Research Guides: Gale Primary Sources and Digital Scholar Lab: Teaching with Primary Sources

How to Analyze a Primary Source

To determine if a primary source document is relevant to your lesson plan, assess whether it directly connects to the key topic or learning objectives of your lesson, provides first-hand information related to the historical period you're studying, and is accessible enough for your students to analyze and interpret based on their age and reading level, considering factors like the author's perspective, date of creation, and the document's content itself; essentially, ask yourself if the document offers valuable insights into the subject matter you are teaching and can be effectively used to engage students in critical thinking about the topic.

Getting Started with Primary Sources - For Teachers
Use this website from the Library of Congress to learn how to use primary sources in teaching. Primary sources expose students to multiple perspectives on significant issues of the past and present. In analyzing primary sources, students move from concrete observations and facts to questioning and making inferences about the materials. Interacting with primary sources engages students in asking questions, evaluating information, making inferences, and developing reasoned explanations and interpretations of events and issues.
Analyze a Written Document
Use this website from the National Archives to guide your students through document analysis. Document analysis is the first step in working with primary sources. Teach your students to think through primary source documents for contextual understanding and to extract information to make informed judgments.

Finding Primary Sources to Use In Instruction

Built into every Gale Primary Source is a Learning Center which helps guide users through their research with primary sources.

To find the Learning Center within a Gale Primary Source Archive, look for the Learning Center Lightbulb Icon in the toolbar at the top of the screen:

The Find section of the Learning Center reviews:

Here is a screenshot of the Search The Archive section of the Learning Center within Archives of Sexuality and Gender:

Applying Primary Sources to The Classroom

Webinar Overview: Incorporating primary sources into undergraduate studies has been shown to positively impact both college and career success. Discover how Gale Primary Sources are valuable assets for first years’ students. This is an informative webinar that showcases Gale Primary Sources and their relevance across multiple disciplines, aligning with common, required courses in 1st and 2nd year academic programs.