November Learning: Expanding the Boundaries of Learning

Motivate and Inspire: Teaching with Primary Source Documents

Stephanie Greenhut, Education Technology Specialist, National Archives, Washington, DC

Primary source documents – letters, reports, maps, photographs, diaries, posters, recordings and more, created by those who participated in or witnessed history – motivate students to investigate the past. These documents transcend time to bridge the past and present, and they inspire students to consider the future! In this hands-on session, participants will examine the capacity of primary source documents to prompt students to make authentic learning connections and form lasting understanding. Participants will engage with primary sources through a variety of National Archives education activities – analyzing documents, exploring online resources, brainstorming document-based activities to implement in their own schools and connecting with the broader education community.

Location: Boston Park Plaza Hotel
Price: $225
Note: Limited to 35
Audience: Grades 3 – 12

Comments from Past Participants:
“Ideas that stretched my thinking: how uncomplicated the databases are for students and teachers and how it is possible fore students to manipulate historical documents into individual projects”