Activity 2: Skills and Best Practices

Graphic Organizers

Graphic organizers are usually pictures, diagrams or charts that help students organize thoughts and construct meaning. They can be used to help students organize and display a jumble of information. They can also be used by students to organize research questions or develop a plan for writing. Additional information about using graphic organizers can be found at.

• http://www.fno.org/oct97/picture.html

Primary Sources

A primary source is firsthand testimony or direct evidence regarding a topic. A primary source is material that is contemporary to the events being studied. Such sources include diaries, letters, magazine articles, government documents, and maps. A primary source offer the first record of an event—this might include pictures or the words of witnesses. Additional information about primary sources can be found at:

• http://memory.loc.gov/learn/lessons/primary.html
• http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/D/
• http://www.library.yale.edu/ref/err/primsrcs.htm