2011Reference

U.S. History Primary Sources for National History Day

Choose the topic about 9/11 you want to search for, grade level and subject to find information and primary sources about the September 11 attacks. 

Online access to Federal Government documents.   Picture of the documents and a description.  Great for teaching early American history or learning about government.

This site has great resources for teaching history, civics, or government. There are many primary documents for students to see and lots of ideas for teachers. There are state standards and lesson ideas. Lessons are provided for different eras and there is a link to DocsTeach where teachers can create their own documents or search for something they can use. I think this site would be very helpful.

Reproducible copies of primary sources for teachers to use in their classrooms.  Website is well organized by topics and dates with many primary sources to use in classrooms or in the library to help students with research. Documents from the holdings of the National Archives of the United States.

Civil War Primary Documents, Personal Diaries, Journals, Letters, Cartoons, Art, Images, Poetry, Literature, & Music.  

Group of primary sources put together by the College of Education at the University of Florida.   Made for educators who value the use of primary sources in their classrooms.

Images are taken from the New-York Historical Society's archive collection of primary sources.  Includes photographs, letters from soldiers, drawings, and posters.  Excellent website for teaching or researching about the Civil War.

Sets of primary sources about many different topics

This is the Lincoln Library website. They have a collection of primary source material that ranges from text to photographs and covers a wide variety of topics from Native American History to Civil War and slavery. It would be great to use to introduce students to Abraham Lincoln.

This website, funded by the U.S. Department of Education, has a plethora of resources available to help parents and teachers looking for resources.  One of my favorite parts to use in the classroom was the section of videos from many different authors.  These would be great to use for an author study, lesson, or just to enhance a book the students enjoyed.

This is LIFE magazine's photo archive. I love this site because it has everything. Yu can photos for recent history as well as anything from the past. It has a great search option. I use this to set up picture walks when I am teaching anything that my students may not have background knowledge for.

This is a webpage that has a lot of links to primary doucments including treaties and diaries from WWI. It is a great place for history students to get primary source documentation for reports or just to extend their learning.

A science topic that is bound to grab and hold onto everyone's attention is outer space. NASA offers four versions of their student site: K-4, 5-8, 9-12, and higher education. Each version offers some basic "must-haves" for primary sources such as photo libraries, videos, and a link to NASA-TV. In addition, there are games to motivate students, career profiles (to help students see what steps are necessary if they want to become an astronaut), and "Homework Topics" to help students extend their learning. There is also a great NASA Kids Club that is available!

This site teaches far more than history to our students. The photos, documents, and first-hand accounts of the Holocaust and World War II are presented in a way that encourages students to see others as people; not by color, nationality, ability, etc. This is an ideal way to give students primary material to improve their social/cultural literacy as well as emotional literacy. It is powerful and poignant, a site that could benefit any student, intermediate age and higher.

The Truman Library provides some great lessons and primary documents for elementary to secondary students. Various documents can be found including cartoons, audio clips, print resources, and photographs. A chronology of events during Truman's presidency highlights his contributions to history. Great for history or government classes to explore.

This site has some great local photos. It really documents the development of the Omaha area and various events throughout Omaha's history. It would be a great place to have fourth grade browse for local history.

This is the history page for the local branch of the Weather Service. It has photos of the various locations throughout the area, both current and past. Then there are some links and information at the bottom of the page. This would be great for the fourth grade when they begin their tornado units in the Spring.

This website is a great resource for students looking for information about the Holocaust. Besides their own archive of Holocaust material, they have links to several other sites which also have primary archival material. This would be a great palce for students to use for their senior Holocaust projects.

This site is dedicated to remembrance of Holocaust victims. It has some primary source archives like diaries, photographs, art work, and testimonies. It would be a great place to start some primary research for senior Holocaust projects.

This site has a collection of declassified information from testimonies, congressional records, and presidental papers. This website can help find primary government documents relating to events in American History. Audio clips, articles, and picture are included for a resource for ages 6-12.