Shifting Away From Textbooks

“We must get beyond textbooks, go out into the bypaths… and tell the world the glories of our journey.”  ~ John Hope

John Hope was a Civil Rights activist during the 1920s-30s.  He recognized the story beyond the textbook was crucial for the understanding of history – our story

Textbooks and Social Studies go together almost as much as our colleagues pick on us about the stubborn use of VHS tapes.  Task: read each section, answer the questions, look up vocabulary and hand in.  The same type of assignment I completed in the 1980s.

What wasn’t available in the 80s is easily accessible today: the internet.  There are a wealth of information and primary sources at our finger tips.

  • Stanford History Education Group  is an outstanding FREE source for both Global and US teachers, grades 7-12.
  • ABC-CLIO (subscription, but there is a free preview available) provides overview secondary sources, links to many primary sources and also has hands-on activity suggestions for your classroom.
  • Library of Congress (LOC): Practically every source you could imagine.

Canadian psychologist Albert Bandura said it best:  “The content of most textbooks is perishable, but the tools of self-directness serve one well over time.”

Our job is to teach skills along with content so students can learn to be active investigators throughout their lives.

What primary source databases do you use? How do you move beyond the textbook in your class?

 

 

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