Where can I find Primary Sources for Utah Studies?

Looking for Primary Sources?

The struggle is real when trying to find primary sources for Utah Studies. I have been envious of the 8th-grade teachers for years- just a click and there are millions of primary sources for them to use! Over the years, I have found some go-to resources for Utah primary sources. Each resource provides a different niche in the hunt for sources you can use in your classroom.

1. National Archives at Denver
https://www.archives.gov/denver/education/materials
During late night search, I stumbled on this gem and downloaded it right to my computer. The National Archives has collected Primary Source Lesson packages, and have one for Utah. It contains nine lessons from Surveying the West to WWII. The lessons contain the primary sources and can be modified to fit student and teacher needs. My favorite lesson was the New Deal in Utah, my students loved analyzing the photographs.

2. Mountain West Digitial Library
http://mwdl.org/ 
If you have not tried this resource- you should! This is a collaborative resource for libraries, museums and archives in Idaho, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming. Instead of having to search the Utah Archives website and then the BYU website, you can just go here. The search can be limited by photo, text, sound, or animation/video. I use this site for the Scofield Mine Disaster, immigrant photos, and WWI.

3.  Library of Congress Digital Collections
https://www.loc.gov/collections 
The Library of Congress Digital Collection is updating to the new Utah Studies core so there will be more primary source lessons available at this site: Library of Congress- Utah. 
The Digital Collections contains some items that can be used in Utah Studies. The Japanese Internment collection is a great resource. 

4. Utah State Archives
https://archives.utah.gov/digital/index.html 
 Collections:
The Utah Territory Project
The State of Utah Vs Joe Hill
Road to Statehood 
If you have a free Saturday, it is well worth a trip to the Archives, and nerd out at their resources! If you don't have time, the digital version of the Archives is great as well. I have used the Road to Statehood collection in my Struggle for Statehood unit. 

Now what?
There are so many teaching strategies that you can use with primary sources in the classroom. Some examples are a comparison chart, poster activity, museum walk and graphic organizers. Also, the National Archives have updated their worksheets and they are wonderful! 
Primary Source Analysis Worksheets- https://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/worksheets
In upcoming posts, I will share some of my primary source activities.