Easy Activities to Get Started with Primary Sources - Plus a Freebie!

Primary sources are an amazing way to bring history into your classroom and create opportunities for critical thinking and rich discussion among your students. At the same time, it can be daunting to use primary sources with elementary students if you haven't tried it before. Here are a few easy activities you can try to bring primary sources into your classroom today.

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Leave a Comment Alyssa Teaches, history, primary sources, social studies, Virginia studies

Let them TALK! Placing Great Value in Student Conversation

I’m a talker!  Always have been, always will be.  My mother used to start parent conferences with, “I know Cathy talks too much, what else can you tell me?”  My very favorite high school English teacher used me in a vocabulary example, “Cathy is loquacious.” Yep, it means talkative. 

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Virginia Studies SOL Review and a FREEBIE

Would you like some resources to teach and/or review your Virginia Studies content? Then this post if for you! I'm Heather from Beg, Borrow, and Teach!, and I'm sharing my favorite resources for the following: SOL review, the Civil War, the American Revolution, and a FREEBIE that focuses on abolitionists and the formation of West Virginia.

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Finding Primary Sources to Teach Virginia Studies

Are you interested in using primary sources with your students, but aren't sure where to start? I know it can be a little overwhelming and time-consuming to find what you need, so I've compiled a list of user-friendly places to look for primary sources related to the Virginia Studies curriculum. I've also included some suggestions for how to select appropriate primary sources to use with your students. Hope this helps you to get started!

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Leave a Comment Alyssa Teaches, primary sources, social studies, Virginia studies

Using the Dictionary

Second graders begin to use the dictionary to learn how to use guide words. Gulp. Sigh. And alphabetize to the second and third letter. This is such a hard skill, especially since first graders are only expected to alphabetize to the first letter. So since I have now taught a combination first/second class for two years, I have been able to expose my first graders to more challenging content and get them ready for next year by doing more alphabetical order.

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