"...the
approach that you will take to resource selection and use is embedded in
your beliefs about teaching and learning. Both what you believe is
important for your students to know to become a "good" citizen
of the 21st century and what you believe about how they will best learn
that knowledge will influence the view you take on resource
selection" (Gibson, 2005, p.43).
Are people’s values, conflicting views
on issues evidenced?
Does it encourage student engagement?
Does it allow students to process the
information and actively construct their own meaning?
Does it allow students to think about the
information presented?
(Gibson, 2005)
"First,
they [teachers] can think through their social studies goals identifying
the capabilities and dispositions they want to develop in their students
throughout the year as a whole and in each of their individual units. Then
they can examine their curriculum materials in the light of these goals.
Taking the viewpoint of the students, they can first read the student text
to see what information is included and emphasized and what information is
not, noting places where additional structuring or input will be necessary
to focus students' learning on important ideas. Then they can study the
teachers manual [for the textbook], assessing the suggested questions,
activities and evaluation devices to determine the degree to which they
will be useful as tools for helping students accomplish their primary
social studies goals. After examining their instructional materials in the
light of their goals, teachers will be in a better position to help their
students focus on important aspects of the content, skip pointless
questions and activities, and substitute other questions and activities
that support progress toward the goals they wish to emphasize" (Brophy
and Alleman as cited in Gibson, 2005, p.50).
Primary source -
source created by people who actually saw or participated in an event and
recorded that event or their reactions to it immediately after the event.
Secondary source -
source created by someone either not present when the event took place or
removed by time from the event.
Some questions to answer
before selecting primary sources for classroom use:
Interest - What kinds of
sources are of particular interest to my students?
Reading Level - How
difficult is the reading level of the primary source compared to my
students' abilities? What might help my students comprehend this material (a
glossary of terms, for example)?
Length - How long is the
source? Do I need to excerpt a portion of the source given my students'
abilities and/or classroom time constraints? How do I ensure that the
original meaning of the source is preserved in the excerpt?
Points of View - Are various
points of view on a given topic, event, or issue fairly represented in the
sources I have chosen to use? Have I achieved proper balance among the
competing points of view?
Variety of Sources - Have I
included a variety of types of sources (e.g., published, unpublished, text,
visual, and artifacts)?
Location - Where can I or my
students find the sources we need (the school or public library, the local
history society, over the Internet)?
Keep in Mind...
"First,
they [teachers] can think through their social studies goals identifying
the capabilities and dispositions they want to develop in their students
throughout the year as a whole and in each of their individual units. Then
they can examine their curriculum materials in the light of these goals.
Taking the viewpoint of the students, they can first read the student text
to see what information is included and emphasized and what information is
not, noting places where additional structuring or input will be necessary
to focus students' learning on important ideas. Then they can study the
teachers manual [for the textbook], assessing the suggested questions,
activities and evaluation devices to determine the degree to which they
will be useful as tools for helping students accomplish their primary
social studies goals. After examining their instructional materials in the
light of their goals, teachers will be in a better position to help their
students focus on important aspects of the content, skip pointless
questions and activities, and substitute other questions and activities
that support progress toward the goals they wish to emphasize" (Brophy
and Alleman as cited in Gibson, 2005, p.50).
