Apprenticing Adolescent Readers to Academic Literacy

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A teacher helping her students with a reading assigment. NHEC
Article Body
Reading in the History Classroom

National test scores show that middle and high school students struggle with analytic reading. Yet, after elementary school, reading instruction is not seen as the province of any particular teacher. The authors of this study see a place for reading instruction in all classrooms, arguing that students need to continue to develop their reading abilities while also learning subject-specific reading skills. For history teachers, this means not only teaching content, but also teaching students how to read historical texts.

The Academic Literacy course the authors designed consisted of three units, one of which—Reading History—was designed to help students better understand how to approach historical texts. The authors hoped students would begin to see history as "an interpretive and contentious enterprise" rather than "a burdensome exercise in memorization." In pursuing this aim, teachers helped students develop a set of strategies for reading primary and secondary sources, exposed students to a range of texts including content-rich films, and ultimately asked them to assume the role of historian in an investigative project.

Cognitive Apprenticeship

The authors promote a cognitive apprenticeship approach to literacy development that they call Reading Apprenticeship (RA). RA "involves teachers and their students as partners in a collaborative inquiry into reading and reading processes as they engage with subject-area texts." In short, teachers model reading skills for students, serving as "master" of subject-area texts. The aim is to make visible the hidden mental processes involved in higher-order reading, showing students what successful readers do when they read.

Metacognitive Conversations

Beyond simply serving as models, teachers also promoted what the authors called a metacognitive conversation. Teachers helped students begin to compare their own approaches to reading with the approach a master reader takes. In doing so, teachers asked students to explore what kind of readers they are, what strategies they use while reading, and what sorts of things they need to know in order to understand different texts.

Learning How to Read History Texts

Using the RA model, teachers helped students improve as readers of history. Students became aware of and more capable of:

  • analyzing text structure and organization
  • close-reading and rereading for key words
  • identifying central ideas in the text

    • linking parts of the text together to construct meaning

Overall, this approach raised academic achievement on both standardized measures and those designed by the researchers. It also promoted student interest and academic identity.

In the Classroom

Think of teaching history as teaching reading. Plan lessons where guiding students in making sense of historical texts is central to the activities.

  • Begin a conversation with your students about reading history. Have them read a short excerpt from a historical text and then ask them about how they read. This can lead to a larger discussion about reading strategies in history classes.
  • Model for them how to read a historical text by "thinking aloud" while you read. You can watch a historian do it with this Scopes Trial lesson at Historical Thinking Matters.
  • You can watch a student do it with this lesson on social security at Historical Thinking Matters.
  • Begin developing some simple class best practices about how to approach reading in the history classroom.
Sample Application

The excerpts below are from an interview with a student who discusses her experience with reading in the history classroom. The first excerpt describes her typical experience before Reading Apprenticeship. The second excerpt describes her experience reading history texts in an RA classroom.

It was pretty much, answer the red square questions, explain a little, [answer the] red square questions, explain a little. And the questions just pretty much had to do with what you were reading. And it wasn't like it was spread all over the place, like you had to read it. It was just like, if the red square question was here, you knew it was somewhere around that area right there. And you could just look for the answer and copy it down and you got full credit for it. So you didn't have to read. It was something that you could like slide by without them knowing. I don't know if they cared or not, but that's the way everybody did it. You see the red square question and you sort of calculate where it's around, you find the answer, and you write it down and that's it.

Now it's like, you have to talk about it. You have to explain what you read. You have to make a tree about it, okay? And figure out those details. You have to get more into the book than you realize. So, this book is kind of different. Also the way we're talking in class.

For more information

Ruth Schoenbach, Cynthia Greenleaf, Christine Cziko, and Lori Hurwitz, Reading for Understanding: A Guide to Improving Reading in Middle and High School Classrooms (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1999).

Audrey Fielding, Ruth Schoenbach, and Marean Jordan, eds., Building Academic Literacy: Lessons from Reading Apprenticeship Classrooms, Grades 6–12 (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2003).

Ruth Schoenbach, Jane Braunger, Cynthia Greenleaf, and Cindy Litma, "Apprenticing Adolescents to Reading in Subject-Area Classrooms," Phi Delta Kappan, October 2003.

The Strategic Literacy Initiative at WestEd.

