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11th GR: Social Studies Research

Suggested resources

The following resources will provide basic information and may be helpful when selecting a topic.  You may want to add these to your Noodletools project even if you have not finalized it.  Citations may be easily removed later as you revise your topic.

As part of topic selection you may want to consider the following:

  • Can I find enough resources at my library which includes both the Gummere library and online? 
    • If not in our library,  where will I need to go to access this material. Remember that many outside resources (libraries, historical societies, archives and museums have visitor restrictions and/or may no longer be open to the public.  
  • Is this topic interesting enough to me to spend time researching and writing about?  Do some exploration of the topic to see if it is of interest, AND, that the materials available about the topic are written in a style and at a level with which you are comfortable.
  • What is the importance or "so what" as Teacher Maria would so, about the topic?  For example, you may see connections to current events in the United States.

Query:  How does the primary source help to tell my story, and support my argument.

About primary sources  - a guide by the Healy Library 

America’s Historical Newspapers 

Proquest New York TImes

Here are just a few example collections:

Discover images, texts, videos, and sounds from across the United States.

DocSouth includes texts, images, and audio files related to southern history, literature, and culture. Currently includes sixteen thematic collections of books, diaries, posters, artifacts, letters, oral history interviews, and songs.

At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 70,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World to soldiers’ letters from World War II and Vietnam. Explore primary sources, visit exhibitions in person or online, or bring your class on a field trip.

Correspondence and other writings of seven major shapers of the United States. Over 185,000 searchable documents, fully annotated, from the authoritative Founding Fathers Papers projects.

Examples:

Primary sources may also be found at the following sites:

Suggestions from other libraries (not all listed resources are available):

UC Berkeley:

Fordham

Kanopy - requires Free Library Access

William Penn Charter School 3000 W School House Lane Philadelphia, PA 19144 215-844-3460