Proving My Yesterday - Primary & Secondary Sources - Primary Sources About Myself

Today students:

• Did an exercise called "Proving My Yesterday," in which they listed 7-10 things they did yesterday and cited people and documents that could prove they had done those things. Purpose: show how historians document the past with primary sources
• Read a handout called "Historical Evidence: Primary & Secondary Sources" - explains the difference between primary sources and secondary sources and how they are important in learning about the past
• Listed "Primary Sources About Myself" - Students brainstormed primary sources a historian could use in gathering information to write a history of their life so far. They can use this list, plus other sources they might think of, to gather and bring primary sources about themselves tomorrow.

Assignment - Due Tuesday: Bring lots of primary sources about yourself tomorrow.

• Bring lots of different sources and lots of different kinds.
• Bring series of documents, e.g., report cards over a series of years so that a historian could trace the history of your school career. If you bring photos, don't just bring 35 pictures from Aunt Susie's family reunion of this past summer; instead, bring a series of pictures that show your growth and development over the years.
• Especially bring written sources (report cards, birth certificate, schoolwork, etc. You can bring the Snuggly Buggly the Stuffed Bear Collection, too, but let's face it, a historian could only get so much information from the SBtSFC. Report cards, letters, emails, etc. would be more useful.
• You may bring photocopies of the primary sources or pictures of them if you like.
• You could store all the documents in Dropbox or on your computer if you like. That way you could fit a lot of primary sources in a relatively small place.
• You can also bring them in folders, boxes, wheelbarrows, Ryder trucks (how hard-core are you???), etc.
• You will take the sources home with you after school tomorrow, in case your parents are worried about their being away from home too long.
• Remember the purpose of this assignment: Bring lots of sources so a historian could gather lots of information about you in order to write the history of your life thus far.
• Grading: the more you bring and the more different kinds you bring, the higher your grade.