Bibliography

Cynthia L. Greenleaf, Ruth Schoenbach, Christine Cziko, and Faye L. Mueller, “Apprenticing Adolescent Readers to Academic Literacy,” in The Harvard Educational Review (71) 1, Spring 2001.

Bridging the Language Barrier

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"Three several alphabets of the Japanese language," 1727, Kaempfer, NYPL
Question

I want to have my students analyze primary sources, but too often, language is a barrier. For example, James Otis's speech on the Writs of Assistance, is too hard for 8th-grade students to understand. How can I use these types of primary sources without having to break the whole document down for them?

Answer

Excerpt and scaffold!

Don't be shy about using an excerpt from a document like Otis's rather than the entire speech. While many of us cringe at cutting rich historical documents for our students, it is a necessary step if we are to actually use them in our classrooms. Once you get past the uneasy feeling, then the choice of what to excerpt can pose additional questions. I like to start with the beginning of the document and see if I can use the opening lines. In the case of Otis's speech (or any other document) this depends upon what you are using the document for.

Using the beginning of Otis's speech might work if you are using it to engage your students with the beginning of public revolutionary talk, but not so good if you are using it to help students understand his specific complaint. So when you excerpt, think about what historical question(s) students are considering when they approach the text.

Then think short. Using documents like these is an opportunity for students to learn how to slow down, read closely, and analyze. Anyone can look up Otis on Wikipedia and find an encyclopedic entry about the content and significance of the speech. But reading the words themselves allow students to work on imagining that world, a world where lengthy speeches engaged the populace, and deliberate word choices and tone inspired passion and rebellion in an audience's heart.

But still, the language and syntax in Otis's speech are too difficult for many 8th-graders (as are many pre-20th-century sources). Given a short excerpt, students still need support. Vocabulary legends, guiding questions, working with others to translate the documents—all of these can help students comprehend and analyze the document. And this is just the beginning of a longer list of supports. An orienting headnote is probably a non-negotiable.

And then, I'll go out on a limb and say that in some cases, modifying the language of the document can be necessary. This is necessary when putting primary sources into the hands of struggling readers or English language learners. While this, again, makes many of us wince, it can make the difference between our students getting to work with primary sources and experiencing history as a vibrant and interpretive activity or merely memorizing the textbook's narrative.

Kudos to you for puzzling over how to use these challenging sources with your students.

And hopefully others will chime in with ideas!

Lower Level Learners: Teaching Their Way

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Photo, More scaffolding being built, April 13, 2005, Augapfel, Flickr
Question

How do you impart knowledge to low learner students? How do you help them understand the lesson?

Answer

That’s a big question! And an important one. While there are many methods for reaching lower level students, two key strategies can help you think this through: scaffolding and formative assessments.

Scaffolding

As teachers, we often focus so much on where we want students to be that we forget we must begin by meeting them where they are. When a building is constructed, scaffolds are placed around the building to give it additional support. As the building becomes more stable on its own, the scaffolds are removed, a few at a time. Eventually, the building stands independently of the scaffolds. Similarly, "scaffolding" your lessons provides additional support to students as they work toward understanding the content on their own.

You can scaffold your lessons in a wide variety of ways, depending on your students' specific needs. Some useful scaffolds include graphic organizers, guided notes (notes that are already partially completed for the student), pre-teaching important vocabulary, and adapting reading materials to students' reading levels. Below we discuss two of these methods: modifying documents, and using KWL charts.

Modifying Documents

Understanding the sometimes archaic or complex language of historical texts can be challenging even for experienced students of history.

Understanding the sometimes archaic or complex language of historical texts can be challenging even for experienced students of history. For struggling readers, such a task can be nearly impossible. When the choice is modifying documents or not using them at all, we support doing the former. By modernizing spelling and punctuation, removing confusing or unnecessary phrases, even replacing difficult vocabulary, you open the door for your struggling students to have more successful experiences in historical analysis. For guidance on adapting and modifying challenging historical texts, see this teaching guide on adapting historical documents for the classroom.

K-W-L Charts

Another valuable method for scaffolding, or supporting student understanding while simultaneously preparing them to become independent learners, is the "KWL chart," a simple graphic organizer in which students first list what they already know about a particular historic source (K), and what they want to know (W). This strategy not only helps you as the teacher to see where your students are at the beginning of the lesson, but also helps students read a source closely, connect your lesson with their prior knowledge, and provides a structure for students to organize their new understandings.

