Adapting Text-Based Primary Sources for Elementary Students

I was excited to see that the fifth grade teachers at RM Captain are integrating primary sources into some of their history teaching. Some challenges they were facing in using text-based primary sources and how they are addressing those challenges is worth sharing. Text-based primary sources can include letters, journals, diaries, laws and government records, newspapers, speeches, transcripts of interviews, or any primary source where text is the main component.

In a recent collaboration with the fifth grade teachers, they were excited to share an activity that relied on primary sources on the topic of the Jamestown colony for students to make decisions about founding their own colony and, in the process, come to some understanding of why cities and towns were initially located in certain places.

The teachers shared their resources with me. They had a number of text-based primary sources. I was interested to see how the students interacted with them, so I asked Mrs. Ketzer, one of the teachers, how the project was going.

Mrs. Ketzer shared that she didn’t think the students were connecting with the primary sources and that they were struggling with them. She shared that they were using the same process of making observations, reflections, and questions that we had done in the library with other primary sources. 

We spoke about the primary sources that they used. Some of them were longer texts. Even shorter texts had difficult vocabulary. All of the primary sources were transcribed, but were copies of copies with black print on grey background. Through our discussion, we came up with several ideas to present the primary sources in a way that may help the students connect with them more effectively.

• Retype the text so that it looked more clean and was a little larger. It would be easier to read. Removing distractions allows students to focus.
• For longer passages, choose chunks that are important for students to analyze. While older students may be able to read and analyze a large passage, younger students can be more successful with shorter passages. Choose the piece(s) you hope they would focus in on. Isolate them and let students interact with them.
• Provide a glossary on the same page, allowing students to understand the text without leaving it. Text written even a few decades ago may have words or phrases that students have never seen. Reading around the text in a small passage may make it difficult or impossible for them to come to an understanding of the text or it may be confusing.
• Provide space for students to make reflections and questions on the same page. (With text based primary sources, we typically make observations right on the copy of the primary source.) Having the source and analysis in the same place allows easy access when using their thoughts for the next steps of learning.

The next day Mrs. Ketzer shared a new version of the primary source text. I thought she did an excellent job of implementing our ideas. I suggested a few changes to wording, and she began using it with students. 

I checked in with her and Mrs. Crowley, the other 5th grade teacher doing the simulation with her students, a few days later to see how the updated presentation of the primary sources were going. They both felt students were much more engaged with the text. One student, who was close by and listening to our conversation added, “It’s so much easier to read.”

As we present primary sources to students, it is not only important to choose the best primary source for students to analyze, but also to present the primary source in a way that encourages a student to engage and interact with it.

As I was writing this blog post, I found this article on making text-based primary sources more accessible for students. You may find it an interesting addition.