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Teaching with Primary Sources

Wisconsin

  • University of Wisconsin–La Crosse

    Using Primary Sources for Global Learning

    The project, by the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, seeks to increase teachers’ global knowledge and pedagogical repertoires by creating resource sets that connect U.S. themes to a global lens/issue. The resource sets consist of primary sources from the Library of Congress and other additional and supplemental resources through a global lens. These sets of primary sources are related to two (2) global issues typically covered in K-12 social studies courses: migration, human rights, climate change, and/or gender equity. Inquiry design models are created based on each set and these are distributed to pre-service and in-service teachers through coursework and summer workshops, respectively. This grant provides in-service teachers the opportunity to create their own primary source sets around a global issue using primary sources from the Library of Congress. These sets are published at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse website for further distribution.

    Contact: Hanadi Shatara

  • University of Wisconsin-Madison

    Teaching about 9/11 and the War on Terror through Inquiry and Sources

    Geared for pre-service and in-service social studies teachers, this project awarded to the University of Wisconsin-Madison addressed an alternative to the way that the September 11, 2001 attacks are typically taught as a memorialization on the event’s anniversary. Specifically, the primary goal was to develop activities and pedagogical practices that outlined a broader historical context (e.g., causes and the resulting War on Terror) and incorporated additional perspectives aside from that of political leaders and first responders such as military veterans, refugees. and Muslim Americans. Materials used to engage students included oral histories and personal accounts from the Library of Congress archives and emerging nontraditional sources like podcasts, social media, and memes. Furthermore, collaboration with other teachers was extended by offering professional learning opportunities and hosting a Twitter chat.

    Contact: Jeremy Stoddard

    Creating High-Quality Lessons Using Primary Resources and Cutting Edge Technology

    This award, given to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, utilized the train-the-trainer model to teach in-service middle and high school teachers how to develop and implement multi-day lessons using primary sources. A cadre of teachers was instructed on the components of quality lessons and the use of archives from the Library of Congress. These teachers then developed, field-tested, and revised lessons that incorporated primary sources. The cadre provided professional development sessions with other teachers in their schools to share their knowledge of the use of the Library's primary sources and how to integrate them into instruction. These lessons were also shared online.

    Improving Teacher Education Students’ Ability to Teach with Primary Resources Using Technology

    This grant, awarded to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, modified the course content of the secondary social studies teacher education program. Social studies faculty and staff created a framework for the best use of technology in instruction and also developed a unit for the social studies methods course to teach pre-service teachers about primary sources available from the Library of Congress. This project helped pre-service teachers to effectively use primary sources and new technology in the classroom. Students created a lesson plan that was implemented during student teaching experiences and then shared online. The guide to technology use, framework for lessons with primary sources, and sample lessons were shared online with pre-service and in-service teachers and teacher educators.

    Contact: Diana Hess

  • St. Norbert College

    The Library of Congress for Badgers: Maps and Images as Primary Documents for Wisconsin Teachers

    This project, awarded to St. Norbert College, created a 30-hour summer institute to meet the needs of professional development programs for social studies teachers, specifically in the use of teaching with primary sources with an inquiry-based approach (the C3 framework). Participants engaged in activities to learn how geographic themes and primary sources can be incorporated into any type of social studies lesson, and to guide them through the vast collections available on the Library of Congress website. The target audience for this project was U.S. History teachers and social studies teachers in grades 6 through 12.

    Contact: Mark Bockenhauer

  • Wisconsin Council for the Social Studies

    Professional Development Grant for Teachers in Wisconsin

    This grant, awarded to Wisconsin Council for the Social Studies, provided professional development opportunities to social studies teachers on the use of archives from the Library of Congress to prepare students for 21st-century learning. In social studies, this includes helping students to become more creative, better communicators, thoughtful problem solvers, effective collaborators, and efficient technology users. This seminar included the framework for 21st-century skills and examples from projects from the Library of Congress projects that assisted teachers in understanding what this framework means for classroom teachers.