Formative Assessment

The KWL activity also demonstrates our second key strategy for meeting the needs of struggling students—formative assessment. As teachers, we must continually assess student understanding and use what we find out to plan our instruction. What do students already know about a topic? What have they learned from a particular lesson? What don’t they understand? Sometimes we get so caught up with planning our lessons, we forget to focus on what students actually learned from that lesson. Using K-W-L charts allows you to see what students understand at the outset of a lesson, and at its close.

The beginning portion of this video clip illustrates how one teacher works assessment into her lessons. She starts with a question, "What does it mean to be an American?" that allows her to see students' beginning ideas. Then, when students are working with historical sources about the immigrant experience, she circulates through the classroom and listens to individual students make sense of the documents.

As you continuously check for student understanding in a variety of ways, you will see how students are making sense (or in some cases, not making sense) of the material.

Formative assessments can be as simple as a brief one-on-one conversation like those shown in the video, or a short "ticket-out"—a small slip of paper on which students must write one thing they learned before leaving class for the day. They can be more complicated, such as requiring plans and drafts for written work where you can see whether students understand key aspects of historical writing, such as using evidence to support a thesis, or including important background information. As you continuously check for student understanding in a variety of ways, you will see how students are making sense (or in some cases, not making sense) of the material. You will more easily detect misconceptions and most importantly, you can use this information to plan your next instructional steps.

The fact that you are even asking this question shows that you are moving in the right direction—you are aware of how your students are doing, and you see that some of them need additional help. We wish you the best as you work to scaffold their learning, and continually assess their understanding to design lessons that will meet their individual needs.

For more information

Also see these related questions: How do I use difficult primary sources with my 8th graders? and How do I use DBQs with struggling readers?

Dirt on Their Skirts

Description

This electronic field trip looks at pioneering women baseball players, owners, umpires, and teams from as early as 1866, all the way up to present-day women playing and working in baseball. The common thread running through the stories examined is the efforts of women and girls to be a part of America's national pastime: baseball.

Many Americans are surprised to learn that women once played professional baseball in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL), from 1943-1954. Founded by Chicago Cubs owner Phil Wrigley as a method to entertain Americans and keep ball parks full during World War II, the league provided an unprecedented opportunity for young women to play professional baseball; see the country; and aspire to careers beyond the traditional female roles of teacher, secretary, nurse, librarian, or housewife.

Making the Leap

Article Body

Teachers and students have had a love-hate relationship with the history textbook for as long as there have been history textbooks to read (or, more to the point, to assign for reading). This really hit home for me in 2008, at the end of one of the most frustrating school years ever. My students had turned hating the textbook into an art, and I was determined to figure out why and find some solutions that would work in my class.

Across the board, students said that they would be significantly more likely to read if the reading were shorter and more engaging.

At the end of that year, I gave my students a survey, asking them about the book, the class, what worked, and what didn’t. Some of the results were surprising, most were not. On the one hand, 66% of my students said that, taken as a whole, reading the textbook was helpful in understanding/being successful in the class. On the other hand, only 40% said that they read at least 80% of the time (and only 15% said that they read all the assignments). Across the board, students said that they would be significantly more likely to read if the reading were shorter and more engaging.

Thus began my team's efforts to find alternatives to the book. Our first goal was to find readings that would be more targeted to the goals we have for our class. A second, and still very important goal, was to make sure that it did not involve any additional cost to the students. Turning to the internet was the most obvious choice.

The result of our efforts was the creation of e-learning folios for each unit. Students are given "big picture questions" for the unit, followed by a series of thematic "learning modules" that students read for class and lists of key terms and ideas that accompany each of them. The learning modules are comprised of a series of links to different online sources, including online digital textbooks, digital museums, primary source readings, and online videos and lessons.

Results

Since implementing our new curriculum, we have noticed some positive results. First, our readings are more targeted. We have been able to really help our students focus on what they need to know from the reading, and we can supplement and enrich that in class. The result is that our students' reading load has been reduced by about 10%.

Secondly, our readings are richer. Rather than just giving students the textbook version of, for example, the New Deal, we have been able to incorporate more readings from historians and have encouraged them to explore a wider array of sources as part of their reading.

. . . we have been able to incorporate more readings from historians and have encouraged them to explore a wider array of sources as part of their reading.

