Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum

Teaching With Documents Packet

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A Written Document Analysis Worksheet is also included in the research packet.

Using Historic Records as Tools in the Classroom

"Been there, done that"

This short statement, popular with the youth of today, is often used as a dismissive thrust
aimed at avoiding any further engagement in the topic or activity at hand. Young people toss the phrase out and then poise themselves for their next superficial foray into a topic that, at least for the moment, promises to tantalize and entertain them. Some times it does, often it does not, and so they repeat the cycle skimming from one activity to the next, never fully embracing the experience of the moment. How can we, as their teachers, slow this dismissive momentum and channel it into a meaningful educational experience? Certainly the answer to that question is not a simple one, but at least part of the answer rests with the use of primary source documents and historic records.

By bringing students in contact with what some have called, "the stuff of history", we are exposing them to letters, journals, maps, photographs, newspaper clippings and objects that have quite literally 'been there' and 'done that'. These objects and documents add context and texture to historic events that are often portrayed in textbooks and movies as a series of smooth and glossy vignettes of the past. In most high school textbooks the Great Depression is given just a few paragraphs of explanation before the melodic sounds of 'Happy Days are Here Again' ushers the student to the start of World War II. Movies such as Pearl Harbor and Tora, Tora, Tora, leave students with the impression that America's entry into the Second World War was quick and simple, and that our ultimate victory was all but certain. But put in their hands a letter from a child, asking Mrs. Roosevelt if she has any extra clothes she could send to her mother; and the Great Depression comes to life. Have them examine the hastily penciled changes made by President Roosevelt himself in the moments before he went before Congress to ask for a declaration of war, and they will see that the outcome of war was anything but certain.

This packet of information is designed as a brief guide for teachers whether they have used primary sources in the past or not. The information presented here is drawn from a number of sources including: That Nobel Dream by Peter Novick, Understanding by Design by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe, the New York State Department of Education, The National Archives and Records Administration, and the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.

What are Historic Records?

Historic records are literally the raw materials of history. They would include:

  • Reports
  • Maps
  • Photographs
  • Letters
  • Drawings
  • Diaries
  • Journals
  • Newspapers
  • Magazines
  • Scrapbooks
  • Year Books
  • Notebooks
  • Report Cards
  • Political Paraphernalia
  • Driver's Licenses
  • Group or Organization Membership Cards
  • Awards, Trophies and Certificates
  • Event Programs
  • Wills
  • Birth Records
  • Posters
  • Films and Video
  • Audio Recordings
  • Blueprints and Architectural Drawings
  • Military Service Records
  • Tax Records
  • Historic Objects

These things were all created and or used by those who participated in or witnessed the events of the past. They all have a story to tell, but that story is only one part of a larger story. Often the story is not obviously forth coming and must be coaxed and/or interpreted from the source.

How are Historic Records Helpful in Teaching?

Historic records are useful to teachers in a variety of ways. They help students learn to:

  • Interpret
  • Explain
  • Apply
  • Clarify
  • Analyze
  • Evaluate
  • Assess
  • Describe
  • Form Opinions
  • Empathize
  • Identify
  • Compare and Contrast
  • Develop Self-Knowledge
  • Establish Perspective
  • Identify Contradictions
  • Determine What is Accepted as Fact and What is Rejected as Fiction
  • Draw Conclusions
  • Weigh Generalizations
  • Recognize Multiple Interpretations
  • Examine Evidence
  • Analyze Raw Data
  • Develop Confidence in Their Ability to Gather Information
  • Draw upon Visual, Literary and Musical Sources
  • Develop a Sense of Excitement about Learning about History

These skills can be developed or enhanced by those who participate in document based learning programs. In addition to skill development, students find working with objects and documents to be fun and exciting. Teachers often have the same reaction.

How Can Historic Records Be Used in the Classroom?

Historic records can be used in a variety of ways in the classroom. Some suggestions would be:

  • As a way to integrate interdisciplinary learning across a wide range of curriculum issues.
  • As a hook to capture the interest of students at the beginning of a lesson.
  • As a point maker in the middle of a lesson
  • As the central theme or focus of a lesson.
  • As a surprise reward at the end of a lesson.
  • To provide valuable data or context for a lesson.
  • As a way to make learning more fun for the students.
  • As a way to make teaching more fun for the teacher.

The value of historic records to "Jazz up" a lesson should not be overlooked. However, when bringing them into the classroom lecture, some care must be given to the following considerations:

  • Make sure that the use of historic records makes sense in your overall curriculum plan. Using too many, or in the 'wrong' places could cause them to lose their impact.
  • Be sure that your records are coming from an appropriate records repository - one that will not mind you looking at their records. Grandma may not be ready to have her old Love letters dragged down from the attic and read by your 4th grade class.
  • For obvious reasons use copies not originals.
  • Be sure the record is readable and age appropriate to your class.
  • Make sure the record is long enough to provide the information you want your class to get, but not so long that it overwhelms them.
  • Select materials and activities that are likely to motivate and inspire your students. If they like baseball find a record that uses baseball to make your broader points.
  • Don't let the record become the star of the show, it is there only as a supporting actor to the theme/focus of your presentation.

There is a lot to consider when using historic records, but with a little bit of planning and care, the rewards to yourself and your students will far outweigh any pit falls you may encounter.

How Can You Evaluate the Effectiveness of Using Historic Records?

