Instructional Materials and Lessons

book cover for Choosing & Using Sources: A Guide to Academic Research

Choosing and Using Sources: A Guide to Academic Research

Choosing and Using Sources is an open-access textbook authored by University Libraries’ faculty and staff that is designed to guide students through the research process, especially how to make smart decisions about sources and how to use them in the context of research. The book's chapters are broken into manageable units to help students learn what’s involved in each phase of the research process through examples, active learning demonstrations, and activities.

Choosing and Using Sources Instructor Resources

Choosing and Using Sources Instructor Resources offers ready-made learning activities and demonstrations that parallel the content in Choosing and Using Sources. Each activity is designed to take 20 minutes or less and to be incorporated into classroom learning.

The Opper Project: Using Editorial Cartoons to Teach History

Because of increased interest among Ohio’s K-12 teachers in using editorial cartoons as a tool for teaching history, Cartoon Research Library, Ohio State's History Teaching Institute, and the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists have created The Opper Project: Using Editorial Cartoons to Teach History. The Opper site includes 12 lesson plans based on topics aligned to the State of Ohio’s K-12 content standards for social studies/history and for social studies skills and methods.

Cold Cases: Lessons in Historical Skills and Methods

Cold Cases: Lessons in Historical Skills and Methods was designed to teach how to use primary sources to figure out what happened in the past. Five lesson plans for teachers give students hands on activities in social studies skills and methods. A variety of sources—including photos, letters, diaries, reports, and memoirs—are represented and the lessons take a variety of approaches.

Subject and Course Guides

Our Subject and Course Guides are compiled by librarians to help students find background information and choose sources for their research assignments. Contact your subject librarian to discuss customized course guides.