Primary Sources Rock.

Today’s post comes from guest blogger Stephanie Greenhut, Education Technology Specialist with the Center for the National Archives Experience.

We know! And we were happy to hear that NARA’s new DocsTeach.org prompted this tweet on October 4. It was part of the almost-immediate-feedback we received after launching the site.

Additional blogs, tweets, social bookmarks, social networking, and online articles posted by educators and would-be educators from around the country and world have raved about the site.  @SolutionTree tweeted “Tools like this make me want to be a teacher! Search National Archives with this gorgeous resource.” The post “DocsTeach.org – NARA is on fire!” called the site a “no-brainer for Social Studies and History teachers.”

DocsTeach features over 3,500 digitized records from National Archives facilities around the country. Anyone can browse documents to learn more about our history.  And educators can easily find primary sources for their classrooms. @lettersofnote tweeted “Docs Teach’ is an incredible new website – thousands of important documents to browse; hours to be lost.” Browse by historical era, such as Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877); media type, Image for instance; or by documents featured in learning activities created by the National Archives education team.

DocsTeach site users – over 3,300 registered as of this post – can choose from seven interactive tools available on the site to create online activities for their students. The education team at the National Archives in D.C., along with the Foundation for the National Archives, created these tools to help teachers incorporate primary source documents into their classrooms and teach students historical thinking skills at the same time.

The education team has also created featured activities that teachers anywhere can incorporate into their classrooms. In addition, registered users can borrow from activities created by other users and modify them to fit their own needs.

Featured in eSchool News and Macworld, the DocsTeach community continues to grow. Visit DocsTeach.org yourself to find historical documents, images, audio or video. And tell the teachers in your life about this new educational resource!