Teaching Primary Sources and the Power of Collaboration

One of my favorite lessons to teach is Primary Sources: Observing, Analyzing, and Interpreting Artifacts from Mesopotamia, Egypt, Rome, and Greece.  I know what you're thinking...Seriously, that's a favorite lesson?  Yes it is, and here is why:

It's all about collaboration, creativity, and connection.  This is a 1-day lesson, and it always happens in April and May before our 6th-grade students head off to the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) for their Ancient Worlds Exhibit field trip. After many field trips and many modifications, this lesson has become a thoughtful, interactive, and meaningful experience for students and teachers.

The library is set up before students arrive to accommodate the lesson and class size.  This year each class had 9 groups with 3 students in each group. Tables were labeled in a few different ways to help students get settled without a lot of confusion.  A pile of artifact images were placed at each table.

In early spring I participated in a class called Thinking Through Teaching taught by Dr. Carol Gordon. One of the things I learned was the value added in designing authentic learning tasks with formative and summative assessments, otherwise known as evidence of student progress. I took what I learned from that class and applied it to this year's Primary Sources lesson. Students were assigned the role of "docent" and were asked to become experts in the MFA Ancient Worlds collection.  This may not be the richest example of authentic learning tasks, but it is a start.  You can read my introduction to students here.

Using Nearpod, students were introduced to our lesson and guided through an exemplar of what they were being asked to do: observe, analyze, and interpret a primary source.

Students were then asked to choose one artifact from the pile on their table and read and discuss questions on the note-taking sheet provided.  Summaries of their artifact description were then shared with me on Nearpod and presented to their classmates.

Nearpod can be used on an iPad and a laptop, making it the perfect tool when working with students who have iPads and with students who do not.  Students with iPads created their summaries in Explain Everything and uploaded them to Nearpod.  Students with laptops used the "draw it" feature in Nearpod to create their summaries for sharing.

The "reports" feature in Nearpod is a really great tool for collecting data on student achievement.  This feature captures information from any student activity and can be easily shared with collaborating teachers. You can look at the Nearpod lesson I adapted for laptop users here.

So where does collaboration enter in to the mix?  It has been there all along.  This lesson is just one part of a many-layered collaborative effort with Art Teacher Ms. Agustsson and Social Studies Teachers Ms. Meredith and Ms. Briedenstine.  Long before my Primary Sources lesson takes place, we are sharing ideas on guides for docents and scavenger hunts for students.  Ms. Agustsson created an amazing e-book using Book Creator this year! We are preparing students for their visit.  Ms. Meredith created a fantastic "what to expect"  video on iMovie! Planning  the perfect Primary Sources lesson.  We are co-planning and modifying. Ms. Briedenstine and I have met many times to modify and re-modify!  All of this is possible with our shared commitment to working together to achieve our goals and to help our students achieve their goals.

Teaching this lesson is fun. Collaborating with my colleagues is powerful. Watching students make connections to the real thing at the museum is hands down the most gratifying experiences about this lesson!

How do you teach Primary Sources to your students?