Digital Primary Sources

I really did not realize how many great sites there are online for digital primary sources. Analyzing primary sources are an important part of learning what it means to be a historian. We barely focused on primary sources when I was in high school. Even when we did, the rationale was to prepare for the DBQ on the AP exam. During college, I was suddenly forced to analyze primary sources and construct meaning from them, with very little practice. Primary sources are such a huge part of history, and they can really connect with students on a different level than textbooks and other secondary sources. Using these sources has become easier than ever because they are in digital format. Each of the sites we have explored offers a great variety, so we can be sure not to present a bias picture of history. They also are mostly very user-friendly and search-able.

If nothing else, as a teacher I can access them myself and teach students methods of extracting meaning and incorporating them into the secondary information they already know and have studied. Even if I teach in a school where there is minimal technology, I can bring most of these resources such as photos, political cartoons, music, and newspaper articles to my students for us to use in class. Hopefully, with technological innovation and improving situations in schools, I can even scaffold students to find and piece together these sources themselves. Using primary sources promotes creativity and requires analysis, and these skills are important. It may take a little more planning and effort, but I hope the integration of digital primary sources in my classroom will move past the limited use of occasional special projects and into daily meaningful integration of content and technology.