Third, our students are encouraged to engage in more online assignments and collaboration. Using the computer to learn about history is more of the norm in our classes, rather than a novelty. Students are encouraged to use that information in new ways that engage "digital natives." Finally, our students have continued to perform. While our foray into the digital world was met, at first, with consternation from parents, in the three years that we have been using this system, our students have actually performed better on the AP US history exam than they had in the past.

With all of that said, there are still some limitations that need to be addressed. The first, and most obvious, limitation is access. While almost all of the students in my school have reliable internet access, there are still some that rely on access at school or for whom we have to provide printed copies of some articles. With nearly 29% of American households lacking reliable access to the internet (according to the Department of Commerce's Digital Nation report), the "digital divide" is still a real obstacle, and until states begin to provide students with access to computers and the internet, digital learning will never truly be the norm.

Second, we lose out on "found time" for studying. Students have lost the ability to use their time on the bus or in the bleachers after practice unless they have wireless access. One odd result has been the number of students who ask to check out a textbook instead. Some students simply prefer a hard copy. In fact, one of the most surprising complaints I have received about our system is that it is too costly. When I have asked students to elaborate on this, it has turned out that many of my students actually print out all of our readings so they can highlight and take notes.

We have yet to find the one "magic bullet" source that has everything we need. . .

Finally, the downside of our efforts to "pare down" the readings and provide more targeted sources is that the students have lost the sense of narrative that the textbooks provide. No textbook can be everything to all classes, and this is even more true with online sources, which tend to have fewer resources at their disposal. We have yet to find the one "magic bullet" source that has everything we need, and while it is great to have to flexibility to incorporate elements from a number of sources, we have had to work diligently to find reputable sources and redouble our efforts to show how all of the disparate elements they are reading fit together.

In short, the use of online sources as an alternative to traditional textbooks provides myriad opportunities to engage students and enrich the curriculum in the history classroom. However, solving the "textbook problem" can create its own set of problems that teachers will still have to address.

Teaser

Solving the "textbook problem" can create its own set of problems that teachers will still have to address.

APPARTS Strategy: Origins and Implementation

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Photography, Circle of pencils, 27 Aug 2006, Sally Mahoney, Flickr CC
Question

I am writing a lit review on Digital History, and want to include some work regarding APPARTS. I've had difficulty finding scholarly work regarding the APPARTS strategy. I am hoping that you know of a couple of scholarly articles that deal with APPARTS.

Answer
Origins

APPARTS was developed by the Social Studies Vertical Teams Committee of the College Board to promote equity and access to Advanced Placement courses. By the mid-1990s, the College Board committed itself to the elimination of gate-keeping strategies for entry into AP courses, believing that many underserved students could benefit from a more rigorous curriculum. Contingent on the success of those students was earlier exposure to rigorous academic work from middle school on. As a result, the College Board developed a series of pre-AP initiatives designed to foster better preparation for challenging courses. One of those was the Social Studies Vertical Teams Guide.

The original Social Studies Vertical Teams Guide was divided into five sections:

  • Improving Student Comprehension: Primary Sources
  • Improving Student Comprehension: Secondary Sources
  • Synthesizing Information: Categorization, Generalization, and Evaluation
  • Preparing Students for Assessment
  • Tying It All Together

Several Advanced Placement Social Studies exams require students to analyze primary source documents and write an essay known as the Document-Based Question (DBQ). With that in mind, the Social Studies Vertical Team Committee generated a strategy which would allow students to more closely analyze primary source documents and more effectively use the essence of those documents in their essays. Thus APPARTS was born.

The Strategy
APPARTS is designed to get students to focus on key elements of the document and to evaluate the relative importance of these elements. . .

APPARTS is designed to get students to focus on key elements of the document and to evaluate the relative importance of these elements in affecting the reliability of this document. Those elements are:

