Educators across subject areas are striving to integrate primary sources into their pedagogy and teaching. Yet, despite their importance to authentic disciplined inquiry, the implementation of primary source activities in the pre-K-12 classroom has been limited. This lack of utilization can largely be attributed to the perception that these…

This article presents activities for pairing three graphic novels with primary sources to teach the civil rights movement to teens. Reading civil rights-related graphic novels, and reviewing corresponding primary sources, can provide students with a deeper understanding of this tragic time in U.S. history and provoke discussions about racial…

Folklife, a type of inquiry that focuses on "ways of life" as its central lens, is constantly changing. Rather than focus on cultural loss or salvaging, folklife inquiry is more powerful when it is positioned to offer insights about human experience through the sharing of personal lived histories in safe and supportive environments. At…

Popular music has existed in American education since the 1700s. However, biases related to race and class, and concern for student morality have often led educators to eliminate or suppress these musics in the classroom. Progressive teachers and students themselves sometimes advocated for popular styles, which eventually made their way into the…

In recent years, disciplinary literacy has offered a promising approach to history instruction in K-12 schools. Disciplinary literacy in history (hereafter, "historical literacy") entails approaching texts with an awareness of the interpretive nature of the field, reading and analyzing a variety of primary and secondary sources in…

As stewards of historical documents, objects, and places, public history institutions are well-positioned to present history in ways that develop today's students into tomorrow's informed and active citizens. This article illustrates how public history institutions are equipped to engage students with the tools and techniques they need to become…

Purpose: This paper uses former Black girl students' experiential knowledge as a lens to examine Black students' experiences with formal and informal curriculum; it looks to the 1970s during Waco Independent School District's desegregation implementation process. Design/methodology/approach: Guided by critical race theory, I used historical and…

The pandemics and epidemics experienced in Turkey after the second quarter of the twentieth century had a profound impact on society and education. The "General Hygiene Law", which came into force in 1930 in an attempt to fight against increasing epidemic diseases, was a service provided by the state to improve health conditions in the…

As Social Studies teachers with decades of combined experience and as teacher educators at a predominantly white midwestern university, the authors center their curriculum around teaching challenging and whole histories, analyzing primary sources, and creating classroom community spaces where difficult dialogues can safely happen. While the…

Background/Context: This article discusses the influence and legacy of three Chilean educators in the country's schooling system during the first half of the 20th century. Focus of Study: Based on the changes that Darío Salas, Irma Salas, and Amanda Labarca promoted in the Latin American country, it explores how the ideas of their teacher John…

The Library of Congress offers a wealth of primary source documents that can be integrated into the classroom to enhance critical thinking skills of students as they learn about historical and other related topics. Similarly, these materials can be promoted via individual libraries for their 24/7 access online. Understanding what primary source…

A proliferation of ethnic hate speech and racial intolerance in New Jersey are two of the key points listed in the 1994 New Jersey State Legislature which mandated Holocaust education. As the mandate enters its third decade, there is an increasing urgency for educators to recognize, prepare for, and implement strategies to achieve these intended…

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact on community college students when they designed their lesson plans using primary sources. Preservice teachers were provided resources from Waynesburg University's "Teaching with Primary Sources" initiative and given instruction on how to navigate the Library of Congress's Teachers…

The authors have worked with teachers across the country as they have exposed social studies students to primary source texts only to find consistent challenges with: (1) Academic language gaps (lack of content knowledge to contextualize or interpret texts); (2) Comprehension gaps (inability to accurately derive meaning from text); (3) Inaccurate…

The integration of innovative interdisciplinary approaches to the ?-12 Curriculum aims to deepen students' knowledge and help them develop transversal skills. Applying an interdisciplinary lens, with a focus on pandemics, can help shape attitudes by means of inculcating the values of responsible global citizenship, and a high sense of personal and…