Primary Sources to Help Students Develop Arguments and Empathy (Discussion)

Maritere's talk featured a primary source assignment she gave her 8th grade students that naturally increased engagement with the primary source. My favorite aspect of this project is how she took it through all of the stages of Bloom's, ending with a synthesized (and incredibly fun) demonstration of their learning. She concludes with her thoughts on revising this project, particularly this question she'd ask of her students: What questions do you still have about these perspectives? Or: What perspective is still missing?

I have had some difficulty in the past incorporating primary sources in such a way as to maintain high interest and engagement. What are some similar projects you all have incorporated into your curriculum to build engagement in the sources as well as empathy for historical perspectives?

Top Replies

  • Thank you so much for your kind words about the project above. I strongly support using images of artifacts to gather responses in a way that does not involve long-term projects. For example, I created…

  • Thank you for your comment. Yes, it is very impactful. I used it at the end of a chapter in our current textbook that contained stories which seemed to perpetuate the "happy/grateful enslaved person" / "benevolent…

  •  I too found @Maritere's talk to be very interesting as well.  I was impressed with how the use of primary sources was so engaging and that students were asked for feedback so the project…

Parents
  •  , I love your strategies to get the kids to "slow down" and really engage with the primary sources they are working with! Students interacted with the evidence at different levels because you gave them the space to process and understand. I especially like how you ask them what is still missing in the end. It reminds students that constructing history is an on-going process. I'm really looking forward to hearing more from you in the panel discussion tomorrow! Thanks for sharing your ideas!

Reply
  •  , I love your strategies to get the kids to "slow down" and really engage with the primary sources they are working with! Students interacted with the evidence at different levels because you gave them the space to process and understand. I especially like how you ask them what is still missing in the end. It reminds students that constructing history is an on-going process. I'm really looking forward to hearing more from you in the panel discussion tomorrow! Thanks for sharing your ideas!

Children
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