Lesson Plan: College Freshman Level
Lesson Plan: College Freshman Small Seminar/Discussion Group (About 50 min) Learning how to do research with primary sources.
*Divide the class into small writing groups of 3-4 students. Tip: It’s best to do this at the start of the semester so the students get familiar with their groups over the weeks. You should have one primary source for each group. Short text sources work best. Brief newspaper articles, broadsides, pamphlets, and maps all work well. Pick sources that support your current lesson/topics of discussion.
How do we analyze primary sources?
Group Work: Each group will be given a primary source from the period of examination. Read and analyze your source as a group. Write down your understanding of the source on a sheet of paper. After 7 minutes you will pass your source to another group and receive a new one until you have viewed all of your sources. (Five sources/Groups work well)
Consider the following questions in your analysis. You will incorporate strategies like this in your own future research projects.
- Who is the author/creator of the source? Do they have political ties? Important to a specific movement or idea?
- What is the context of the time period in regard to the source?
- Who is the potential audience being addressed? Who is the source speaking to?
- Why is this source significant?
After the sources have been examined spend 15 minutes discussing your findings with the class.