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Local History Resources and the

Common CorePresented by Heidi Bamford, Regional

Archivist for the Documentary Heritage Program in Western New York

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Why Use Local Primary Sources?

• Students are often unaware of their own communities’ connections to the past

• Students are intrigued with, and are more likely to absorb contextual knowledge when using local examples.

• Local primary sources are often less costly alternatives to textbooks and commercially prepared primary source sets

• Creating lessons using local primary sources will create a robust local “bank” of teaching tools and experiences that can be shared among educators

Who is Peter Grimm?

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Primary Sources as Teaching Tools for Building Thinking

Skills• Primary Sources should not be inaccessible to

students – they afford a choice and offer opportunities to evaluate information (Sourcing)

• Primary Sources should not be presented as discrete items to students – they are building blocks that help students gain greater understanding of connections past and present (Contextualization)

• Primary sources should not be “end points” or “the answer” in a lesson - they should promote deeper questioning from a variety of sources(Corroboration)

o Stanford History Group: Reading Like a Historian: http://sheg.stanford.edu/intro-materials

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Sourcing Skills• Create a classroom environment of

investigation, including open and equitable discussion and exchange of ideas, encouraging students to read primary sources in a methodical and thoughtful way.

• Primary sources should be used as points for further questioning and inquiryo Who wrote this? POV?o Why was it written? Audience?o When was it written? Firsthand or secondhand?

Example: What has been the impact of the human footprint on Niagara Falls?

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Contextualization Skills

• Plan classroom learning that will assist students in gaining greater contextual knowledge so they can engage in skilled inquiry activities (thinking like historians).

• Primary sources should not be used to simply provide information to students, but should be incorporated in lessons to help reconstruct social and historical contexts in which they come from.

• What else was going on when the source was created?• What was different then from now?• What was life like at that time?

Example: Women in WWII - The Grimm family

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“It's Our Fight Too!”ca. 1942-1945The U.S. Government published posters like this one to motivate women to work in defense jobs.National Archives, Records of the War Production Board

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In "'Rosie the Riveter:' Real Women Workers in World War II," Library of Congress women's studies specialist Sheridan Harvey explores the evolution of "Rosie the Riveter" and discusses the lives of real women workers during World War II.

Buffalo, New York. Mrs. Grimm, a twenty-six year old widow with six children who is a crane operator at Pratt and Letchworth (note the PL on her uniform), makers of castings used for ships, tanks, etc.Digital ID: (digital file from intermediary roll film) fsa 8d18628 http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsa.8d18628 Reproduction Number: LC-USW3-028212-D (b&w film neg.) Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print

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Corroboration or Cross-Checking Skills

• Move students towards independent thinking through reflection on what they are discovering.

• Provide students with opportunities to independently search for, identify and select primary sources when attempting to construct a better understanding of the past.o What do other pieces of evidence say?o Does the source confirm or contradict other sources?o Where else can I find this kind of information?**

Example: Who was responsible for the tragedy atAndersonville?

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 The rations consisted of corn-meal, bacon, fresh beef, peas, rice, salt and sorghum molasses. The corn-meal was unbolted, some of it ground with the cob, and often filled with sand and gravel. Much of it had apparently been put up while warm, and had become sour and musty either during transportation or while in store. The bacon was lean, yellow, very salt and maggoty; it had been brought to us unpacked, and was covered with dirt and cinders; it was so soft with rust that it could easily be pulled in pieces with the fingers. The beef was slaughtered near the prison, to which it was brought and thrown down in a pile in the north cook-house, where it lay until it was issued to the prisoners. Here, in the hot climate, it was soon infested with flies and maggots, and rapidly changed into a greenish color…

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Andersonville Prison.Testimony of Dr. Isaiah H. White, Late Surgeon Confederate States Army, As To The Treatment of Prisoners There.Southern Historical Society Papers.Vol. XVII. Richmond, Va., January-December. 1889.