  • Author: Students should look closely at who authored the piece. What do they know about the author that would affect the reliability of the document? Are they aware of any bias the author might possess which would color the account? In AP World and AP European history, point-of-view factors heavily in the grading of the DBQ.
  • Place and Time: When and where was the source produced, and how might this affect the meaning of the document? If time and place is not given in the source, are there clues within the document as to the time and place of origin?
  • Prior Knowledge: Based on the author and time and place of the source, what additional knowledge can a student trigger from this document? An example might be a document from John C. Calhoun which doesn’t mention nullification. A student might know that John C. Calhoun authored the South Carolina Exposition and Protest which espoused the compact theory of government and the possibility of nullification. A political cartoon might have drawings of an elephant and donkey. Can the student determine what those symbols represent?
  • Audience: Who was the source created for, and how might this affect the reliability of the document? Would we anticipate that Richard Nixon would say the same things to his advisors in the Oval Office concerning the Watergate break-in that he would in a radio address to the American people? Why would Franklin Roosevelt say, "Your boys are not going to be sent to any foreign wars?"
  • Reason: Why was this document produced at the time and place it was? Prior knowledge, time and place, author, audience all factor in to a student being able to determine reason. Why would Andrew Jackson says, "John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it" in 1832? Why would Joseph Keppler draw the anti-immigration restriction cartoon "Looking Backward" in 1893?
  • Main Idea: What is the point the document is trying to make? It is essential that students be able to synthesize the information in the source and express it in a single sentence, rather than simply paraphrasing or directly quoting the document.
  • Significance: On the Advanced Placement exam, students are always asked to examine documents relative to a specific question. In the Significance component of APPARTS, students must ask themselves the question, "How and why does this document support my thesis?" The AP Vertical Teams Guide suggests that students ask themselves, "So what?"

The purpose of APPARTS is to develop student skills which will enhance their ability to use primary source documents as evidence in analytical essays. Ideally, APPARTS should be introduced in a pre-AP setting (middle school) well before students encounter their first Advanced Placement class.

One Word of Caution
APPARTS is not a test taking strategy. [. . .] APPARTS must have become [. . .] an intuitive part of examining documents.

APPARTS is not a test-taking strategy. Document-Based Questions on the Advanced Placement exams allow students only 15 minutes to read and analyze somewhere between eight to 12 documents. There is no time to go through the APPARTS process. Therefore, APPARTS must have become, in the words of the AP Social Studies Vertical Teams Guide, "a habit of mind." Student must have had enough practice so that it has become an intuitive part of examining documents.

Note from Teachinghistory.org

We are not aware of any research done on the use of the APPARTS strategy, but we hope that this information about its origins is helpful. The literature that addresses historical reading and asking questions of text may be useful—please explore Research Briefs.

Amy Trenkle's Columbus in the Capital

Date Published
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Students at DC Columbus memorial
Students at DC Columbus memorial
Students at DC Columbus memorial
Students at DC Columbus memorial
Students at DC Columbus memorial
Students at DC Columbus memorial
Article Body
Columbus in Context

When I first started teaching a little more than 10 years ago, very few of my students knew why they were getting Columbus Day off. Now, I find a lot more know why they have the day off and have a pretty strong opinion as to whether or not it should be celebrated as a national holiday. I've enjoyed watching my students be able to express their opinions better and better throughout the years.

While my U.S. History state standards do not cover Columbus's voyages and exploration, I find it is a lesson worth teaching, and very timely with the holiday. As my students have grown in their knowledge and understanding of Columbus, I have had to change my lesson to contain more depth. One way I like to do that is by integrating a local monument into our discussion.

Preparing for the Site Visit

I start the lesson out by reading several chapters from Joy Hakim's A History of US, Book 1. The chapters talk about Columbus's character, his experiences, and effect on the "New World." While most of my students cite that Columbus shouldn't have a holiday because he didn't "find" anything new—that there were inhabitants living there already—they are unaware of the details of his encounters with Native Americans. They also do not know about the Columbian Exchange or Columbus's use of scientific knowledge to aid his survival.

After our reading, complete with guiding questions, I ask the students why we have memorials. Most say that it is to remember a person or an event. Here in DC, student examples range from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial to the Vietnam Wall. I tell them that we are going to go see a memorial to Christopher Columbus. I ask them what a 'symbol' is and work with the definition until there is an understanding among the students. We talk about how memorials and monuments convey their message through words and symbols. I tell the students that we are going to be looking at this memorial for symbols.

While the Columbus Memorial is only a few blocks from our school, and many of my students pass it twice a day, most do not know about it. Those that do, usually do because they had a sibling in my class in previous years.

After a quick reminder on memorial etiquette and general good behavior expectations, I have the students get their jackets, take a handout that I provide, and a pen or pencil. . . .and we're off!

