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Welcome to OneHistoryPrimary! Here you can find direct primary source content and links to great sites for teaching both American and world history. 

Sleepy child, nursery school, FSA camp, Sinton, Texas, Ebruary 1942. Photographer: Arthur Rothstein

Primary sources are the very documents that history is made of, the images that science is based on, the raw material of our lives. They are also excellent tools to teach the critical thinking skills required by the Common Core State Standards and the C3 Framework for Social Studies. 

Sleepy child, nursery school, FSA camp, Sinton, Texas, February 1942. Photographer: Arthur Rothstein

OneHistoryPrimary brings history home!

You’ll find a lot of resources in the menu bar above.  The Classroom Resources section has printable posters with questions for classroom discussion as well as multi-source units for specific topics in your curriculum. That section also includes the text of the Founding Documents and Great Speeches by a Diverse Group of Americans.
The Finding Primary Sources section gives links to important websites where you may be able to find what you’re looking for and tips for finding the material you need.  

Cover of Examining the Evidence: Seven Strategies for Teaching with Primary Sources

The founders of this site have also written a book, Examining the Evidence: Seven Strategies for Teaching with Primary Sources, which explains in detail the strategies you can use to make primary sources come alive for your students through fascinating photographs and powerful texts. Because it is geared to students in elementary and middle schools–or older students who are being introduced to primary sources for the first time–it emphasizes sources that do not require advanced reading skills: images and personal voices such as diaries, letter, journals and oral histories.  The dropdown menu Examining the Evidence has excerpts and resources from the book. 

Except for the book, which you can order from Capstone Publishing, it’s all free.

If you want even more connections and information about the diversity of American history, head over to the main OneHistory site by clicking here. Just know that you’ll be leaving this site when you do.

Thanks for visiting, and let the detective work begin!