[Richmond Times, August 7, 1890,]

 In refutation of the charge that prisoners were starved, let it be noted that the Confederate Congress in May, 1861, passed a bill providing that the rations furnished to prisoners of war should be the same in quantity and quality as those issued to the enlisted men in the army of the Confederacy……

 "It is a well-known fact," said Dr. White, "that the Confederate authorities used every means in their power to secure the exchange of prisoners, but it was the policy of the United States Government to prevent it, as is well shown by a letter of General Grant to General Butler, dated August the 18th, 1864, in which he said:        'It is hard on our men held in Southern prisons not to exchange them, but it is humanity to those left in the ranks to fight our battles. Every man released on parole or otherwise, becomes an active soldier against us at once, either directly or indirectly. If we commence a system of exchange which liberates all prisoners taken, we will have to fight on until the whole South is exterminated. If we hold those caught they amount to no more than dead men….

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I will now give a description of the rations, what they were, and how prepared; and will say, before commencing, that if we had been swine we might have done right smart well at times, I reckon. As we were not, it was pretty tough learning how to eat fat, rotten, maggoty bacon, corn meal, ground cob and all, so that in sifting it, it would sift out nearly one-half, and about once a week they undertook to issue fresh beef, and in almost every instance it would be fly-blown before we could get it, so you can judge of the scent it produced. The cook house parties tried to cook for one-half of the prisoners one day and the other the next alternating, and I will inform you how they succeeded. The corn bread was in all manners of shapes, half-baked, burned, fresh without salt, and again so salt that we could hardly eat it; and when we did not get bread we received meal mush; that is poor cooked ration….

An Andersonville Prisoner’s Experience. From the Elmira Advertiser. Tioga, Tioga Co., Pa., Jan. 27, 1876

http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/wirz/biblio.htm

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New York Heritage a constantly growing and changing research portal for students, educators, historians, genealogists, and anyone else interested in the Empire State’s history. This site brings together open access digital collections from libraries, museums and archives from all over the state. It provides a gateway to nearly 200 distinct digital collections that reflect New York State’s long history.

*Project of the NY3Rs

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Locating Local History at…• Finding Primary Sources at the Library of Congress (online video

module) http://www.loc.gov/teachers/professionaldevelopment/selfdirected/finding.html

 • Finding Primary Sources at the National Archives http

://www.archives.gov/education/research/primary-sources.html • Repositories of Primary Sources (US, Canada and worldwide directory)

http://www.uiweb.uidaho.edu/special-collections/Other.Repositories.html • Resources from Outside the Library of Congress • Historical Documents Online from the Cardinal Cushing Library

at Emmanuel College

• Library and Archival Exhibitions on the Web

• New York State Archives

• Western New York Heritage magazine

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Evaluating Web Sites

Evaluating Sources (SUNY Oswego)

Evaluate Web Pages, Widener University

Evaluating Web Sites, University of Maryland

When you search for information, you're going to find lots of it . . . but is it good information? You will have to determine that for yourself, and the CRAAP Test can help. CurrencyRelevanceAuthorityAccuracyPurpose

*from: Meriam Library, California State University, Chicohttp://www.csuchico.edu/lins/handouts/eval_websites.pdf

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Analyzing Primary Sources•Teacher Guides, Student Observation Worksheets from the Library of Congress: http://www.loc.gov/teachers/usingprimarysources/guides.html •Analysis Worksheets from the National Archives (multiple types of formats): http://www.archives.gov/nae/education/tool-box.html •Historical Thinking Posters (Analysis Guides) from the Stanford History Education Group http://sheg.stanford.edu/intro-materials

•Analyzing Photographs and Prints at the Library of Congress: (online video module) http://www.loc.gov/teachers/professionaldevelopment/selfdirected/photographsandprints.html

•Analyzing Maps at the Library of Congress (online video module) http://www.loc.gov/teachers/professionaldevelopment/selfdirected/maps.html

•Activity Modules Using Documents from the National Archives: http://docsteach.org/tools