On-site with Christopher Columbus

The five-block walk to Union Station is quick, and as we come up to it, I can hear many of my students say that they know this memorial, but they never knew what it was about or who it was to.

I tell the students they have between 10 and 15 minutes to look at the memorial and to answer the questions on their paper. They may work individually or in small groups. I remind them to look for symbols.

The question sheet is not difficult, but it does make them look at the memorial. The questions on the sheet are:

  1. What is your first impression of this monument?
  2. Have you seen this monument before? If you have, did you know that it was a monument to Christopher Columbus?
  3. What symbols do you see on this monument that give you clues to what Columbus did in his life? (List them here.)
  4. Are there any words on the monument? If so, what are they?
  5. Do you think anything is missing from this monument? If so, what? If not, what makes it complete?
  6. Does this monument portray Columbus in a positive or a negative way? How do you know?
  7. Do you think this is an appropriate monument? Why or why not? Give evidence (from our reading yesterday and from your own feelings) to support your answer.

I give them a few minutes to look and then I begin to circulate to see what they have come up with, what questions they have, and maybe to point out a symbol or two they may have missed.

What Do You See?

After 10 or 15 minutes, I call them back together at the front of the memorial and I ask them to share what symbols they have found. Some of them include:

  • lions (for the courage to sail into the unknown)
  • the Native American (on one side of Columbus, to represent the New World)
  • the European man (on the other side of Columbus, to represent the Old World)
  • the bow of the ship (for his means of travel)
  • the three flag poles behind the memorial (to represent the three ships he first sailed on)
  • the medallion of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella on the back (in recognition of who he sailed for and who funded his expeditions)

The students really enjoy being able to share what they found. Some students believe that some of Columbus's crewmates should be added to the memorial because, my students say, he couldn't have done it alone. Some believe that goods from the Columbian Exchange should be integrated into the memorial. Others believe that chains, to represent the start of slavery in the New World, should be added.

Before we go, we always take a group photo.

Responding to the Experience

Upon return to the classroom (my double block is almost up by this time), I ask my students to now write one complete paragraph, taking a definitive stand (no wishy-washy yes and no answers) as to whether or not Columbus should be celebrated with a holiday. Students may not state the day off as a reason for celebrating it. If time permits, I like to have a volunteer for each side of the debate share his/her paragraph. If we have run out of time, then I start my next class with this activity.

It's a great way for my students to think about the holiday, memorials in their community, and to evaluate history. It also provides a great gateway for me to use other memorials and monuments in my teaching as the year continues.

For more information

Maybe you teach earlier grades, or your middle-school or high-school students haven't yet thought to analyze the mythology of Columbus. In her blog entry, 1st-grade teacher Jennifer Orr guides students in engaging with early exploration history.

New to the idea of teaching with monuments and memorials? U.S. history teacher James A. Percoco shows you how he approaches these public memories in this video.

Every picture or sculpture of Columbus looks different. Ever wondered why? No portraits of Columbus taken from life exist today. Take our quiz on images of Columbus, and consider why each artist chose to make Columbus look as they did.

EDSITEment

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Logo, EDSITEment
Annotation

A project of the National Endowment for Humanities (NEH), Verizon Thinkfinity, and the National Trust for the Humanities, EDSITEment gathers together original K-12 lesson plans and links to websites and interactive activities from around the web, in the subject areas "Arts and Culture," "Foreign Language," "Literature and Language Arts," and "History and Social Studies."

For U.S. history and social studies teachers, the heart of the site lies in the "Lesson Plans" section. Visitors can browse more than 376 lesson plans, filterable by topic, grade level, or time required to teach. Lesson plans range across all of U.S. history, and include 12 lessons designed to accompany NEH's Picturing America resources and 53 designed for its We the People program. Each plan is divided into three sections: "The Lesson," "The Basics," and "Resources." "The Lesson" lays the lesson out, including an introduction, guiding questions and learning objectives, the lesson's activities, assessment, and ideas for extending the lesson. "The Basics" gives the lesson's suggested grade level, time required, the subject areas it covers, and its authors. "Resources" rounds up required worksheets and primary sources for download.

A valuable resource for teachers looking for ready-to-go lesson plans and guidance around the web.

If these lesson plans aren't enough, visitors can pick the topic "History and Social Studies" on the "Websites" page. Here, visitors can browse short annotated links to more than 219 websites, vetted by humanities specialists. (Unfortunately, this page has no dedicated search function.)

