Primary Sources from State Archives Designed for Use in the Classroom

LearnCalifornia.org is an electronic resource for students, teachers, and others using the resources of the California State Archives. See http://www.learncalifornia.org/

The Colorado State Archives published "Go To The Source, Discovering 20th Century U.S. History Through Colorado Documents" was in 2001.

The "Kids and Students" page on the State Archives website "was developed with the elementary student in mind by responding to the most frequently asked questions (FAQ's) ... received [by the State Archives]. Many of the sites are official State of Colorado websites and some are not." See http://www.colorado.gov/colorado-government-services-for/kids-students.html

The CHO website currently contains about 14,000 images of photographs, drawings and prints which may be searched or browsed in a variety of ways, including by keyword, subject, creator, title and date. Geographical sites may be searched using a Digital Geographic Locator developed by the University of Connecticut's Map and Geographic Information Center (MAGIC). Descriptions of the images are provided in detailed catalog records. Online learning tools created especially for middle and high school students provide suggestions for interpreting and exploring the database. Additional lesson plans, activities and photo essays designed by teacher advisors and educational consultants will be added in the future.

In Phase Two of the project, currently underway, a variety of additional materials will be added. A new search interface will also be developed, and is expected to be released in the summer of 2004.

http://www.cthistoryonline.org

The Florida State Archives "Florida Memory Project," a web site that provides educational resources for teachers and students online. This site uses archival documents that support curriculum requirements and guidelines outlined in the Sunshine State Standards (standards set by the Florida Department of Education that identify what students should know and be able to do after they complete specific grades).  http://fpc.dos.state.fl.us/memory/

The Online Classroom is designed to help educators use photographs and documents from the Florida State Archives. Lesson plans are correlated to the Sunshine State Standards.The Online Classroom also showcases collaborative projects between the Florida State Archives and Florida schools. These projects help students make a personal connection to the primary source documents that tell the stories of their communities. http://www.floridamemory.com/OnlineClassroom/

The Florida State Archives is embarking upon a two-year project to enhance access to and provide educational tools based upon the Florida Folklife Collection. http://www.floridamemory.com/folklife.cfm

In order to promote the use of primary documents in education, The Georgia Archives provides significant resources for both students and teachers. Reproductions of original documents, research guides, on-line exhibits, and information such as fast facts about Georgia are available via the web at http://www.GeorgiaArchives.org.

For those able to visit our facility, we offer building tours, exhibits, and workshops for students and teachers. Traveling workshops and presentations are also available on a limited basis.

Direct link to educator information: http://www.georgiaarchives.org/
how_may_we_help_you/educator/default.htm

The Capitol Education Center, another division of the Secretary of State, currently has resources available for teachers on their site at http://www.sos.state.ga.us/tours/html/teacher.html.

The Idaho State Historical Society provides teacher resources at http://www.idahohistory.net/education.html

The Illinois State Archives website includes links to an online documentary teaching package on the Illinois and Michigan Canal and descriptions of several other packages available in hard copy. See http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/
archives/docpacks.html

The Indiana Commission on Public Records' Digital Classroom, includes History Day resources
http://www.in.gov/icpr/archives/featured/classroom/

Many teacher resources are available from the Kansas State Historical Society: workshops, an electronic newsletter, classroom activities, and other supplemental materials. Featured in 2004 are those supporting study of the Lewis and Clark Expedition during its bicentennial anniversary celebration. See http://www.kshs.org/teachers/news/index.htm.

Digitized Kansas Territory materials are available at http://www.territorialkansasonline.org/cgiwrap/imlskto/index.php.  

The Louisiana State Archives occasionally provides school groups and teachers with copies of original records. Future plans include expansion of its website to include an inventory of resources and educational aids.

The Maine State Archives coordinates Maine National History Day, stressing the value of primary sources.  Its History Day Web site (http://www.maine.gov/sos/arc/historyday/histhome.htm) includes links to local repositories with  primary sources of potential value to students. 

A special project to demonstrate the value of Maine State Archives' records in documenting Maine towns is accessible at http://www.maine.gov/sos/arc/edu/turner/intro.htm.

The Maine State Archives has participated in workshops for history teachers sponsored by the University of Maine, in which staff reminds participants of the value of, and opportunity for, using archival material in the classroom.

The Maryland State Archives developed the Archives of Maryland series Documents for the Classroom series to make "facsimiles of original documents available for use by teachers and students in elementary and secondary schools, as well as colleges and universities." See http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/educ/html/sc2221.html

"Teaching in the Age of the Internet" provides guidance for "teaching people at all levels of education and interest how to use the technology of the information highway." http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/stagser/
s1259/121/7295/html/0000.html

The Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth provides a "Kid's Zone" page with state symbols, a history quiz, and other activities at http://www.sec.state.ma.us/cis/ciskid/kididx.htm.

The Michigan Department of History, Arts, and Libraries provides "historical documents, activities and lesson ideas [that] relate to the galleries at the Michigan Historical Museum and online. Topics include Settling a State; Civil War; Mining in Michigan; Lumbering in Michigan; Farm and Factory, 1860-1900 (Rural Michigan, Growth of Manufacturing); Farm and Factory, 1900-1930 (Agriculture, Auto Pioneers); The Great Depression; The Fifties; The Sixties; Special Exhibits (On the Air! Michigan Radio and Television Broadcasting, 1920-2000). See http://www.michigan.gov/hal/0,1607,7-160-17451_
18670_18793---,00.html

The Minnesota Historical Society offers an "educators' portal" to guide teachers to a wide range of materials and resources by grade level, format, and topic. See http://discovery.mnhs.org/edportal/

Specific sections also exist for Teacher Education, http://www.mnhs.org/school/teacher/index.htm; Online Resources, http://www.mnhs.org/school/online/index.html; Classroom Publications, http://www.mnhs.org/school/classroom/index.html; and more.

