Digital+Primary+Sources

**Digital Primary Sources**

**Content** Digital Primary Sources in a Secondary Social Studies Setting

**Grade Level** This strategy would work best in grade levels 4th-12th depending on the content that is being taught and how much technological assitance will need to be offered.

**Curriculum Standards** Cso's for ninth grade students: SS.O.9.5.3 read and in interpret historical charts, tables, graphs, narratives, primary source documents, political cartoons and timelines and summarize their information.

**Description of Practices** Primary sources are actual artifacts that are used to teach students about various events that have happened in history. Primary sources include letters from presidents or soldiers, paintings, pictures, music, voice recordings and much more. Digital primary sources include all of the above, but are found online for the students to browse and learn from. The teacher can show the students the digital primary source as a group, in small groups, or individually depending on the topic at hand. Digital Primary Sources can be used to inroduce a subject area in history or used after or during a lesson as well. Digital Primary sources can all be used before having a students complete a project.

**Implementation Considerations** This strategy can be used in whole group settings, co-teaching settings, small groups and with individual students. If the students are researching digital primary sources individually, the teacher should consider having a choice of primary sources already available for the students to choose from. Another consideration would be how much technology is available for the students in the room. In a whole group setting a teacher would need to have some sort of projector or smart board in the room in order for all of the students to see the digital primary source. If a teacher would like to show digital primary sources in a small group or individual setting, they will need to consider how many computers are actually available in the room or in the computer lab. Another consideration would be to for the teacher to make sure the studends are able to access the website where the digital primary source from the school.

**Example** This website offers letter from soldiers during different wars that they sent to family members or friends. There are many letters that can be used from this website to introduce the wars that have occurred in our countries history. []

This is an actual letter from the website. []

**Citation** Friedman, A. M. (2006). World history teachers' use of primary sources: the effect of training. //Theory and Research in Social Education//, //34//(n1), 124-141. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.www.libproxy.wvu.edu/ehost/detail?vid=13&hid=11&sid=f42c2ed5-8103-45b5-a43e-ec1aaa2715da@sessionmgr11&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