Vital Signs Project Primary Source Analysis Worksheet

Primary Source Analysis Worksheet

Teaching with this Collection

The collection of primary sources available through this project site provide an unparalleled glimpse into life across the Chippewa Valley during the 1918-1919 Influenza Pandemic. These materials share the story of the pandemic's impact on individuals and across the community as a whole.

These primary sources are also a valuable teaching and learning resource. Primary sources, materials that are created at the time an event took place or later recall that event through an eye-witness account, are powerful sources of information that help us to better understand the past. Every primary source tells us something about the past. The primary source analysis worksheet created by the project team will guide students and researchers through the process of building an interpretation of an item found in this collection. The worksheet guides the interpretation process using a framework which engages you to observe and explore the item, examine the content to better understand it, and finally connect that content to themes connecting the source to history.

You can view and download this worksheet by selected the link attached to the item.

Additionally, a curated selection of documents which could be critically analyzed using the project's primary source analysis worksheet is found below. You may also search for and discover other primary sources available through this project site which could be examined. 

Curated Selection of Documents:

Additional Teaching Resources and Tools

More tools and resources for teaching with primary sources are available from the Library of Congress, the National Archives, and DOCSteach (a resource from the National Archives).

Explore these resources to learn more:

Library of Congress Primary Source Analysis Tool

National Archives Document Analysis Worksheets

DOCSteach from the National Archives