5 Primary Resources for Your Classroom

IMAGE: Generated by Bing Image Creator, https://www.bing.com/images/create, prompt: "a student using physical primary sources for research".

Did you know that primary sources are everywhere? As I stated in my Primary Sources blog post, primary sources allow students to make their own inferences and connections, see perspectives on historical events through the lens of people affected, and give students the opportunity to analyze content directly from the source and not through another's possible bias or viewpoint. Here are 5 (although there are tons more out there) primary source repositories that you can use in your classroom.

New Bedford Whaling Museum Collection (eMuseum)

The New Bedford Whaling Museum holds a collection of paper, paintings, sculptures, furniture, textiles, logbooks / journals, domestic items, etc. pertaining to the Whaling Era, specifically for New Bedford, MA, but also includes other maritime cities and countries. Everything in the collection is digitized and contains additional information on each item.

• Name of resource: Collections (includes Highlights, Collections, People, Exhibitions, and Favorites) 
• Type: Digital repository
• Link: Collections (https://newbedford.emuseum.com/objects/images), People (https://newbedford.emuseum.com/people) — Collections is divided into categories
• Use: Connects with Massachusetts History and Social Science framework for grade 5.
• Searching: Searching searches the entire collection, but the collection can be filtered using detailed breakdowns.
• Tags: Primary, Elementary School, Middle School, Library Resource, Teacher Resource, History, Collection

Digital Commonwealth, Massachusetts Collections Online

The Digital Commonwealth contains a collection of primary sources ranging from books, letters, photographs, paintings, film, newspapers, audio, documents, and much more. Provides collections from all over the world that are housed in Massachusetts. Also connects you with the collection houses to search within specified collections such as the Boston Public Library, Fitchburg State University, and many more.

• Name of resource: Search
• Type: Digital repository
• Link: https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search
• Use: Great for students to search to find primary information based on any topic for a research assignment. Best for Massachusetts History and Social Science framework connections.
• Searching: Searching searches the entire online collection, but the filters change depending on what is available for your inquiry.
• Tags: Primary, Middle School, High School, History, Teacher Resources, Library Resources, Collection

Archive of Native American Recorded History

The Archive of Native American Recorded History is a collection of audio, files, and images of Native Americans and their history and oral traditions. Contains collections for many tribes, but a few for each and not a complete collection.

• Name of resource: Browse Collection
• Type: Digital repository
• Link: https://www.nativeoralhistory.org/ 
• Use: Connects with Massachusetts History and Social Science framework for grades 3, 9–12. Would be great in conjunction with a lesson plan. 
• Searching: Searching searches the entire collection. The collection can be filtered by the repository, tribe / community / culture, subject (category), media type, and keywords.
• Tags: Primary, Elementary, High School, Teacher Resources, Library Resources, Collection

Primary Sources at Yale

Yale University has a collection of primary sources from the Babylonian, Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript library, Classics library, Cushing / Whitney Medical library, Divinity library, Fortunoff Video archive of Holocaust testimonials, Gilmore Music library, Historical Sound Recordings, Humanities, International, Lewis Walpole library, Lilian Goldman Law library, Manuscripts and Archives, Marx library, Mathematics library, Microform Reading Room, Oral History of American Music, Peabody Museum of Natural History, Robert B. Haas Family Arts library, Yale Center for British Art, Yale Collection of Musical Instruments, Yale Film Archive, Yale University Art Gallery collections.

• Name of resource: Primary Sources at Yale: Explore Collections
• Type: Digital repository
• Link: https://primarysources.yale.edu/collections 
• Use: Students could explore collections based on assignment. Could be accessed for History, Art, Mathematics, Government, and more. It has wide applications, but needs time to search under each specific collection.
• Searching: To search you need to click into the specific collection. Searching and filtering will work within the specific collection.
• Tags: Primary, High School, Teacher Resources, Library Resources, History, Math, Art, Laws and Acts, Government, Language Arts, Collection

Musée du Louvre

The Musée du Louvre (Louvre Museum) hosts a collection of 500,000+ works between the Musée du Louvre and Musée National Eugène-Delacroix. The collection contains architecture, books, paintings, personal objects, monuments, textiles, sculptures, and more. Each item is photographed / scanned and allows for image downloads and printing the item webpage.

• Name of resource: Louvre site des collections (Louvre Collections)
• Type: Digital repository
• Link: https://collections.louvre.fr/en/ 
• Use: I would suggest high school as the search is in French. Could connect with Massachusetts Languages Curriculum Framework (for French) and / or the Massachusetts Arts Curriculum Framework for research beyond what is available in U.S. primary sources.
• Searching: Searching is conducted in French, and results are in French (thumbnails are shown). Searching searches the entire Musée du Louvre and Musée National Eugène-Delacroix collection. Searches are able to be filtered by artist, medium, specific collection, and / or if the item is on display.
• Tags: Primary Source, High School, Teacher Resources, Library Resources, Foreign Language, Art, Collection

For a larger list of primary sources that I have curated, you can peruse my Raindrop.io Bookmark list.