Discusses personal reasons for using historical documents in history instruction. Proposes six reasons why the use of documents in the classroom yields positive learning results. Concentrates on how the use of documents motivates students to read. Provides an example of a document and explains how it is used in the classroom. (RW)

Describes Ptolemy's map of the world. Discusses the idea of mapping the ecumene or known world. Lists Ptolemy's map making conventions still in use today including location of north at the top, 90 degrees latitude between the equator and each pole, and style of representing physical features. Emphasizes Ptolemy's view of the world as dynamic. (DK)

Describes the Amistad Research Center housed at Tulane University which is a repository of primary documents on African-American history. Topics addressed include the development and growth of the collection; inclusion of the American Missionary Association archives; sources of support; civil rights; and collecting for the future. (LRW)

Explores the primary sources that document African and African American resistance to slavery (i.e., narratives, diaries, letters, travel accounts) and the issues of accuracy and interpretation that surround these sources. Sources prove the presence of resistance among enslaved Africans. "Eurocentric" views have denied or limited the…

Describes the history of five selected problems from mathematics that are included in an undergraduate honors course designed to utilize original sources for demonstrating the evolution of ideas developed in solving these problems: area and the definite integral, the beginnings of set theory, solutions of algebraic equations, Fermat's last…

Describes the development of an American history book with interactive CD-ROM technology that includes text, pictures, graphs and charts, audio, and film. Topics discussed include the use of HyperCard software to link information; access to primary sources of information; greater student control over learning; and the concept of collaborative…

Contends that oral history projects are an effective way of teaching history. Provides suggestions on setting up an oral history project, selecting topics, conducting background research, and conducting interviews. Includes a bibliography of resources for both students and teachers. (CFR)

Reviews the development of the Louisville, Kentucky, public school music program from its establishment in 1844 to its suspension in 1879. Examines rationales for introducing music into the curriculum; debates over teaching methods; and choices of music curricula. Uses primary sources, including minutes and annual reports of the Louisville school…

Asserts that increasing numbers of significant historical archives are being opened. Relates the story of historian Patricia Kennedy Grimsted who spent 30 years identifying the existence and history of national archives in the former Soviet Union and Eastern European nations. Maintains that her efforts have helped historians take advantage of…

Discusses the importance of history and original sources in motivating students to learn content. Describes how a simple question led to a fascinating quest through primary sources. Claims that once collected, these sources proved to be a treasure trove of material illuminating mathematics and mathematicians in an historical context. Contains 18…

Argues that historic sites permit students literally to make a connection to earlier people that cannot be duplicated in a classroom. Describes how visits to Curtin Village (Pennsylvania), a Juniata River canal (Pennsylvania), the Gettysburg battlefield (Pennsylvania), and the Antietam battlefield (Maryland) are incorporated into a study of U. S.…

Presents a lesson plan for teaching about immigration through the use of primary documents. Includes background information on the history of immigration and the process of naturalization, teaching suggestions, discussion questions for students, and copies of primary documents. (DSK)

Presents a framework developed for the Library of Congress staff of the Social Science Education Consortium for using primary sources with students. Offers a brief rationale for using primary sources in the classroom, gives suggestions for using such sources in various phases of instruction, and provides a list of Web sites containing primary…

Focuses on Allen O. Hansen's "Liberalism and American Education in the Eighteenth Century" and Frederick Rudolph's "Essays on Education in the Early Republic." Explores the influence of Hansen and Rudolph on other works of educational thought. Contends that a more accurate picture of the early republic is needed. (CMK)

Discusses why and how teachers use simulations to teach about the Holocaust. Asserts that simulations constitute "poor pedagogy" and oversimplify Holocaust history. Argues that firsthand accounts from Holocaust survivors, bystanders, and victims be utilized when teaching Holocaust history. Includes excerpts from victims and survivors as…