Teaching with Primary Resources

100 Milestone Documents : http://www.ourdocuments.gov/index.php?flash=true&
Explore these 100 documents that reflect our diversity and our unity, our past and our future.

Images of American Political History : http://teachpol.tcnj.edu/amer_pol_hist/
Beyond showing the faces of politicians and the famous, this collection chronicles average
people who quietly contributed to the times. Browse photos from World War II,
Cold War, and Civil Rights eras. Photographs are in the public domain, which means they are copyright-free.

Decoding Photographs : http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/education/008-3080-e.html
This site is a great learning tool to teach students how to understand history by learning how to "read" and decode a photograph.

Does the Camera Ever Lie? : http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/cwphtml/cwpcam/cwcam1.html
Library of Congress presentation of how photographs were manipulated by photographers during the Civil War.

Smithsonian Images : http://smithsonianimages.si.edu/siphoto/siphoto.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=home
Photographs from a variety of topics.

Using Primary Sources on the Web : http://www.lib.washington.edu/subject/History/RUSA/
A clear explanation of what primary sources are, where to find them, how to evaluate them, and how to cite them in your work.

Primary Sources vs. Secondary Sources : http://dohistory.org/on_your_own/toolkit/primarySources.html
This site explains the difference between a primary and secondary source.
It also provides students with questions to ask when gathering evidence about a primary source document.

You Be the Historian : http://americanhistory.si.edu/kids/springer/
At this site you become the historian in an online adventure.

Do History : http://dohistory.org/ This site invites users to piece together the life and world
of an ordinary person from the past. The site includes thousands of original documents -
diaries, maps, letters, and court records.

Interactives: Historical and Cultural Contexts : http://www.learner.org/interactives/historical/
This interactive website explains different types of primary sources and
gives students the chance to identify them in some games.

If You've Seen One Source, You've Seen Them All, Right? : http://www.beaconlearningcenter.com/WebLessons/OneSource/default.htm
This online and interactive tour through American history takes a look at both primary and secondary sources,
and how students can identify and use them both.

The Learning Page: Especially for Teachers : http://memory.loc.gov/learn/
Great ideas for using primary resources with students of all ages.

American Memory Project : http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html
Comprehensive collection of resources on a variety of topics.

Frontline: The Gulf War : http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/gulf/index.html
Oral histories concerning the 1990-1991 Gulf War.

Picturing the Century : http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/picturing_the_century/home.html
This site commemorates the end of the 20th century with a selection of photographs from the
vast holdings of the National Archives and Records Administration.

American Rhetoric : http://www.americanrhetoric.com/ Database of 5000+ full text, audio and
video versions of public speeches, sermons, legal proceedings, lectures, debates,
interviews, and other recorded media events.

MSD Perry Township Media/Technology Indianapolis IN