I created the Everything is a Primary Source (EPS) method out of necessity. With a wide scope of humanities classes assigned to me every semester over the last 17 years of public high school teaching, I needed to plan, facilitate and assess all of them in such a way that I was not “reinventing the wheel” for each course. What resulted is a system where I use just three forms to teach each course, supported by clear, step-by-step unit guides and culminating with meaningful assessments which connect directly to skills and content practiced throughout the unit.
As the name for my approach indicates, primary sources are the cornerstones of each unit of study. I feel strongly that if one is able to dissect products of the past fully, then an equally full understanding of time and place will result. One of my favorite activities in my classroom is to project an item to the front of the room and conversationally break it down with my students, using the template of questions that makes up one of the three forms I employ when I teach. This practice led me to develop the Everything is a Primary Source Podcast in November of 2021, and have produced over 100 episodes of the program which is all about learning History through Pop Culture.
In the Spring of 2022 I began taking the podcast out into the public, interviewing people about their connections and reactions to pop culture artifacts and creating oral histories in the process. I have held these live “podcast karaoke” or Your History Through Pop Culture sessions in a variety of places, from diners to festivals, professional conferences to museums, even virtually . From these exhibits, as well as my students’ success in my classroom, I have concluded that the EPS method meets and surpasses the needs of students, as well as the general public, in the realms of historical literacy, social integrity, and cultural awareness.
Eric Salmonsen
Co-founder & Executive Director
Help us bring Everything is a Primary Source to teachers and students everywhere
Who we are
Eric Salmonsen, Co-founder and Executive Director
Milton, NH
Dr. Jack Morales, Co-founder
New York, NY
Dr. Gwen Kay, Board Member
Oswego, NY
Kieran Seavey, Board Member
Dover, NH
Molly Meng, Board Member
Portsmouth, NH
Wayne Splettstoeszer, Board Member
Torrington, CT
Association for Experiential Education
Strawbery Banke Museum
Seacoast Charter School
NHPR’s Long Story Short at 3S ArtSpace
Prescott Park Arts Festival
Eppes-Jefferson Foundation
Defiant Records and Craft Beer
Loaded Question Brewery
Moffatt-Ladd House Museum
Jetpack Comics Free Comic Book Day
Banded Brewing Co.
NH Council for the Social Studies
Roundabout Diner
National Council for the Social Studies Conference
NH Children’s Museum Maker’s Fair
Christa McAuliffe Technology Conference