Introduction

To most students, history is a collection of past events, facts, and dates which are to be memorized and regurgitated back to the teacher on a test. History to them is cold and impersonal. Primary sources, when used in the classroom, can lead students to understand that the textbook is only one subjective interpretation of historical events. As students study primary sources, they begin to realize that the documents that shape their views of past events were created by and written about real people. Much of the personal, social, political and economic points of view are filtered out as the people and events of the past are summarized for future study. The use of primary sources puts back these points of view, allowing the students to make judgments about the people and events of the past, based on his/her own biases and knowledge.

This WebQuest will guide you to answer the following questions.

What are primary sources and why should teachers use them as a part of a classroom lesson?