In the past few years at Arlington High School in Arlington, Massachusetts, we have put greater emphasis on primary source material in the social studies curriculum. Teachers now require students to include primary sources in any research they do. Students are using these types of sources in classroom activities, so that when they come to the Library Media Center for research, most are able to differentiate between primary and secondary material. Until recently, the problem for all students was finding these documents, writings, narratives, interviews, and so forth. The collection has books that contain documentation on commonly studied topics, but students had more difficulty locating sources on others.
When I purchased two titles in Primary Source Media's American Journey series, everything changed. I got The African-American Experience and Women in America, as these topics were popular with our students in both history and English classes. One of the most difficult subjects to find documentation on was the Jim Crow Laws. With a full text search on The African-American Experience, students found 55 "hits" that included documents such as "A Report on Working Conditions in the South," "DuBois Describes His Experiences as a Teacher," and "Racial Discrimination in Washington, D.C." Other topics students searched on the two CD-ROMs included Harriet Beecher Stowe and her influence, Reconstruction, Blacks or Women in the Civil War, New England Mill Girls, Suffrage, and Willa Cather.
Students were finding with ease material that had been previously difficult to locate. As a Library Media Specialist, I believe the most important part of my job is making students feel successful when they do research. If that occurs, they will continue using libraries and all types of information resources and become lifelong learners. This goal is even more important when it comes to "reluctant researchers," students who are in the media center only because it is required and are convinced that they won't find anything. Usually these are the students who are not quite sure what primary source material is.
Because the American Journey titles are searchable through the entire text by keyword using Boolean connectors, students can access all relevant material quickly. The most helpful feature is that the "hit list" (the material containing the search terms) tells what each type of information is. Because documents and pictures are identified as such, the student can easily select the needed primary source. Secondary sources are labeled "About," and citations are indicated. These descriptions allow even the student who is not sure of what constitutes primary source material to make the appropriate choice. Hot links are embedded in the text so students can easily find related information.
Teachers are pleased with the depth of research students are able to do, and many are using the primary source material found on these discs in their classroom instruction. Students are also getting a better feel for the living, breathing history and personalities they are studying. They are now able to make the leap into thinking about the influence of history on today's society.
E-mail: Shelley Glantz