Why is literacy important? Learners need literacy in order to engage with the written word in everyday life… Being able to read and write means being able to keep up with current events, communicate effectively, and understand the issues that are shaping our world.
Why should we care about primary sourcing? Gaining understanding helps us keep a check on our reality. Truth is gained when we use a “rationale” perspective as we read, listen, and observe history in the making.
Example: Today’s reporters are accused of “fake news.” Which means that they have not taken the steps to research primary sourcing, they are just presenting a narrative that benefits an undisclosed agenda. Many countries use this “fake news” as propaganda to keep the truth from being discovered.
Becoming a life-long learner is a freedom that not all citizens around the world enjoy. Most historians, through-out the ages, have agreed that the only way to get the true perspectives of the people who participated in an event, is in:
- researching primary sources
- interviewing or reading first hand accounts
- looking for evidence that proves a time line of events and/or decisions
Historical documents + first generation voices (letters, diaries/journals, visual representations) + timeline = historical accuracy.
Family literary connections: Discuss one of the following historical events. “What do we know?”, “How could we find out more?”, “Why should we want to discover the facts?”
- Holocaust
- US Moon Landing
- JFK’s Assassination
- 9/11 and the Twin Towers
- 2020 Presidential Election: US Government Voting Process
- Cold-Case Christianity
