Teaching with Primary Sources at Eastern Illinois University

Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum Resources

These pages were created by the Teaching with Primary Sources (formerly An Adventure of the American Mind) program at Eastern Illinois University. In these exhibit resources you will find digitized versions of primary sources from the Library of Congress American Memory Collection that you may wish to use in your classroom prior to or following a visit to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum. These images were selected for their relevance to the exhibits and as a means to intrigue students and bring the life and times of our 16th President into your classroom. American Memory is a multimedia web site of digitized historical documents, photographs, sound recordings, moving pictures, books, pamphlets, maps, and other resources from the Library of Congress' vast holdings. A historic initiative in its own right, American Memory currently makes available more than 100 collections and more than 10 million individual items to users in the U.S. and throughout the world. Click here to learn more about Primary Sources.

Exhibit Resources

Tools for Teachers

We have all heard the saying "A picture is worth a thousand words." For schools with technology tools and teachers that are aware of the different learning styles of students, multimedia is an integrated part of education. By offering instruction by differentiated means, we as educators can reach more students in ways that will engage and hopefully trigger a desire to learn more. Textbooks chronicle historic facts and often focus on well-known facts. Diaries, journals, memoirs, reminiscences, letters, speeches and interviews can offer a glimpse into the private lives, thoughts, hopes, and goals of lesser-known people and places providing a snapshot of life at the time. There are two key reasons for including primary sources in the curriculum, they are:

  1. Primary Sources expose students to multiple perspectives on issues of the past and present.
  2. Primary sources help students develop knowledge, skills and analytical abilities utilizing higher order cognitive skills

How To Use This Page

To access and use these items click on the image. This will take you to the bibliography page for the image which also identifies the collection - BE SURE TO CHECK OUT THE REST OF THE COLLECTION!! To learn How to View and Listen or How to Download and Save these images in other programs click the links provided. For information on Copyright and Fair Use and How to Cite Electronic Sources select these links. Need some ideas using these wonderful resources? Go to Lesson Plans and Activities for Teachers Resource Page.

Objectives

After completing this lesson, some of the skills that students may acquire are the ability to:

  • Describe issues or problems facing Americans during this time period. (Civil War, Reconstruction)
  • Explain possible solutions to problems suggested in the sources.
  • Make inferences based on the timeline that is presented in the museum and these exhibit resources.
  • Search to identify documents related to a topic or problem.
  • Identify and collect artifacts related to key themes or events in Illinois and the U.S. history at this time.
  • Describe and analyze primary sources.
  • Compare/contrast materials to articulate the relationships between the artifact and events or themes in Illinois and U.S. history.
  • Differentiate between primary and secondary source materials as they explore perspectives of the Civil War.
  • Understand multiple perspectives of the Civil War through the use of documents and images.
  • Make inferences about how children were affected by the Civil War.
  • Identify point of view/bias in historical documents, both text and pictorial.
  • Assess the significance of the contributions of Abraham Lincoln.
  • Develop a holistic, multidisciplinary perception of the progression of the Civil War and Slavery.
  • Become aware of the American Memory collections and learn how to use them effectively when doing historical research.
  • Learn that there are many ways to influence and effect change.
  • Understand that it took the efforts of many people over time for slavery to end.
  • Use their knowledge from studying Abraham Lincoln to create modern day election ephemera.
  • Enhance computer technology skills.