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World History Matters
A well-organized guide to world history primary sources and teaching tools.
Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12

http://chnm.gmu.edu/worldhistorymatters/

CONTENT:
A project of the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University offers history teachers guides to primary sources, teaching sources, multimedia case studies on how to analyze documents, and more.
SITE DESIGN:
World History Matters is divided into two main sections: World History Sources and Women in World History. The material in the World History Sources section is categorized into four areas. Each area has its own table of contents as well as a top and bottom navigation bar for movement between the sections. The site is also fully searchable by type of feature, type of primary source, region, time period, and topic. Flash Player is required but there is also an audio version for slower connections.
 

REVIEW:
This site holds a wealth of material for the history teacher. The World History Sources section provides teachers with guides, written by historians with relevant teaching experience, for finding primary sources that describe the available materials, strengths and weaknesses, along with classroom suggestions. The time period includes everything from the beginnings of human society to the world since 1945 and covers all the regions of the world. The Unpacking Evidence section uses multimedia features and suggested questions to discuss ways of “analyzing particular genres of evidence as part of world history.” Several Flash movies provide a a view of teachers demonstrating the methods they use when analyzing the evidence. There is also a list of case studies from experienced classroom teachers discussing how they plan and implement lessons based on primary documents. The case studies also include reflections on the strengths and weaknesses and a description of successful teaching strategies. Case study topics include material culture (objects and images), music, maps, personal accounts, and more.

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