With all the emphasis being placed on standards and DBQ's these days, it is not enough for historic records to be engaging and interesting, they also have to yield results. Below is a list of suggested activities and techniques that can be used to assess the effectiveness of using historic records:

  • Have students write a reaction paper.
  • Ask the students to write an essay.
  • Have the students write a report.
  • Ask the students to keep a journal.
  • Have the students write a 'newspaper article' that reports on the topic of the record he/she examined.
  • Provide the students with a worksheet that guides them through a set of thought questions.
  • Have the students do an oral report on their findings.
  • Prepare a short answer quiz based on the information they reviewed.
  • Have the students create a portfolio of their own 'historic records'-such as report cards, family photos, and related material.
  • Have the students start a scrapbook of newspaper and magazine clippings.
  • Have the students create a display or exhibit.
  • Ask the students to write a poem or a short story about the record they reviewed.
  • Have the student write a letter to a present day historic figure.
  • Ask the student to make a poster.
  • Have the students draw a picture about their experience.
  • Ask the students to write a play.
  • Have the students paint a mural.
  • Encourage the student to visit an historic site in their community.
  • Have the students design a website or a home page that highlights the record they reviewed.
  • Ask the students to produce an illustrated time line.
  • Have the students create a collage.
  • Engage the students in a role playing activity.
  • Ask the students to conduct an oral history.
  • Have the students design a community service project.
  • Have the students host a history night at their school.

These are just a few suggestions for how you might get students to create a measurable reaction to their experience working with historic records. These can be modified to fit the individual needs of the student or the class.

Using Primary Sources

Below are some general thoughts and guidelines for using and teaching with primary sources as suggested and compiled from National Archives sources.

  • Primary Sources are documents, reports, maps, photographs, letters, drawings and memoirs created by those who participated in or witnessed events of the past.
  • From using primary sources, students learn that all written history reflects an author's interpretation of past events. It is subjective in nature.
  • From primary sources students are able to directly touch the lives of people from the past.
  • Textbooks package information from primary sources, but it must be remembered that a textbook is only one historical interpretation. And the author is simply an interpreter of evidence not a purveyor of truth.
  • Different authors will interpret the evidence in different ways, and will offer up different meanings and interpretations. And so each textbook has a point of view that renders it subject to question.
  • Students must realize that any account of an event, no matter how impartially presented it appears to be, is essentially subjective.
  • As students view primary sources such as letters or photographs, and summarize their conclusions, they become aware of the subjective nature of their own conclusions.
  • The disagreements among students, as they compare their conclusions and interpretations, are not unlike that among historians.
  • Using primary sources students are confronted with two essential facts of studying history:

    1) The record of historical events reflects the personal, social, political
    and/or economic points of view of the participants.

    2) Students bring to the sources their own biases, created by their own
    personal, social, political and economic situations.

And so, students should begin to realize that history exists through interpretation, and that interpretation is often of only a very small and select fragment of what could be part of the record.

  • Primary sources fascinate students because they are real and personal: history is humanized through them. Students experience human emotions, values and attitudes
    of the past.
  • Primary sources also allow students to come in contact with the language and customs of the times, free of any tweaking, cleansing or interpretation by an author.
  • Using and interpreting primary source materials trains the student in gathering, sifting and evaluating evidence, skills that are very important in this media drenched era in which we live. Students are constantly being bombarded with pitches from advertisers, politicians, planners and bureaucrats. The ability to understand and evaluate information is essential to maintain a free society.
  • Students are expected to recognize:

    -how a point of view and bias affect evidence.
    -what contradictions and other limitations exist within a given source.
    -to what extent sources are reliable.
    -the need to understand and make appropriate use of many sources of
    information.

  • Students participate in the process of history. They learn to debate about the interpretation of sources, challenge others' conclusions and seek out evidence to support their own.

How to Begin

  • You begin to understand primary sources by examining those that you possess yourself, such as birth certificates, passports, report cards, Social Security cards etc. Consider the following questions:

    - What do these sources tell us about the individuals and the society in
    which they live?
    - How might the sources be used by historians?
    - Consider how school, medical, employment and other records can be used to develop generalizations about student life in the early years of the twenty-first century.

The next step for information would be using community newspapers, local government files, personal diaries and interviews with long time residents. Local historical societies, archives and museums are useful sources as well.

Written Document Analysis Worksheet
(Created by the National Archives and Records Administration Education Staff)

1. Type of Document (Check one) :

___ Newspaper ___ Map ___ Advertisement

___ Letter ___ Telegram ___ Congressional record

___ Patent ___ Press Release ___ Census Report

___ Memorandum ___ Report ___ Other

2. Unique Physical Qualities of the Document (Check one or more):

___ Interesting letterhead ___ Notations

___ Handwritten ___ "RECEIVED" stamp

___ Typed ___ Other

___ Seals

3. Dates of Document : _____________________________________________________

4. Author (or creator) of the Document : ______________________________________

Position (Title) : ___________________________________________________________

5. For what audience was the document written ? __________________________________________________________________________

6. How credible (or reliable) is this source? (Check one):

___ Very ___ Reasonably ___ Questionable ___ Not at all

7. Document Information:

A. List three things the author said that you think are important:

1. ________________________________________________________________________

2. ________________________________________________________________________

3. ________________________________________________________________________

B. Why do you think this document was written? What purpose does it serve?

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

C. What evidence in the document helps you know why it was written? Quote from the document.

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

D. List two things the document tells you about life in the United States at the time it was written:

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

E. Write a question to the author that is left unanswered by the document:

__________________________________________________________________________

F. How might this document be useful to historians?

__________________________________________________________________________

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