Primary sources fascinate students because they are real and they are personal; history is humanized through them. Using original sources, students touch the lives of the people about whom history is written. They participate in human emotions and in the values and attitudes of the past. By reading a series of public opinion surveys from World War II, for example, students confront the language of the person interviewed and his or her fears about shortages, as well as the interviewer's reactions recorded after the interview. These human expressions provide history with color and excitement and link students directly to its cast of characters.
Interpreting historical sources helps students to analyze and evaluate contemporary sources--newspaper reports, television and radio programs, and advertising. By using primary sources, students learn to recognize how a point of view and a bias affect evidence, what contradictions and other limitations exist within a given source, and to what extent sources are reliable. Essential among these skills is the ability to understand and make appropriate use of many sources of information. Development of these skills is important not only to historical research but also to a citizenship where people are able to evaluate the information needed to maintain a free society.
This site could be an invaluable resource for teaching media literacy. Analysis of multiple advertisements for specific products over time will shed some light on not only advertising techniques but provide an insight into the social culture of the time. History should be taught in the context of the culture of the time. Advertisements provide visuals as well as text to create an image of that culture. I especially appreciate that negative stereotypes are included. These can be used, carefully, to spark a discussion where students can be taught critical thinking skills These could even be used in literacy classes to create a discussion and to introduce a book.
