo will help them in interpreting the primary source. Giving the students some background knowledge on what it was like to have a photograph taken in the time during the civil war will help them in interpreting the photos given to them.
2. Written Document Analysis:
This is a worksheet used to help student interpret a written primary source. First they discover what type of a primary source it is. Look for dates and who it was written for. During the American Civil War a lot of primary sources came from written materials. This document helps students to dissect the written primary source to be able to understand it on a critical thinking level.
Lesson Plans
Lesson 1: Japanese Internment Camps.
Students will analyze documents to answer the question of why the Japanese American's were sent to internment camps during World War II. |
Lesson 2: Loyalists
Students will look at the Loyalists to the British crown during the time of the American colonies. They will interpret who the loyalists were and why they were against independence. |