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Using Primary Sources

Inquiry Based Learning Using Primary Sources at the Library of Congress: (online video module) http://www.loc.gov/teachers/professionaldevelopment/selfdirected/inquiry.html Copyright and Primary Sources at the Library of Congress: (online video module) http://www.loc.gov/teachers/professionaldevelopment/selfdirected/copyright.html Citing Primary Sources at the National Archives: http://www.archives.gov/publications/general-info-leaflets/17-citing-records.html

Guide to Teaching with Primary Sources (*local resource, produced under a grant from Teaching with Primary Sources, Eastern Region)

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Lesson Plans

Library of Congress Classroom Materials: http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/ National Archives http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/ Smithsonian Institution History Explorer http://historyexplorer.si.edu/home/ Stanford History Education Group US History: http://sheg.stanford.edu/us World History: http://sheg.stanford.edu/world

http://www.loc.gov/teachers/

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Example 1: A Lesson/Unit on:

• World War II: Can be integrated with Library of Congress “Themed Resources” including The Great Depression and, Wars and the Homefront and; with “Presentations and Activities,” including On the Homefront

WWII Unit Plan (Teacher Guide with connections to Common Core)

WWII Resource Organizer (Library of Congress format)

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A. Key Ideas and Details1. Students can ask and answer questions about key details in a

text. At a higher level, they can refer to these details when drawing inferences about explicit meaning in text.

a. 1936 - FDR addresses to crowds and factory workers in Buffalo and Niagara Falls (typed speeches)• What are two purposes given for the construction

of the federal buildings in Buffalo?• What does the word “dole” mean?

b. Man on the Street Interviews (audio and transcript available) What factors may account for the difference of opinion? What evidence is presented to support each interviewee's

viewpoint? How convincing are the arguments presented to defend a particular perspective?

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A. Key Ideas and Details2. Students can identify the main topic or idea in a text. At higher

levels, they can explain how key details support the main ideas.a. “I Hate War Speech”

i. Identify causes of war described by FDRb. Images of Women Working in Factories (recruitment)

i. What details in the images reflect the tone/message of the slogans of the period?

FDR “I Hate War” Speech is audio and transcribed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjbsiPUO3kA

http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=15097

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A. Key Ideas and Details1. Students can identify basic similarities between two texts on the same topic. At

higher levels, they can compare and contrast the most important points in two or more texts, and can write or speak about the subject with knowledge.

a. Man on the Street Interviewsi. Ask students what the interviewees had in common (surprise at Japanese

attack; that US should fight as the Japanese do; Blame is on Japanese government, not the people, etc.)

b. OWI images of women at work i. Compare the two photos of C. Wrazen – what additional details/context in

one image help in your understanding of what is happening? How do captions help? What don’t they include?

Title: Buffalo, New York. Cecelia Wrazen, a roller, inserting tubes into condensers for the Navy at the Ross Heater plant

Creator(s): Collins, Marjory, 1912-1985, photographer

Date Created/Published: 1943 May.

Reproduction Number: LC-USW3-023889-D

Digital id: fsa.8d16972

Library of Congress Collection: Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Black-and-White Negatives

http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/owi2001025148/PP/

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Example 2: A Lesson/Unit on Immigration (can be integrated with Library of Congress “Themed Resources” including Asian Pacific Americans, Hispanic Americans, Immigration, and, Labor; and with Library of Congress Presentations and Activities including The Industrial Revolution, The Great American Potluck, Immigration and, Interviews with Today’s Immigrants)

Immigrants and Immigration in the Classroom (PowerPoint)

Lessons for Teaching Immigration

Outline and Resources for Immigrant History

Rose Sarosa, Room 42, 62 Main St., Buffalo, N.Y. 13 years old last summer. Sarah, 9 years old last summer. Jo, 6 years old last summer. Worked in Albion Canning Factory on beans and tomatoes. When they worked all day, the three earned $1.50, paid 8 cents an hour for all time, including over time. Rosa and Sarah worked up to 10 P.M. sometimes last summer (a poor one) other years until midnight. Rosa worked in factory. Sarah and Jo in sheds part of the time. Went out to Albion last of May and came back middle of November, losing nearly 15 weeks of school time. Location: Buffalo, New York (State)

*Image and text from Lewis Hines Collection at Library of Congress: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/ncl2004001960/PP/

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Essential questions:

1. What is “The American Dream?”

2. Why does the introduction of new technologies seem to create both prosperity and poverty?

3. Why is it difficult for immigrants to become accepted in

society?

