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For those of you with older children who are studying civics, I wanted to be sure to share with you the new site from iCivics.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvU2hdTOmiKP1lcyZ1PneElH-dP675sn_y-vQrdae_9Q4EuNILR8N2JschIIz5MA6gqybdABoJGK8EBqr-Guqxh3UY4Ox62E2kLy0lGpNYuN1ovzImIgN1Vd3_7AYvdI0m1FsBtKV4e1V5/w640-h424/primarysources-eagle-eye-citizen.png)
Exploring Primary Sources gives educators free, high-quality primary source teaching tools. And it allows students to research and examine primary resources directly rather than reading textbook accounts or narratives.
This site gives students a chance to:
- Discover innovative, free products from iCivics and their partners that offer interactive, engaging learning experiences with primary sources
- Build their knowledge, skills and confidence to teach with primary sources with this collection of professional development videos
- Simplify lesson planning with this curated collection of high-quality primary source tools
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvU2hdTOmiKP1lcyZ1PneElH-dP675sn_y-vQrdae_9Q4EuNILR8N2JschIIz5MA6gqybdABoJGK8EBqr-Guqxh3UY4Ox62E2kLy0lGpNYuN1ovzImIgN1Vd3_7AYvdI0m1FsBtKV4e1V5/w640-h424/primarysources-eagle-eye-citizen.png)
The cool thing is that the materials and lessons appear to be presented in an engaging format using games and other interactives to teach kids.
AP teachers (homeschool & traditional) should especially find this site of interest because there is a tool devoted to DBQs (Document Based Questions), which are part of AP U.S. History exams. The tool takes students through these 4 steps:
- Rate the document for usefulness and determine perspective.
- Identify and analyze the text and visual elements that assist with answering the questions.
- Address the supporting questions in your own words.
- Summarize your findings as a response to the Big Question.
I love this resource because as the mother of a rising sophomore, this is a tool that I can use in our civics and history lessons for the next three years.
And the fact that this is published by iCivics (who I've been using for a couple of years now) has my complete trust.
This whole site is packed full of teaching resources. I encourage you to go and check out the new Primary Sources website for yourself.