Mr. Larsen's Amazing unit plan, Featuring wwII
Primary source toolbox
Primary Source Archive
National Archive - Excellent source of primary sources, tips for researching, and help for citing resources properly. Look here for a wide array of information useful for all possible research topics in this class.
Docs Teach - As a subsection of the National Archives, this site (as shown below in video) allows for easy searching for primary sources of all types. Multimedia primary sources build a well-rounded research and allow for great aids to presentations.
The Library of Congress - Further representation of primary sources from the American point of view help researcher's gain insight into decision making at the specific time period. Search here for political insight as well as much more.
Digital History - A quick and easy way to search for more multi-media primary sources. Organized neatly for quick searches about topical history as are covered throughout this class.
National Archives UK - As much of the history covered throughout modern history is centered in Europe, look to this website for primary sources that give the European point of view. Easy access to archives of information, records, and catalogs make this a fantastic source the provides a wealth of information.
Docs Teach - As a subsection of the National Archives, this site (as shown below in video) allows for easy searching for primary sources of all types. Multimedia primary sources build a well-rounded research and allow for great aids to presentations.
The Library of Congress - Further representation of primary sources from the American point of view help researcher's gain insight into decision making at the specific time period. Search here for political insight as well as much more.
Digital History - A quick and easy way to search for more multi-media primary sources. Organized neatly for quick searches about topical history as are covered throughout this class.
National Archives UK - As much of the history covered throughout modern history is centered in Europe, look to this website for primary sources that give the European point of view. Easy access to archives of information, records, and catalogs make this a fantastic source the provides a wealth of information.
Primary Source Analysis Tools
1. The speech below was given by Hitler and provided by the website Docs Teach. Students are to first access the Sound Recording Analysis Worksheet and answer the pre-listening questions. Looking over the next section ('listening'), students will know what they are supposed to be listening for while he is speaking. Lastly, students will proceed to answer the post-listening questions. With all of these complete, the skill of listening to a primary source for educational purposes will have been gained due to the analysis tool provided.
2. Photographs are a great way of studying the past because they were used to create power emotions for both sides of any conflict. Below is a photo analysis worksheet with an example of a photograph that could be assigned. Students will be prompted to observe, infer, and answer questions about a given photo. As pictures have been used in modern history for propaganda constantly, being able to analyze them correctly will make better historians/citizens of all students.
Additional Primary Source Lesson Examples
In this activity students will analyze two documents written by General Dwight Eisenhower before the invasion of Normandy on D-Day. Students will compare and contrast these documents to gain a better understanding of the mindset of Allied leaders on the eve of the invasion.
In this activity, students will analyze primary sources and evaluate the degree to which they demonstrate Civil Rights advances following President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s 1941 Executive Order providing equal opportunity in defense industries, and the subsequent establishment of the Fair Employment Practices Commission (FEPC). Students will place documents on a scale according to their weight as evidence of advancement or ineffectiveness of the FEPC. They will then formulate their own position on the effectiveness of the executive order and commission, and write out their reasoning and evidence for their formulated positions. |