Course

• CDE Standard 4.1.b Analyze primary source historical accounts related to Colorado history to understand cause-and-effect relationships (DOK 2-3)
• CDE Standard 5.1  Analyze historical sources from multiple points of view to develop an understanding of historical context
• CDE Standard 6.1.b Interpret documents and data from multiple primary and secondary sources while formulating historical questions. Sources to include but not limited to art, artifacts, eyewitness accounts, letters and diaries, artifacts, real or simulated historical sites, charts, graphs, diagrams and written texts (DOK 1-3)

• Butcher paper with 4-5 primary sources of mining photographs from your community.
• Sticky notes (at least 4-5 per student)
• Print-outs of Primary Source Note-Catcher (1 per student)
• Clipboards
• Pens/pencils

• Analyzing primary sources note-catcher (English)
• Analyzing primary sources note-catcher (Español)
• Other primary source analysis page from CDE

Examples of primary sources from Boulder Valley:

• • Primary Source Set
  • Miners at Lehigh Mine
  • Miners at Lafayette, Colorado
  • Colorado Miners on Strike newspaper article

Examples from elsewhere in Colorado:

       For San Luis Valley

           Orient Mine North of Crestone, CO

       For Trinidad/Las Animas County

Coal Mines and Miners

Mining Camps

• Blank Resource Set if students want to prepare their own
• Websites for general Colorado photographs or places to look for other primary sources for your community
  • Questa New Mexico  Main Website
  • Library of Congress: Mining Photos
  • Colorado Encyclopedia Mining Resources Page 
  • The Lives of Women and Children in Colorado’s Mining Towns 
  • CDE Primary Source Sets and Lessons
  • Colorado Historic Newspaper Collection by County 

• First, write the objective for the lesson and go over it with the students.
  • Students will analyze historical photographs, both orally and written, with a partner for information about the lives of Colorado miners.
  • Students will categorize their analysis of photographs using a graphic organizer (note-catcher link above).
  • Students will make observations from the photographs and then make inferences about the working lives of miners based of the evidence their observation provides and their background knowledge.
  • Students will ask “think and search” and “connecting” questions to deepen their analysis.
  • Students will write an informational paragraph explaining and describing the lives of  Colorado miners.
• Second, model the analysis of a primary source with the class by selecting one photograph to analyze with the class. 
• explain that next we will be analyzing one specific primary source photograph of their choice using a note catcher.
• Introduce the note catcher and explain what the four boxes are useful for:
• 1) “Observations” are only what they see in the photograph
• 2) “My thinking” is what they think when looking at the picture (inferences from the observations of photographs).
• 3) “Questions” are what the students are wondering while observing and analyzing the photograph
• 4) “Further investigations” is where students can think about what this source teaches us, how we can learn more about it, what it shows us as historians about the people or place in this primary source, discussing why we are studying this primary source in the grander picture of what is being studied in Social Studies
• Model and do a guided activity with this note-catcher with the students (teacher will choose one of the photographs from the gallery walk to model the activity with).
• Example sentence stems to use during the analysis modeling:

• • • • In this photograph, I am observing ___________.
      • From this observation, I infer that _________.
      • When I look at this picture, it makes me think ______________.
      • I am wondering why/who/what/where/how  __________________.
      • This photograph can teach us about _____.
• Third, Have students review what each box in the note-catcher is supposed to focus on.
• Fourth, students select a partner and the pairs choose one of the photographs to complete.
• They should use the note-catcher while analyzing the photograph.
• Fifth, once finished, teacher will put up three separate large versions of the note-catcher on butcher paper with each photograph in the middle of its own large note-catcher.
• Sixth, in their corresponding pairs, students will stand in front of the large version of their photograph that is attached to the butcher paper and present to the class their analysis (using the sentence stems above when discussing). 
• The students’ ideas will be added to the photograph and note-catcher that is attached to the butcher paper.

• • • Student pairs that analyzed the same photograph should present one after another before moving on to another paragraph.
• Student partners’’ note-catchers will be collected at the end of the presentations. These can be used as evidence of student work. 

• When writing the final product, students can use several pieces of evidence:
  • Their notecatchers and analysis that they did prior to the larger group presentation.
  • The ideas that other student pairs offered on their same photograph during the class-wide presentation. 
  • The photograph they analyzed to look for details or additional inferences rooted in their observations. 
• Students will develop a written paragraph that explains what they learned from the photograph, including any issues they wish to learn more about.  
• The paragraph should be expository or informational in content and tone.
• Students must incorporate key vocabulary relevant to mining.
• Students will then present to the class with a clear voice, projecting their voice, good diction, and eye contact.
• Paragraphs can be written in corresponding student pairs or individually.
• The following day, students will read their paragraphs to the class.

Students can earn these badges