"Teaching with Documents" is a curriculum package available to all educators with particular emphasis on secondary students.  The material is built around forty primary sources held in collections at the Missouri State Archives.  This teaching tool is available on the web at
http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/education/teaching/modocs.asp

Archives staff visit fourth grade classrooms to introduce students to the concept of an archives, familiarize students with the holdings of the Missouri State Archives, and initiate discussion of family history research at the appropriate student level.  Students later visit the Archives for an in-depth tour of facilities, use of microfilm, lab experiments with conservators, and lessons in how to approach original documents to gain the greatest amount of information. The Missouri State Archives is the official sponsor of History Day in Missouri, Region IV.  Participating students are encouraged to utilize primary sources in their research, writing, and presentations.  The Friends of the Missouri State Archives present $100 award to the student who best uses the Archives' collections for this competition. 

Current resources available on the Nebraska State Historical Society website include teaching materials, including illustrated leaflets covering topics of Nebraska history at a middle-grade reading level, teacher's guides, pre- and post-visit activity packs, Nebraska data on CD-ROM, historic film clips on video, traveling trunk, coloring books. See http://www.nebraskahistory.org/museum/teachers/
material/index.htm

The Nevada Department of Cultural Affairs provides teacher resources at http://dmla.clan.lib.nv.us/docs/kids/teacher.htm. A general "kid's page" is available at http://dmla.clan.lib.nv.us/docs/kids/.

The Department of Museums, Library and Arts produced a Nevada History CD-ROM which includes historical photographs, documents, maps, speeches, oral histories, video clips, diary excerpts, etc.

The New York State Archives has a brief course on using historical records in the classroom entitled "Historical Records: what, why, where and how."
http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/ciai/dbq/ssindex.html

The North Carolina Division of Archives and History has a range of educational resources available at http://www.ah.dcr.state.nc.us/edu-outrch/default.htm
and a "kids" page at http://www.ncdcr.gov/kids.asp

The Ohio Historical Society provides resources for teaching Ohio history at http://www.ohiohistoryteachers.org/. A searchable Database of Primary Resources for Teachers which allows users to search by Title, Subject, Curriculum Category, and Appropriate Grade (k-12), is a collaborative effort of the OHS's Archives/Library and Educational Services Divisions. http://www.ohiohistory.org/resource/database/teachers.html

The Pennsylvania State Archives has hosted local high school classes for tours and presentations on the use archives and primary sources.  Our staff has also made presentations at the annual meetings of the state's Social Studies Council regarding our holdings.

"Doc Heritage" includes images of historical documents, narratives placing them in a regional, state or national context, and, where appropriate, transcriptions of each record as well as helpful links for further research. http://www.docheritage.state.pa.us/

South Carolina Department of Archives and History is the home for the "Teaching American History in South Carolina" program which coordinates yearly Summer Institutes that provide a range of professional development opportunities for South Carolina teachers. http://www.teachingushistory.org/ The state archives also provides extensive History Day resources.

South Dakota State Archives The South Dakota Historical Society provides educational resources at http://nhd.sc.gov. See also Online Exhibits; History Day.

The "Tides in Early Texas History" collaborative digital project creates a platform in which cultural heritage institutions and educators can work together to enrich learning experiences for students, bridge gaps between disciplines, and increase access to unique cultural collections. The gathering of all forms of cultural history around a topic offers a more complete story of the past than any one piece could do alone. The result is a unique tool for educators to teach early Texas history and information literacy. The Texas Tides project addresses the needs of educators, researchers, and students for readily accessible primary and secondary cultural resource materials. The Tides web site documents early Texas history (prehistory until A.D. 1900) with an east Texas slant. In addition, The Texas Tides project meets the needs of Texas history teachers for curriculum material that will not only meet the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) guidelines, but also help prepare their students for the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills Test (TAKS). http://tides.sfasu.edu/home.html

The Portal to Texas History offers students and lifelong learners a digital gateway to the rich collections held in Texas libraries, museums, archives, historical societies, and private collections. The Portal team at the University of North Texas Libraries provides strong leadership by supporting collaborative efforts with its partners, while pursuing the goals of accessibility, best practices, and preservation of historical material. Designed to appeal to historians, students, and lifelong learners, the Portal emphasizes access to primary sources. It features digital reproductions of photographs, maps, letters, documents, books, artifacts, and more. Portal curriculum Primary Source Adventures that comply with TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills) standards highlight relevant materials for classroom teachers.
See http://texashistory.unt.edu/

Due to budget cuts, the Library of Virginia is no longer able to provide ongoing educational programs, curriculum workshops or tours. Resources that have already been developed are still available through its website at http://www.lva.lib.va.us/whatwedo/k12/index.htm. These include an elementary-level educator's guide, "Virginia: The History and Culture of a Commonwealth."  Based on original documents from Virginia's history, it enables teachers to help students interpret and analyze the people, places, and events of the state's past. 

A variety of resources for the study of Washington state history is available from the Washington State Archives and Washington State Library at http://www.secstate.wa.gov/history/