Recollection Wisconsin supports K-12 educators by offering classroom activities and lesson plans for teaching Social Studies and English Language Arts. Our growing collection of primary and secondary sources from Wisconsin libraries, archives, museums and historical societies is ripe for all kinds of classroom uses.
Disciplinary Literacy in Social Studies
The classroom activities in this section use photographs, maps, diaries, artifacts and other primary sources to support disciplinary literacy in Social Studies and History.
English Language Arts
In this section, you’ll find ideas for integrating primary sources from Recollection Wisconsin into research units, presentation strategies and creative writing activities to support select English Language Arts Standards of the Common Core.
Resources for Using Recollection Wisconsin in the Classroom
- Engaging Researchers Through Digital Image Inquiry – This presentation was prepared for WEMTA in March of 2020. View the presentation slides or recording.
- Resources for Educators – This one-page informational flyer shares how to use Recollection Wisconsin’s collection of photos, maps, newspapers, letters, diaries, artifacts, oral histories and other primary sources in the classroom.
- Primary Sources to Engage Students in History – Images of historical people, places, and events from their own communities can spark students’ curiosity about history and inspire inquiry-based learning. These documents share examples of the thousands of local primary sources available through Recollection Wisconsin for classroom use.
- Online Exhibits – Pairing resources from Recollection Wisconsin with historical research, our online exhibits take a closer look at a slice of Wisconsin life in history.