4. Has the “immigrant experience” been the same across time and nations?

5. How can “diversity” and “unity” both be valued in

American culture? Lesson I deas:

1. Compare contrasting attitudes towards immigration, past and present: benevolent versus authoritarian.

2. Use “The American Dream” lesson to identify different

perceptions of what it means to be “American,” as well as to examine successive periods of significant immigration.

3. Have students create “Community Heritage Sheets”

based on their own cultural traditions, foods, music, dress, etc.

4. Use immigrant stories of past and present times to

describe “push” and “pull” elements of immigration

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Example 3: Lesson/Unit on Pioneers and Early Settlement (Can be integrated with Library of Congress “Themed Resources”, including Advertising, Colonial and Early America, Geography and Maps, Native Americans, Wars and the Homefront and, Women’s History and; with Library of Congress “Presentations and Activities” including The Branding of America, Pages from Her Story, Thanksgiving, Women Pioneers and, Zoom Into Maps)

Outline and Resources for Teaching Pioneers and Early Settlement

Lessons for Teaching Pioneer History

Local History Resources for Early Settlers and Advertising Lessons

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Activity: Create a word wall or a pioneer alphabet book using words encountered, and add new words as unit progresses. Make it creative! Maybe a small trunk in which new words are placed, or are taped to

wall over the trunk; maybe a chain of covered wagons made from

construction paper and placed around the wall, one with each

students’ name on it and words they have uncovered

Common Core Connection: Teacher

pre-selects one or several excerpts

based on grade level, individual

reading levels, time allowed. Have

students work independently or in

pairs (or for younger students, teacher

reads to entire class) to read pre-

selected excerpts and ask them to:

Identify new vocabulary and guess

what it means (Craft & Structure)

Identify explicit meaning in text,

and use details to support this

(Key Ideas and Details)

 

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Example 4: Lesson/Unit on African American History (Can be integrated with Library of Congress “Themed Resources” including Abraham Lincoln, Baseball, Civil Rights, The Civil War, Political Cartoons and, Wars and the Homefront and; with Library of Congress “Presentations and Activities” including From Slavery to Civil Rights and Elections Non Shockwave)

From Enslavement to Freedom (Power Point)

Outline and Resources for African American History

Sample Lesson for Grade 5 Teaching of African American History

Questions for Guided Reading of "Freedom Crossing"

Eastman House Collections and African American History

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Slavery, Abolition & the Underground Railroad Essential questions: 

Who freed the enslaved? What were strategies employed by abolitionists to try to end enslavement of African

Americans? 

In what ways was enslavement in the American South different from enslavement in the American North?

 How did the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 test the American legal and social systems?

 What was the essential difference between enslavement and indentured servitude?

Guided Reading questions for the book Freedom Crossing by Margaret Goff ClarkChapter 11.Where has Laura recently arrived from? Where had she lived before and why had she moved? (pp.1, 4)2.Who is the “visitor” in the kitchen? Why is Laura upset about him? (p.5)3.What was Laura’s memory of Joel? Was it good or bad or both? (pp. 6-8)

Activity: Utilize historical fiction to provide background knowledge and begin Investigation into actual firsthand accounts and related documents of freedom seekers and those who helped and hindered them. Take students on “virtual tours” of various online exhibits from New York and elsewhere.

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• That’s It! Any Questions? Thank you!

These videos ,linked below, demonstrate the use of the instructional resources in classrooms. Reading Like a Historian: Overview Reading Like a Historian: Sourcing

Follow along as students study original documents to determine whether the source is believable.

Reading Like a Historian: Contextualization See how the teacher scaffolds learning as students develop their understanding of context.

Reading Like a Historian: Corroboration Students use books, documents, and images to determine reliability and bias.