History Snip-Its are history-themed articles with accompanying questions.

We all want our students to love history and look forward to class, right?!?

Instead of reading informational text all the time, we need to add some high-interest, relatable material to our study of history.

How to Use History Snip-Its in Your Classroom

Example: Essex Hospital & Smallpox Inoculation

Step 1: Give a brief overview of the article students are about to read and ask questions to introduce the article. Example questions:

Have you ever heard of smallpox? Smallpox was a constant fear for people living in the 18th Century.

What do you think happens to a person who contracts smallpox?

Did you know that there were entire hospitals devoted to the treatment of smallpox in the 18th Century?

Step 2: Allow students to read the Snip-It once on their own.

Step 3: Allow students to read the article with a partner and discuss/answer questions.

WHY You SHOULD Use History Snip-Its in SOCIAL STUDIES Class

Students can read from a textbook all day long, but unless they hear exciting, personal stories, they will never connect to social studies content.

History Snip-Its make social studies topics, people, and events relatable to students.

When talking about 18th Century history, do you ever talk to students about what it was like for kids to grow up in that century? Do you talk about hygiene habits in the 1700s? What about Colonial Jails and Punishments? There are History Snip-Its to cover each of those topics! You’ll never find them in a textbook 🙂

Extra Ways to Use History Snip-Its

In addition to direct instruction, there are a plethora of ways to use History Snip-Its in Your Classroom.

* Substitute plans

* Early finishers

* Cross-curricular activity to connect reading and social studies

* An exciting break from your regular unit of study

* Homework

* Advanced learning classrooms

* Extra credit assignments

Free History Snip-Its

There’s nothing better than free, right?!?

These two titles are free!

Available Titles in the History Snip-Its Series

Check out the bundle to see the individual titles available in the History Snip-Its Series:

The post How to Use History Snip-Its in Your Classroom appeared first on Thrive in Grade Five.

Primary sources add depth and dimension to your social studies lessons.

I think of primary sources as the magic part of social studies that helps make history come to life.

Some primary sources are self-explanatory, but there are many primary sources that require guidance and instruction on the part of the teacher.

What are primary sources?

Primary sources can be a number of things, but basically, a primary source is a record or object created by someone who lived through a time period or witnessed an event.

Primary sources can be:

• Letters
• Images, Photographs, Paintings, Drawings
• Objects
• Newspaper Excerpts
• Diaries/Journals

Use Excerpts of Primary Sources

I would never give 5th graders an entire primary source and expect them to analyze it.

Instead, I use excerpts, or pieces of the primary source along with direct instruction.

By breaking longer primary sources into pieces, you make the primary source more manageable, understandable, and engaging for students.

Watch this video for practical, ready-to-use tips for using primary sources in your classroom:

Ask Questions

I know, I know, this goes back to teaching 101, but how do we gauge and assess students’ understanding of any given topic?

We ask questions!

I like to use questions in my introduction of the primary source.

I ask questions to introduce the source rather than ask questions after students have learned about the primary source.

Example Questions:

Why do you think the artist included this background? (image)

Why do you think the writer of this primary source included this phrase? (written)

Why do you think this advertisement was placed in the newspaper? (newspaper)

Why do you think the artist used this facial expression for a particular person? (image)

What might have been the purpouse of this object? (object)

I recommend using a variety of higher-level and lower-level questions to guide your students in thinking about and analyzing primary sources.

Model Your Thinking

Modeling your thoughts for students is powerful for any subject matter, but especially for primary sources.

Modeling your thinking means that you are speaking aloud what you think when you look at a primary source.

For example, if I displayed this object on my technology board, I might model my thinking this way:

“Hmmm, I notice that this object looks like it is made out of carved wood. I wonder what its purpose was.”

“It looks as though the top can be taken off or flipped up, so I wonder if items were stored inside this object.”

“I notice that from top to bottom, the object is slanted, so I wonder if it could be some sort of a surface for drawing or writing.”

“Students, what do you notice and wonder about this primary source object?”

Sometimes students will guess an` object’s purpose, but often they do not have any idea, so it’s fun to get to tell them what the object was used for and who used it.

I love the “Ohhh” and “Cool” responses that I hear from students.

This object is a portable writing desk purchased by the Washington Family around 1795. There is space in the interior for letters, pens, ink, and etc.

How to Choose the Best Primary Sources

Choose primary sources that relate to your content and are relatable to students.

Remember, you don’t always have to use written primary sources. There is an abundance of images and objects to use as well.

The explosion of technology helps us teach about the past using objects that we’d normally never see. For example, take some time to explore Mount Vernon’s online gallery.

Choose primary sources that are interesting to you because if you are bored looking at them, I guarantee your students will be bored as well.

Often, social studies units, like my Road to Revolution Unit, American Revolution Unit, and Civil War Unit, will have included primary sources, but if you are teaching without a pre-made unit, you may have to find your own primary sources.

I recommend Google searching your topic + primary source and looking through the first few results. Remember, the most reliable primary sources often come from .edu and .org websites.

This video will walk you through my favorite primary source to use while teaching Jamestown:

Grab a freebie here:

Help Students Analyze a Primary Source Portrait from the American Revolution

If you are looking for ready-to-use primary source analysis activities, look no further:

The post How to Help Students Analyze Primary Sources appeared first on Thrive in Grade Five.

Let me help you learn all about (and teach) the American Revolution effectively, while building student engagement and a love of history!

Make social studies your students’ favorite class of the day… I can help! 💙 ❤️

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