    Contact: Beth Ratway

  • Elkhorn Area School District

    Teaching with Primary Sources Program Training

    This grant, awarded to Elkhorn Area School District, trained teachers and library media specialists on how to teach with primary source documents in a newly updated social studies curriculum. Participants from the elementary, middle, and high school levels posted at least four grade-appropriate lessons on a shared drive so other teachers in the district can access them. A staff member was recruited to become a primary source trainer for the district and train other teachers. The goals of this project were to develop a general awareness of the digital collections from the Library of Congress, locate and use these sources efficiently and effectively, be able to discern the value of each primary source, examine history as a discipline, and to build community.

    Contact: Cathy Pomaranski

  • University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

    Professional Collaboration, Inquiry, and the Library of Congress Digital Collections

    In this project by the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, a seminar course gave cooperating teachers and student teachers the opportunity to develop strategies for teaching with primary sources and learn about the digital collections from the Library of Congress. Cooperating teachers worked with student teachers to develop and teach lessons or units featuring resources from the Library’s collections. Students presented at a Wisconsin Council for the Social Studies International Education Conference on the use of the Library’s resources. An online repository contains lessons created by this project.

    Engagement with the Library of Congress Digital Collections by Secondary Pre-Service Social Studies Teachers: Enhancing Inquiry Through Primary Sources

    This project, awarded to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, modified the teacher education curriculum for social studies at the secondary level to incorporate the use of primary sources from the Library of Congress into instruction. Students integrated primary sources into an inquiry-based lesson or unit plan. This plan was used during the student teaching semester and the students were encouraged to present their work at the Great Lakes Regional Annual Social Studies Conference, develop a website to showcase their work, and share their lesson plans with other pre-service and practicing teachers.

    Contact: James Hartwick

    Preparing Elementary Teachers for Primary Source Teaching: A Push for Changes in Common Social Studies Teaching Practices

    This project, awarded to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, explored the use of primary source materials during the curriculum design process in the elementary and middle grades social studies methods course. Pre-service elementary and middle teachers engaged in activities such as reflection papers on the use of primary sources, interviews with in-service social studies teachers about their curriculum decisions and their use of primary and secondary sources, and textbook analysis of specific issues (e.g., women’s rights, treatment of race, labor unions, etc.). The goal of this project was to improve students’ abilities to integrate primary sources into their instructional units.

    Contact: Edric Johnson

  • Lakeland College

    Making a Connection: A Bridge to the Past

    In this project awarded to Lakeland College (Lakeland University), pre-service teachers were instructed on the use of primary sources from the Library of Congress and the importance of using them in the classroom. Students located primary sources to complement the new Wisconsin fourth-grade textbook. They also compiled resources that were distributed in a bound document to the principals of elementary schools in the Sheboygan area.

    Contact: Eileen Hilke

  • University of Wisconsin-La Crosse

    Teaching About the United States and World War II Through Primary Sources and the American Memory Project

    This project by the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse challenged pre-service teachers in the history instruction program at theUniversity of Wisconsin-La Crosse's Department of Educational Studies to think in new ways about the meaningful integration of primary source evidence into history instruction. Students planned a unit of study using primary sources from the American Memory Collections. The units ranged in homefront topics such as rationing, the labor of women, Pearl Harbor, the Japanese-American internment, the Women's Army Corps, the war in the Philippines, and wartime propaganda. The principal investigator followed these participants during their student teaching experience to see if they integrated the use of primary sources into their instruction.

    Engaging the Minds of Young Historians: Connecting National History Day and the Library of Congress

    Based on the strong relationship between National History Day and the Library of Congress, this project by the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse engaged students in historical research through the interpretation of primary sources. The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse partnered with the Washburn Academy to conduct a professional development summer workshop for teachers and media specialists. Teachers developed a primary source lesson plan, which they integrated into their instruction during the school year.

    Contact: Gregory Wegner