A National Archives site that links the user to hundreds of important documents in the history of the United States.
Type of Material:
A collection that is both reference and learning object.
Recommended Uses:
To enhance classroom discussion in a variety of different times in US history courses.
Technical Requirements:
None
Identify Major Learning Goals:
To allow students to read some of the important documents in US history in their original format.
Target Student Population:
From middle school through college.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:
Basic knowledge of U.S. history.
Content Quality
Rating:
Strengths:
Hundreds of documents associated with United States history are offered for online instructional use. These documents include the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Articles of Confederation, the Bill of Rights, the Lousiana Purchase, Brown v. Topeka, and many more. It is a rich collection of primary source materials.
Concerns:
The documents are not of equal values, some like Lewis's list and the check for Alaska are more a curiosity than an important document like the Day of Infamy speech or Jackie Robinson's letter.
Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool
Rating:
Strengths:
The National Archives offers links to Teaching with Documents with pdf file forms for use to teach students how to read a document and what to look for. A separate file called 100 Milestone Documents offers a sourcebook for educators, an Our Documents Book, How to Integrate Documents into the Classroom, and meeting National and state standards at the high school level. Each calendar day is a showcase document for that day.
Concerns:
Questions arise over the selection of lesser known documents. In some areas of U.S. History there are better choices.
Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty
Rating:
Strengths:
The site is easy to navigate. The site has the capability to allow users to zoom in on the original document.
Concerns:
none
Other Issues and Comments:
Although this site is a learning object it is more of a reference site than anything else.
Creative Commons:
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