The Learning Page: Getting started with primary sources

The American Memory collection includes over seven million primary sources, “a treasure trove of unique personal items from another period in time,” that reflect the collective American memory. These clues to the past are unique and valuable, but they are also random and incomplete since many survived by luck rather than plan or intention. To help teachers and students make sense of primary sources, The Learning Page, the LOC’s front door for teachers, provides a guide called What are Primary Sources?

This simple yet effective guide offers information about five types of sources: artifacts, documents, oral histories, sounds, and visuals. Mouse over the word “sounds” and you will see a brief description of the kinds of sounds in the recording collections as well as questions that will get your students thinking about how sounds help us learn about other eras. For instance, the guide raises the question “How does the language and content of an old radio broadcast differ from what we hear on television today?” The other explanations share reasons why a particular type of primary source is important: oral traditions are a key to the history of minority groups that were left out of mainstream published material, artifacts provide concrete evidence of technological advances over time, and so on.

a screen shot showing the word sounds moused over with pertinent information

Mouse over a primary source format to find out more.

In addition to the introduction to primary source formats, the What is a Primary Source? guide links to three opportunities that give students a chance to practice using and thinking about primary sources.

Looking into Holidays Past: This analysis activity can be used with a whole class to demonstrate and discuss what primary sources are and why we use them. Just as easily, you can assign one of the many examples to individuals or small groups for self-paced exploration. In all of the four seasonal sections, there is guidance for evaluating each type of primary source using a three-step analysis process: observe, think, and ask. The focus on holidays is a great hook for students, immediately providing a relevant connection between the historical content and their lives. There are so many examples in this activity that each student in a class could each choose a different one to explore.
What Are Primary Sources?: This text-based lesson introduces students to primary source analysis techniques so they can understand the historical record. Step by step, they’ll apply these techniques to documents about slavery in the United States. Some of the basic analysis resources are similar to those in the Looking into Holidays Past activity, but there are additional critical strategies that students need to handle primary sources. Don’t miss the Mindwalk, an activity that encourages students to think through their last twenty-four hours and consider “How can the historical record be both huge and limited?”
Discovering American Memory: Introduced as a student workshop, this page lists a variety of activities useful for learning about primary sources. Select “What do you see?” or “What do you hear?” or “How does it read?” to develop skills in critical analysis of graphics, sound recordings, or documents.