tipstricks

=Some Useful Tips for Teaching with Primary Documents =


 * ===KNOW YOUR GOALS: whether it be a state learning standard, a local standard, or your own personal goal, know what you plan to accomplish when teaching with primary source documents. This is a crucial step for when you begin to identify resources and design learning activities.===
 * ===PLAN ACCORDINGLY: plan, plan, plan! Primary documents do not come ready-made, so a lot of planning must be done before introducing them to students in the classroom. Know the steps of your lesson, and don't be afraid to break your lesson up into several periods. Documents can sometimes be difficult when you spend time analyzing and interpreting with your students (this takes practice and is difficult if one does not do this often). Have a plan. Try your hardest to stick to it.===
 * ===READ: read your documents in their __//entirety//__. Know them inside and out. Annotate or interpret sections that students might have difficulty with. Know the general ideas and points, their significance, and supporting details. Be able to summarize for your students, if needed.===

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 * ===PICTURES REALLY CAN SPEAK A THOUSAND WORDS: cartoons, especially those of a political nature, can be especially interesting and can really help give students an idea of the general "feeling" during a historical era. Students who have reading difficulties can benefit greatly by visual-spatial exposure to primary documents, but so can all other students. Photographs and paintings (and even video, if appropriate) are also incredibly effective, but require some extra preparation (procure laptops, projectors, etc.) //Remember//: if you display a painting or photograph, it's important to be familiar with the details--and if possible, how they fit into the "big picture."===
 * ===GIVE STUDENTS SOME DEGREE OF CONTROL: students will be much more apt to take interest and be enthusiastic about the documents you introduce to them if they have some degree of control over which they actually study in-depth. This comes back to planning; make sure you have several different documents surrounding the same topic (if possible) so that students can choose which documents they want to interpret. At the same time, all students will be meeting the same learning goals, but choosing which way they want to get there individually.===
 * ===NOT A NOVELTY: if you use textbooks for the primary amount of teaching in your classroom, students are likely to view anything different as a novelty which they are not accountable for. Set clear expectations in advance that students will be accountable and assessed for their learning during these activities. Treat historical photographs with the respect and sincerity they deserve, and your students will take their work as historians just as (if not more) seriously.===
 * ===REQUIRE AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT: don't let students get by with just regurgitating what a document or photograph says or show; help them to analyze, interpret, or compare and contrast the documents to ensure that their learning is real and meaningful. Create assessments that allow students to show this, and provide expectations for the students' assessment prior to beginning the activity. This way, you are setting students up for success!===