Colorado Council for the Social Studies

Apri. 13, 2010

Overview

The Library of Congress American Memory website now has over 13 million free and accessible digitized primary sources. Primary source analysis can advance higher-level thinking such as critical thinking, problem solving, observing, inferring, or comparing and contrasting. Additionally, primary sources encourage inquiry-based learning. How do educators take primary source-based instruction to the next level and allow their students to interact with primary sources using today's technology? Web 2.0 is about social learning and collaboration. Primary Sources 2.0 reviews wikis, blog, and other collaboration tools to examine their application to primary source and inquiry-based learning.

Objectives

After attending this presentation, you will be able to:

1. Search and discover the primary sources available on the American Memory website
2. Analyze primary sources using various media formats
3. Review Primary Source Sets
4. Examine ways to use primary sources in an inquiry learning activity
5. Discuss and explain Web 2.0 technologies and their use in the instructional process 

What you will learn

By attending this session, you will learn:

1. The difference between a primary and secondary source
2. Instructional strategies for using primary sources in instruction
3. How to access and use various primary source media formats, e.g., movies, audio, maps, images
4. How to combine primary sources with Web 2.0 tools to facilitate critical thinking, problem solving, and inquiry learning
5. How to create a collaborative space for learning using Web 2.0 tools

Back to Primary Sources CCSS