Teaching about slavery entails teaching about the archive. Punctuated with silences, scattered with compelling details, and laden with descriptions that oscillate between racist, harrowing, and heartbreaking, runaway ads provide a glimpse into the lives of enslaved people. The details embedded within them--or omitted from them--can also provide…

In this article, the author describes their class, titled "The World in A Year: A Global History of 1948," that was created to give students exposure to a set of events that, when scaffolded strategically, highlighted themes and processes featured in most global history courses: imperialism, environmental change, social hierarchy,…

Songs are powerful pedagogical tools that enliven a classroom and enhance student learning in an enjoyable manner. Historical songs are valuable primary sources that provide listeners with direct commentary, attitudes, and emotions expressed by real people in particular historical periods. When utilizing primary documentation, music should be…

The Library of Congress has indexed and microfilmed its collection of presidential papers as the Presidential Papers Microfilm Series, which is now available to scholars and students. Each collection of presidential papers in the series is briefly described. (RM)

A college teacher discusses how in his U.S. history survey course he uses the buildings in Philadelphia to illuminate the principal forces of national history. For example, colonial buildings and street plans can help students understand the bourgeois character of early Philadelphia and of other American cities. (RM)

Described is a teacher-developed book about the Civil War for use in an 11th grade interdisciplinary U.S. history/English literature course. The text contains a brief historical summary of letters written by a Union soldier, a guide for studying the letters, and suggestions for further reading. (RM)

Discusses personal reasons for using historical documents in history instruction. Proposes six reasons why the use of documents in the classroom yields positive learning results. Concentrates on how the use of documents motivates students to read. Provides an example of a document and explains how it is used in the classroom. (RW)

Maintains that the definitions of what constitute primary and secondary sources in historical studies are arbitrary and oversimplified. Proposes three major categories and provides examples of each. Stresses the importance of these classifications in teaching students to be discriminating in their search for historical truths. (RW)

Discusses problems with military documentation during the Vietnam War. Reports poor record keeping practices, destruction of permanent files, and mislabeled and missing records. Describes the National Archives' Vietnam project that organized and preserved the remaining military records. Concludes that the Vietnam War was better documented than the…

Presents a discussion of the documentation of and access to interviews for historical research purposes. Examines problems of documentation, transcription, permission, and storage. Presents questions of property, professional ethics, and witnesses. Argues for interview guidelines, training of researchers for interviewing, and taping of interviews.…

Discusses a history professor's attempt to awaken students' interest by assigning an oral history project rather than a traditional research paper. Reports that adding to the personal dimension to the project increased students enthusiasm and introduced them to problems of historical research and historiography. Includes problems of reliability…

Presents a plan for teaching historiography through analysis of baseball cards. Explains that students can learn about society, culture, discrimination, and inference. Reports that the lesson increased student interest, motivation, and sensitivity to the importance of historical sources. (DK)

Examines the history of Japanese and Chinese Americans through urban histories. Argues that the urban experiences of Asian immigrants are not that different form those of European immigrants but that significant differences exist among the experiences of different Asian immigrant groups. Describes differences of origin, structure, and history…

Describes history's curriculum role as it fell from a status of prominence in the 1890s to one of unimportance, submerged in social studies. Notes that history is again becoming an important curriculum area. Suggests that the resurgence of history education is the result of history educators' focus on what to teach and exciting teaching methods.…

Analyzes primary document from German Holocaust period in which German bureaucrats described in euphemistic terms the murder of the Jews. Illustrates how the document can be used as a teaching aid by having students replace the euphemisms using words with their intended meaning, and reading it aloud in class. References include sources of…