Using Digital Primary Resources in the

ClassroomMary Risner

July 2009

Examples of Primary Sources

Books Historical documents - maps, treaties First-person accounts – Diaries, letters, Recordings - audio, video Newspapers Government publications – Census and

economic data Archives Marketing materials - Billboards, posters

Why Use Primary Resources?

Provide first-hand information about events Make use of authentic materials Promote student inquiry Develop higher order thinking skills Allow students to form their own impressions of

events Serve as supplemental material for state

mandated texts Facilitates cross-disciplinary learning

Challenges to Using Primary Resources

Planning a lesson with digital primary sources takes time

Digital sources must be placed around a context for students to fully grasp the content

The number of digital sources is huge to choose from Difficulty in finding items that match with state

standards Difficulty adapting materials to a certain grade level Primary Sources can only supplement mandated

materials or a lectureAdapted from: http://www.youthsource.ab.ca

Myths about using Primary Sources in the K-12 Classroom

Primary sources are irrelevant to children who are not able to grasp the nature of the material.

A teacher cannot afford to veer off of a prescribed curriculum as primary sources lend nothing to standardized test results.

Myths (cont.)

Primary sources are inaccessible and hard to find.

Primary sources are not for the K-12 classroom.

Keys to Successfully Using Primary Resources

Aligning with standards Managing time Determining access to resources for all

students Choosing digital items to use Creating worksheets/activities to

support digital items

Guidelines…

Analyze source context Analyze content, assess its significance, pose significant questions;

Why the Caribbean?

Florida/Caribbean historical ties Constant influx of people between the

regions Proximity of the Caribbean to Florida

Sample dLOC Lesson Plans

http://web1.dloc.com/ufdc/?g=dloc1&s=teach

Sample Resources on dLoc

Announcement: se solicitan 1000 trabajadores para el Central "Manati" - Oriente

http://www.dloc.com/?b=UF00029025&v=00001 Antonio Prohías Political Cartoons from El Avance Criollo

(published in Miami, 1960-61)http://dloc.com/?h=uf&b=UF00086700&v=00001 Coquihttp://www.dloc.com/?b=UF00053455&v=00001 Huerto familiarhttp://www.dloc.com/?h=uf&m=hd3&i=65209 Panama –Ciudad del saberhttp://www.dloc.com/?b=UF00054723&v=00001

Ties to Web 2.0 Tools

Blog- as a diary Wiki- for students to share and

organize ideas about the digital item Google Sites- create a class webpage

about an event, person, or time period Timeline-map out historical events Google Maps/Earth- track the

Digital Library Collections With Latin American Content

http://www.dloc.com http://www.loc.gov/index.html http://www.loc.gov/library/libarch-digita

l.html

References

Ruffin, E., & Capell, L. (2009, Spring). Dispelling the Myths: Using Primary Sources in the K-12 Classroom. Children & Libraries: The Journal of the Association for Library Service to Children, 7(1), 26-31.

Johnson, K. & Magusin, E. (2005). Exploring the digital library : a guide for online teaching and learning. San Francisco, CA : Jossey-Bass.

 Mardis, M., Hoffman, E., & Marshall, T. (2008, August). A new framework for understanding educational digital library use: re-examining digital divides in U.S. schools. International Journal on Digital Libraries, 9(1), 19-27. Retrieved July 9, 2009, doi:10.1007/s00799-008-0035-z

  Vinson, C., & Boyd, K. (2008, June). CRACKING THE EGG: THE SOUTH

CAROLINA DIGITAL LIBRARY'S NEW PERSPECTIVE. Journal of Electronic Resources Librarianship, 20(2), 117-128. Retrieved July 9, 2009, doi:10.1080/19411260802298144

   

Web References

http://www.youthsource.ab.ca/teacher_resources/ps_overview.html

http://www.youthsource.ab.ca/teacher_resources/ps_using.html

http://memory.loc.gov/learn///educators/handouts/prsrc.pdf