Elementary Methods: Primary Sources

I thought/ I remember….

When I was reading this, I was thinking of how effective primary source materials were as a kid. Still today, primary materials are the most helpful, and of course the most engaging.

In the field…

In the field I feel that I see this all the time. Students are much more engaged with the proof and the raw details. They like to see it before they believe it. An example of this I see in my field work right now is my first graders exploring outdoors and what it has to offer. Yes, we do read about the things we are studying outside, but then we apply that to the real world, and get them involved with the actual materials and habitat.

I believe…

“Using primary sources is a way to link the human in the classroom with the humans involved in the creation of the sources. Often students fail to see the link between the remote past and the immediate present. Primary sources can create a bridge over that gap, a way of "tuning in" (Danzer and Newman 1996, 21) to the teaching of social studies”

I believe using primary sources is totally the way to grab kids’ attentions. Kids need the real deal to stay tuned in. Naturally if you were learning about butterflies, it would be much more engaging to see the actual butterfly that a picture of one. A student’s engagement is determined by your effort to engage them.

A connection I can make is…

A connection I can make to this is when I was in middle school and we had WW2 veterans come in and talk to different grades about the war, what it was like, and how it affected them. This was much more engaging than reading about the war because these men had actually been there- they were living proof! Another cool thing I remember was them bringing in different things they had acquired overseas; swastika arm bands, helmets, glasses, and mapping tools.