Constructing the Context: Workshop

The Library of Congress

Lesson Home

Presenting the Workshop

Objectives	This workshop series will encourage teachers to: acquire a working knowledge of American Memory; distinguish between primary and secondary sources; assess the credibility of primary sources; assemble a collection of primary sources to tell a story; develop a lesson for their classroom that will lead students through these same processes and activities, and support teachers as they begin to develop curriculum which is enhanced by access to technology and online resources.
Time Required	Workshop: One six-hour session or two three-hour sessions of staff development, followed by teacher implementation in the classroom. Classroom lessons: five days, 40-60 minutes each day.
Recommended Grade Level	Grades 4, 5, 6
Curriculum Fit	Literature, art, social studies, history, and geography. This workshop series provides: definitive examples of what a primary source is; model lessons using primary sources, and assistance in the development of instructional models for students.
Resources Used	American Memory African-American Perspectives, 1818-1907 California As I Saw It, 1849-1900 The Evolution of the Conservation Movement, 1850-1920 First-Person Narratives of the American South, 1860-1920 Map Collections, 1500-2003 The Northern Great Plains, 1880-1920 Touring Turn-of-the-Century America, 1880-1920 Voices from the Dust Bowl, 1940-1941 Words and Deeds in American History Learning Page Creative Portraits: Using Art and Artifacts to Deepen Historical Understanding Using Primary Sources in the Classroom Historian's Sources Lesson Lesson Framework Library of Congress African-American Odyssey Dorothea Lange's "Migrant Mother" Photographs in the Farm Security Administration Collection: An Overview from the Prints and Photographs Division Other Online Sources Harcourt Brace Signatures Anthology Print Sources Altman, Susan. Extraordinary Black Americans from Colonial to Contemporary Times. New York: Children's Press, 1989. Anderson, Joan, George Ancona, and George Anderson. The American Family Farm: A Photo Essay. San Diego: Harcourt Brace, 1996. Bunting, Eve, and Greg Shed. Dandelions. New York: Harcourt Brace, 1995. Cherry, Lynne. A River Ran Wild: An Environmental History. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1992. Conrad, Pam. Prairie Songs. New York: Harper Collins, 1991. Fleischman, Sid. By the Great Horn Spoon! Boston: Little, Brown, 1963. Fordred, Liz, with Susie Blackmun. Freedom Ride. A Ocean to Cross: Daring the Atlantic, Claiming a New Life. Camden, Me.: International Marine: 2001. Gates, Doris. Blue Willow. New York: Viking Press, 1940. George, Jean Craighead. Julie of the Wolves. New York: Harper & Row, 1972. Lowry, Lois. Number the Stars. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1989. Paulsen, Gary. The River. New York: Yearling Books, 1993. Rawls, Wilson. Where the Red Fern Grows: The Story of Two Dogs and a Boy. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1961. Sieber, Diane and Wendell Minor. Heartland. New York: Crowell, 1989. Turner, Ann Warren. Dakota Dugout. New York: Macmillan, 1985. Turner, Ann Warren. Grasshopper Summer. New York: Macmillan, 1989. Wilder, Laura Ingalls. Little House on the Prairie. New York: HarperTrophy, 1971.

Procedure

A. Introducing Primary Sources (30 minutes)

Conduct a personal "mind walk" using personal primary sources and artifacts that reflect something important in your own life. Display the artifact in a simple manner. Guide and instruct the participants to use the Artifact Analysis Matrix to record their observations of the artifact. Then share "the real story" of your relationship to the artifact.

In order to connect to the creative concept of "Artifact Road Show," participants may place a value on the artifact from a reviewer's and an owner's perspective. This assignment leads to a discussion of what brings value, as well as meaning, to an artifact.

The following list demonstrates possible examples of the different types of primary sources:

published documents-an official document about you, i.e., driver's license, birth certificate, teaching credential, passport, newspaper article;
unpublished documents-a letter written to you, diary, journal;
oral traditions/histories-a family story, and
visual documents/artifacts-a photograph, drawing, caricature, trophy, locket, or medal.

B. Constructing the Context with Literature (30 minutes)

In order to create additional context for the artifact, read participants a short literary piece that also reflects "the real you," and model the selection of words and phrases that answer the 5-Ws:

who;
what;
where;
when;
why and sometimes;
how.

C. Creating a 5-W Poem (30 minutes)

Model the arrangement of these words/phrases into a verse or series of poetic verses, each verse containing answers to all of the 5-W questions. The answer to each of the questions is placed on its own line within the verse.

D. Developing an Artifact Road Show (60 minutes)

Participants find their own personal artifact (in purses, cars, etc.). Have participants display their personal artifacts on a table. Teams of three review each other's artifacts and interpret them to determine information about the owners' personalities and lifestyles, after which artifact owners "construct a context" that reveals "the whole story."

Throughout this activity, participants gather notes on a few of the artifacts by creating an Artifact Analysis Matrix.

TIP: The facilitator should become thoroughly acquainted with all of the features of the Learning Page presentations, Using Primary Sources in the Classroom and the Historian's Sources Lesson, in order to feel comfortable with leading the teachers through the above activities. The facilitator may want to print sections of these two presentations for participants to review and study.

E. Linking Literature to Artifacts (Work time of 2.5 to 3 hours with an additional 30-60 minutes to share their results with each other)

This activity may provide background prior to reading or may serve to extend and enrich works already read.

Participants select a passage from an anthology that can serve as their literary source. Teachers select a literary work or a group of literary works that illustrates a theme for the artifact lesson they present to their classes. This theme may be from an anthology used for reading instruction or from a collection of books the students have read or are about to read.
Participants are given time and guidance in searching the American Memory collections for artifacts to support the themes that they select. See Introduction to Searching American Memory for tips on how to search.
Participants are given time and guidance in searching the American Memory collections for artifacts to support the themes that they select.
Participants may elect to share their poems, primary sources, and choices of literature, using the Gallery Walk Reaction Sheet.

Evaluation

Evaluation of the workshop may include:

teacher evaluation comments on the workshop;
observation of the lessons in the classroom setting;
feedback from teachers on the success of the lesson, if used with their classes; and/or
survey of teachers' continued use of the Library of Congress Web site, via an online survey six months after the training sessions.

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Last updated 02/05/2004