Primary Sources Newsletter for Educators from the Alabama Department of Archives and History

November 2011

Using Primary Sources to Encourage Student Research

"The act of research, of asking questions about our world and pursuing them with the goal of understanding, is the deep work of social studies."

-- Douglas Selwyn

Selwyn, Douglas. "Encouraging Student Research." Social Education. October 2011:

277-280.

The lesson plans for November encourage students to investigate primary source documents and to conduct research about topics from late 19th- and early 20th- century Alabama. Convict leasing, child labor, the 19th Amendment, prohibition, and the differing approaches of W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington concerning African American life after Reconstruction allow students to discuss and debate beliefs from the time period that have shaped our nation. Remember to preview all of the lessons to make sure that they are age and grade appropriate for your students. The lessons for this month are all written for high school students.

We would like to get your comments and suggestions about the lesson plans. A Feedback button is located at the bottom of the lesson plan index for your convenience.

Two Different African American Visions: W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington (created by Mary Hubbard, Consultant for the Alabama History Education Initiative)
Convict Leasing in Alabama: A System That Re-Enslaved Blacks After the Civil War (created by Mary Hubbard, Consultant for the Alabama History Education Initiative)
Reformers and Child Labor in Alabama (created by Mary Hubbard, Consultant for the Alabama History Education Initiative)
Prohibition in the Early 1900s: One Issue, Multiple Dimensions (created by Mary Hubbard, Consultant for the Alabama History Education Initiative)
What Were They Thinking? Why Some Alabamians Opposed the 19th Amendment (created by Mary Hubbard, Consultant for the Alabama History Education Initiative)

	History at Home Activity for November

	Thanksgiving and Family Traditions Thanksgiving provides families a time to gather together and to share their traditions. Our Family Traditions Book is a wonderful way for children to find out more about the things that make their families special. Check out the activities that include a family tree, family tree orchard, and edible memories. These activities can be used as individual activities or as a set.

	Interesting Web Resources

	Help students to understand the value of money from different time periods by using the web site, MeasuringWorth.com. This site will translate the prices of yesterday into the dollars of today. Still struggling to get your students to cite their sources? Try Son of Citation Machine.net that will allow your students to fill in the blanks concerning their source and receive a citation for MLA, APA, or the Chicago Manual of Style.

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We tell the story of the people of Alabama by preserving records and artifacts of historical value and promoting a better understanding of Alabama history.

Alabama Department of Archives and History

624 Washington Avenue

Montgomery, Alabama 36130-0100

334-242-4435

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