8. Historical Records in the Classroom

Adapt records to your class and the curriculum – not the other way around!

Tips:

• Take care of original copies of historical records: set aside a master copy, generate classroom copies from the master, and organize master copies in folders or binders for safekeeping.
• The way a historical record is presented to students may vary. They can be: enlarged to be legible or for detail to emerge, projected as a slide or transparency, or scanned onto electronic media – making them accessible on computers.
• The same historical record may serve many age levels, many instructional units, and many different abilities.
• Pull what is useful. This might include one image from a photograph or one sentence from a written historical record.
   

Considerations:

• Handwritten historical records can be difficult to read and require close attention.
• Terminology used in older records can prove difficult because of changes in word use and lack of standardized spelling.
• Whenever possible, students should work with historical records because it is important for students to master the skill of interpreting information from them.
• Students need to consider the type of record they are looking at, who created it, when it was created, and for what purpose. (Teaching with Documents: Lesson Plans at the National Archives’ Web site is a useful resource for getting students to really look at and think about historical records.  Reproducible worksheets are also available on this site.)
• Encourage students to perform research in repositories to give them valuable, practical experience they can use in their adult lives such as: preparing taxes, performing the duties of an executor, or satisfying questions about the property on which they live.
• Some search engines allow you to translate documents in foreign languages into English. Be aware that some translations are more accurate than others.

Lesson Evaluation Techniques and Suggestions:

Historical records lend themselves to evaluation, both at the outset of a unit of study (when they may help a teacher determine what students have already mastered) and at the end of a unit (as a culminating activity). Use historical records to target the skills and content of standards-based instruction. Have students demonstrate understanding by means of essay questions and research papers.

Other evaluation suggestions for which historical records can be used:

• short-answer questions

• portfolios

• journals

• projects such as exhibits, audio and video productions

• multimedia productions

• performances

• posters

• murals

• model building

• illustrated timelines

• poetry

• creative writing

• role-playing games

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