How to Use Primary Sources

Learning to do Historical Research by William Cronon

Teaching with Primary Sources, Library of Congress

National History Day Toolkit

EDSITEment, National Endowment for the Humanities

EDSITEment offers digital resources and lesson plans for teachers and students of literature and language arts, foreign languages, art and culture, and history and social studies.

Teachers’ Resources, National Archives

The site includes lesson plans and information on getting started with primary sources in the classroom.

Teaching with Historic Places, National Park Service

Lesson plans using digitized primary sources and information about professional development opportunities for teachers.

History Blueprint

This site, which offers innovative instruction tools, was created by the California Council for the Humanities, American Historical Association, and other organizations.

Education Tools, Massachusetts Historical Society

Curricula based on historical manuscripts held by MHS, a list of MHS collections available online, and information about teacher fellowships.

Reading, Writing, and Researching for History: A Guide for College Students, Bowdoin College

Do History

Oral History: guides

History of the Book, Harvard University

This site, for Boston-area scholars interested in the history and future of the book, lists local events, conferences and online resources.

Map History

The gateway to the history of cartography that has information about conferences, exhibits, map collections, images of early maps, a discussion list, and teaching.

World History Sources, Center for History and New Media, George Mason University

This site includes guides for analyzing primary sources (including material culture, images, maps, newspapers, music, personal papers and official records) and placing them in historical context as well as several case studies for teaching a particular type of primary source.

Oliver Wendell Holmes Library || Phillips Academy