Still not enough? Visitors can also choose the topic "History and Social Studies" on the "Student Resources" page, and browse more than 124 annotated links to interactive and media features from around the web, filterable by grade level and type of resource.

EDSITEment also offers "NEH Connections," describing and linking out to teaching and learning resources funded by NEH, ranging from books and articles to professional development events, a calendar of historical events (clicking on an event links the visitor to lesson plans and other resources related to the event), and "After School" activities—five social studies and culture-related activities that students can carry out in their communities. The "Reference Shelf," under development, currently presents articles on internet browsing and assessing online resources and links to standards.

Visitors can search the entire site by keyword, grade level, subject area, and resource type using the search bar at the top right of the site. They may also sign up for the site newsletter, volunteer to write or revise lesson plans, or nominate websites for inclusion.

Overall, a valuable resource for teachers looking for ready-to-go lesson plans and guidance around the web.

Teaching Holidays

Looking for resources for Constitution Day? EDSITEment collects a roundup of Constitution Day resources, including 11-item bibliography and webographies and links to relevant EDSITEment lesson plans, interactives related to the Constitution, and the full text of the Constitution in English and Spanish. The collection also links to an EDSITEment spotlight on the Constitution, highlighting more resources and providing orientation to the document and to teaching and learning more about it.

EDSITEment also looks at what led up to the creation of the Constitution (and the Articles of Confederation). In its Fourth of July feature, EDSITEment highlights more than 20 lesson plans on African Americans in the 18th and early 19th centuries, colonial protests, the Declaration of Independence, the Founders, religion's place in colonial America, and the Revolutionary War.

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Realizing the Value of Primary Sources

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India Ink, ". . . Lodge. . . ," Thomas Nast, June 25, 1892, Library of Congress
Question

My middle school students prefer to read secondary sources. How can I explain that primary sources are also valuable in understanding historical events?

Answer

What an interesting question! It provokes other questions—what is it about secondary sources that your students like? And what kinds of secondary sources do they like? Textbooks and movies are a familiar genre for students in middle school and offer a much tidier story than reading primary sources. Primary sources, given their variety, seem very different from these; and may offer challenges to your students that they are reluctant to tackle. Consider that primary sources about the same event can directly contradict, that they can contain antiquated or complex prose, and that the background knowledge necessary to understand a primary source can be substantial; and it definitely makes sense that your students balk at using them.

But this complexity, and the need to analyze and read them carefully, is exactly why your students need to work with them.

So what to do? While explaining to your students the value and importance of primary sources is one approach, combining that explanation with a few activities designed to show, rather than tell, students their importance can be invaluable. Some teachers do activities designed to make the nature of history more explicit for their students. These can range from activities that use everyday situations to uncover the existence of multiple contrasting sources about events to those that require students to investigate a historical question by consulting multiple sources. Both kinds of activities can be used to make points about differences and relationships between primary and secondary sources and the necessity of consulting primary sources to understand history.

For example, "everyday" activities could include:

  • Students write accounts of the first day of class or school, teacher selects some to read, and then the class discusses why and how they differ. If a school newsletter addressed the beginning of school, use this to introduce secondary accounts into the activity.
  • Stage a brief dramatic episode (for example, a verbal altercation) with a colleague and then have students write what happened. Compare accounts, generate questions that need to be asked of the accounts, and then consider how these interact with a hypothetical account of the same from the school newspaper—the secondary account in this activity.
  • Read, analyze, and compare conflicting accounts of a community event that you find in the school or local newspaper. Identify what primary sources were consulted and the role they play in the story the newspaper tells.

More historical activities include:

Using detective work as a metaphor for introducing primary sources and the central role they play in creating those secondary accounts can be useful. See this Research Brief or this one for a quick look at studies that included teaching students what primary sources were and how they were used by historians.

You may also get buy-in from your students if you select primary sources that you judge especially interesting for them. For example, try using childrens’ voices from the past (See this Depression Era lesson or this Civil War lesson.) or sources addressing topics they are interested in like music or sports.

But in any case, even if students are initially resistant to primary sources in your classroom, we encourage you to use them and help them learn why studying history without them makes little sense as they are the raw materials of the discipline. Primary sources also offer rich opportunities for helping your students practice and hone their reading and analysis skills, critical abilities for their future.

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