Interacting with Primary Sources

Primary Source, the organization, takes its name from the same term used by historians to distinguish original, uninterpreted material from secondary or third-hand accounts. Making Freedom utilizes a range of primary and secondary sources including photographs, letters, census records, speeches, advertisements and maps used over time. 

Students may initially have some difficulty interacting with primary sources. Though our student resources/primary sources may have been retyped, no changes have been made to the original language. As a result, the documents contain syntax with which students may not be familiar, as well as vocabulary no longer in active use or the meaning of which has shifted.  Sometimes words are also spelled differently.  Though each teacher knows best how to adapt a lesson to the students’ skill level, we have included suggestions, such as having students work in pairs or small groups, reading the documents aloud to the class, and/or providing vocabulary definitions before students tackle the documents in order to make it easier to navigate use. 

When using Primary Sources, there is a wonderful opportunity for students to engage in the inquiry process beyond what they would normally reach by simply reading about an event in a typical textbook. Introducing students to original sources allows students the opportunity to get a true glimpse into the past as well as to the desires, beliefs and experiences of people in other times and places. 

We encourage teachers to resist the urge to provide students with a set narrative of facts and instead prompt students to use primary sources to create that narrative themselves.  While students may initially need the context and background knowledge provided, in the student content section, to the extent possible, prompt them to ask questions that help them to build their own understanding. Steering students to begin to notice and unravel complexities as well as recognize the bias in the sources that have even been preserved will support their critical analysis and lead to richers discussion and understanding. 

At the conclusion of any lesson utilizing sources we encourage teachers to consider the following reflection activity.

Reflection:

After looking at or utilizing sources, students should reflect on the process of using sources to gather information and form a picture or understanding of history. Students can consider these guiding questions, either in writing or in a discussion:

• Which sources did you find most interesting? Why?
• Which of the sources seem most credible and accurate in the history they convey? Explain.
• Which of the sources seem less credible and accurate, or offer a more subjective, or limited, perspective on the time period or figure? Explain.
• What questions do these documents raise that could be used to guide you in further research to better understand this time period and these issues?  Where might you go to find those answers?