"When used effectively, primary sources can open a world of possibilities in the classroom. When students have opportunities to approach sources as historians do, history becomes an art and a mystery — rather than a series of lifeless facts" http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/5316
The second graders this year are delving into the study of buildings around the world with a focus on a different continent each month. In October they focused on Africa. As an educator and a curious traveler, I don't like how Africa is often spoken of as a country. It was important to me and the teacher, Mrs. MacIsaac, that students walk away with the knowledge that Africa is a diverse nation. During library time the first week in October, I used a lesson in Using Google Earth: Bring the World into your Classroom by Jo Bea Holt that had students look at Africa and color in the land as it looked from space. This added depth to their conversations about materials used for traditional buildings.
Many of our students are learning English and at the age of 7 resources for learning about the buildings of Africa were limited. I took at closer look at CultureGrams, the wonderful database I've used with 3 -5 graders for years, and discovered that the photo collections would be perfect for this study. Each country in Africa has a photo collection. With partners, students were able to select a variety of photos and fill the graphic organizer below.
We decided to use this graphic organizer over the traditional Library of Congress Primary Document Analysis Tool because we wanted the lesson to connect to their learning in the classroom. As they study about buildings in other continents, I'll teach them specifically about Primary Documents and how we can learn from photos.
The students were wildly engaged in the lessons. They had some deep and meaningful conversations about what types of buildings are a want or a need. Churches and Mosques were given much thought. Students saw skyscrapers, modern cities, traditional villages, dilapidated ghettos. All of those images led students to understand that all buildings in Africa do not look the same.
