{"id":619,"date":"2021-05-24T16:46:34","date_gmt":"2021-05-24T16:46:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.msudenver.edu\/tpswesternregion\/?p=619"},"modified":"2023-08-17T16:52:29","modified_gmt":"2023-08-17T16:52:29","slug":"primary-sources-and-picture-books-resources-for-educators","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.msudenver.edu\/tpswesternregion\/primary-sources-and-picture-books-resources-for-educators\/","title":{"rendered":"Primary Sources and Picture Books – Resources for Educators"},"content":{"rendered":"

Picture books are a staple of elementary instruction, but also work well for older students too.<\/span> Nonfiction and fiction picture books alike can create a powerful learning environment, especially when paired with primary sources. This is a great way to integrate history into existing reading and writing activities. <\/span><\/p>\n

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  1. Locate a powerful picture book in your school library.<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Brainstorm a list of instructional uses of the text in your classroom. Anything goes.<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Locate a collection of primary sources that can be purposefully connected to the picture book to support learners.<\/span>For example, you could use the book Soldier Song<\/i><\/a> by Debbie Levy, focusing on the role of music for Union and Confederate soldiers, paired with 1907 Army Bugle Calls<\/i><\/a>, or the song Home, Sweet Home<\/i><\/a>. Tom Bober, a.k.a. Captain Elementary, has a great blog post on Knowledge Quest<\/a> about this.<\/li>\n
  4. Choose several strategies\/tools best suited for your learners, for example:<\/span>\n
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    1. Observe, Reflect, Question (ORQ)<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n
    2. RAFT<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n
    3. Question Formulation Technique (QFT)<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n
    4. Caption Writer<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n
    5. Sentence, Phrase, Word<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n
    6. Four Fold Concept and Vocabulary Development<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n
    7. Short Story Contest<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
    8. Share your activity or lesson plan with students and other teachers!<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      For older students, have them do the work for you and ask them to find primary sources on their own to connect with a picture book, e.g. use the <\/span>Butter Battle Book <\/span><\/i>by Dr. Seuss about the Berlin Wall. Then, ask them to explain in writing or as a presentation how they connect and why they chose the primary sources.<\/span><\/p>\n

      Some other ideas for picture books that pair great with primary sources include,\u00a0Mercedes and the Chocolate Pilot<\/em><\/a> about the Berlin Airlift,\u00a0The Pie-Biter<\/a><\/em>, a trilingual (Chinese, Spanish, and English) story of the building of the transcontinental railroad, and many Dr. Seuss books, for example the Better Butter Battle<\/em><\/a>, about the building of the Berlin Wall.<\/p>\n

      This is an amazing strategy as a way to introduce younger students to primary sources, and build a deeper understanding of historical context, primary source analysis, and critical thinking skills for older students.<\/span><\/p>\n

      Below is a list of a collection of primary source sets paired with a specific picture book: <\/span><\/p>\n