Primary Resources - EDEL 335 - Elementary Social Studies - Subject Guides at University of Alberta Libraries

Historical Thinking in the Classroom

The Historical Thinking Project
A web resource to encourage and promote historical thinking in the classroom. The site presents tasks and activities complete with rubics and student work examples. There are six concepts: establish historical significance, use primary sources, identify continuity and change, analyze consequences, view perspectives, and understand the moral dimensions.

Finding Primary Sources

Primary resources are important when looking at the historical record of the past. Items that can tell us more about our history include:

Guides to help you find primary resources:

Canada's History
Online version of "Canada’s History" magazine (formerly "The Beaver"). Includes lesson plans and classroom resources based on primary resources and historical thinking concepts.
Canada in the Making
Is about the history of Canada through the words of the men and women who shaped the nation. It integrates narrative text with links to primary source texts. Themes include: Canada's Constitutional History, Aboriginals: Treaties and Relations, and Pioneers and Immigrants.
CBC Digital Archives
Combine a topic word with "CBC archives" in the search box near the magnifying glass (i.e. hudson's bay company CBC archives) to see historical news footage.
Letters from the Trunk
(Archives Society of Alberta and the Alberta Online Consortium). Need to enable Flash to view.
Peel's Prairie Provinces
Search for historical images and postcards of Edmonton streets, schools, people etc. You can also search historical local newspapers.