Activity #4
Learning to Work With Many Different Types of Primary Sources

Students often try to analyze many different types of primary source using the same skills or questions, thereby often missing important clues to the meaning of the source. A variety of online tools make it possible for students to acquire some of these same skills of expert learners as they learn to work with many different types of sources.

Your group will be assigned one of the following modules to examine.

Making Sense of Oral History: http://historymatters.gmu.edu/mse/oral/
Making Sense of Films: http://historymatters.gmu.edu/mse/film/
Making Sense of Maps: http://historymatters.gmu.edu/mse/maps/

Read the first section or two of the text in your module and then skip ahead to the "Try it Yourself" link. Complete several of the exercises you find there, making notes on how you might integrate this module into your classes. Finally, compare your notes with the other members of your group.