Reading Primary Sources

How does the historian approach primary sources? How do interpretations differ? How can they be used to write history? Reading Primary Sources goes a long way to providing answers for these questions. In the first part of this unique volume, the chapters give an overview of both traditional and new methodological approaches to the use of sources, analyzing the way that these have changed over time. The second part gives an overview of twelve different types of written sources, including letters, opinion polls, surveillance reports, diaries, novels, newspapers, and dreams, taking into account the huge expansion in the range of written primary sources used by historians over the last thirty years. This book is an up-to-date introduction into the historical context of these different genres, the ways they should be read, the possible insights and results these sources offer and the pitfalls of their interpretation. All of the chapters push the reader beyond a conventional understanding of source texts as mere "reflections" of a given reality, instead fostering an understanding of how each of the various genres has to be seen as a medium in its own right. Taking examples of sources from around the globe, and also including a student-friendly further reading section, this is the perfect companion for every student of history who wants to engage with sources.

History students read a lot. They read primary sources. They read specialized articles and monographs. They sometimes read popular histories. And they read textbooks. Yet students are beginners, and as beginners they need to learn the differences among various kinds of readings – their natures, their challenges, and the unique expectations one needs to bring to each of them. Reading History is a practical guide to help students read better. Uniquely designed with the author’s engaging explanations in the margins, the book describes primary sources across various genres, including documents of practice, treatises, and literary works, as well as secondary sources such as textbooks, articles, and monographs. An appendix contains tips and questions for reading primary or secondary sources. Full of practical advice and hands-on training that allows students to be successful, Reading History will cultivate a wider appreciation for the discipline of history.

Understanding primary sources helps young people become critical thinkers. After learning about the many different types of primary sources, such as diaries, speeches, oral histories, video clips, photographs, newspaper articles, artifacts, and political cartoons, students will understand that they are able to draw their own conclusions about the content in a historical source. They will become aware of the biases and limitations of voices from and about the past. photographs feature multiple primary sources, while sidebars encourage readers to engage with the text.

This anthology is from our Primary Sources in American History series, designed to make primary sources widely available in an inexpensive format that encourages analytical thinking. The letters, diary excerpts, speeches, interviews and newspaper articles in Reading the American West let students experience what historians really do and how history is written. Every document is accompanied by a contextual headnote and study questions, and each chapter includes extensive introductions.

Understanding Early Modern Primary Sources is an introduction to the rich treasury of source material available to students of early modern history. During this period, political development, economic and social change, rising literacy levels, and the success of the printing press, ensured that the State, the Church and the people generated texts and objects on an unprecedented scale. This book introduces students to the sources that survived to become indispensable primary material studied by historians. After a wide-ranging introductory essay, part I of the book, ‘Sources’, takes the reader through seven key categories of primary material, including governmental, ecclesiastical and legal records, diaries and literary works, print, and visual and material sources. Each chapter addresses how different types of material were produced, whilst also pointing readers towards the most important and accessible physical and digital source collections. Part II, ‘Histories’, takes a thematic approach. Each chapter in this section explores the sources that are used to address major early modern themes, including political and popular cultures, the economy, science, religion, gender, warfare, and global exploration. This collection of essays by leading historians in their respective fields showcases how practitioners research the early modern period, and is an invaluable resource for any student embarking on their studies of the early modern period.

Learn how to integrate and evaluate primary and secondary sources by using the SOURCES framework. SOURCES is an acronym for an approach that educators can use with students in all grades and content areas: Scrutinize the fundamental source, Organize thoughts, Understand the context, Read between the lines, Corroborate and refute, Establish a plausible narrative, and Summarize final thoughts. Waring outlines a clearly delineated, step-by-step process of how to progress through the seven stages of the framework, and provides suggestions for seamlessly integrating emerging technologies into instruction. The text provides classroom-ready examples and explicit scaffolding, such as sources analysis sheets for various types of primary and secondary sources. Readers can use this resource to give students the skills and knowledge necessary to think critically and create evidence-based narratives, in a manner similar to professionals in the field. Book Features: Offers a grounded means for conducting higher-order reasoning and inquiry.Demonstrates how to integrate this approach in various disciplinary areas, such as social studies, English/language arts, mathematics, and science. Provides user-friendly lessons and activities.Includes resources to assist students throughout the inquiry process.

Doing History bridges the gap between the way history is studied in school or as represented in the media and the way it is studied at university level. History as an academic discipline has dramatically changed in recent decades and has been enhanced by ideas from other disciplines, the influence of postmodernism and historians’ incorporation of their own reflections into their work. Doing History presents the ideas and debates that shape how we ‘do’ history today, covering arguments about the nature of historical knowledge and the function of historical writing, whether we can ever really know what happened in the past, what sources historians depend on, and the relative value of popular and academic histories. This revised edition includes new chapters on public history and activist histories. It looks at global representations of the past across the centuries, and provides up-to-date suggestions for further reading, presenting the reader with a thorough and current introduction to studying history at an academic level as well as a pathway to progress this study further. Clearly structured and accessibly written, it is an essential volume for all students embarking on the study of history.

Focusing on student analysis of primary sources, this book explores several proven analysis strategies to use with students, including methods from the Library of Congress, the Stanford History Education Group, and Harvard's Project Zero. Many elementary school librarians and teachers want to incorporate primary sources into their lessons but struggle with how to do it. Whether you are starting from the beginning, have used strategies that didn't seem to work, or were underwhelmed by others' suggestions, this book shows you how you can successfully supplement and deepen your students' learning with primary sources. Focusing on proven strategies for elementary students, the book is divided into four sections, each of which demonstrates the strategies through real-world examples of student work. In the first three parts, it explores the three major considerations for using primary sources, strategies for analyzing primary sources, effectively using primary sources to teach different subject areas, and special considerations for different primary source formats. In the final part, the author shares tips that he has learned after years of bringing primary sources into his elementary school that will ensure success in students' primary source analysis.