Thinking Like an Historian

Thinking like an historian is another reason to encourage students to examine primary sources in research. The National History Education Clearinghouse has many resources for K-12 teachers (lesson plans, website reviews, Best Practices (Teaching in Action), and videos. There are elementary, middle school, and high school introduction videos, as well as a video called "What is Historical Thinking?" This is a great way to introduce to students the importance of accessing and analyzing primary sources.

On the importance of going back to the original source

One response teachers encounter when encouraging students to use primary sources is "Why should I read the whole document when the textbook only shows the relevant part & sums up the rest?"

Well, sometimes the person or organization that summarizes the original source quotes out of context or misrepresents the source. This clip of Sen. Al Franken (at a Senate hearing on the Defense of Marriage Act) can be used with secondary classes to show why it is important to consult the primary source as much as possible: