Primary Source Workshop: 10 Grade–Undergraduate
About This Workshop
This primary source workshop engages students with archival material related to Abby Aldrich Rockefeller (AAR) and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), which she cofounded in 1929.
The students will be introduced to and develop their understanding and analysis of primary sources and archival research skills through the lens of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, one of the founders of the museum, and the early days of MoMA. The workshop uses a curated set of documents to help develop primary source literacy and research skills.
The “KWHL” graphic organizer helps frame the documents.
K – What I Know
W – What I Want to know more about
H – How will answers to my questions
L – What I Learned from the documents
The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller papers and other documents related to MoMA that were selected for this workshop are housed at the Rockefeller Archive Center. They serve as the entry point into learning how to read, analyze, and cite primary sources within this workshop’s KWHL framework.
This multisession scaffolded workshop reinforces the value of primary source literacy, archival research, and ownership of the research process.
The following topics relate to this workshop:
- Women in philanthropy
- Engaging in the nonprofit sector
- Art history institutions
This workshop was created for the Georgia Institute of Technology’s English 1101 Archival Narratives course and University of Connecticut’s First-Year Writing Program.
Many thanks to RAC staff members Michele Beckerman, Amy Fitch, and Jenna Fleming for sharing their expertise.
Collaborating with the RAC provided my students with an invaluable opportunity to engage directly with primary source materials. The workshop design not only introduced students to the practices of document analysis and archival research but also encouraged them to see themselves as active participants in the work of history-making and storytelling. Our partnership deepened my students’ understanding of the complexities of archival research while also strengthening their critical reading and writing skills for work in future disciplinary contexts.
— Danielle Gilman
Assistant Professor, Department of English University of Connecticut
Workshop Procedure
This workshop takes 2.5 hours to complete.
Part 1: Personal connections to primary sources
Begin the workshop in a whole group setting. Tap into background knowledge by asking the students about their experience working with primary sources.
Ask students to share with partners examples of primary sources they create on a daily basis to establish a personal connection with the subject matter and then share out as a whole group.
Next, engage students in a conversation about constructing a project from fragmentary research; the use documents to create a compelling research question; and how to bridge the gap as researchers between what information is there and what is not.
Introduce students to the KWHL framework as a way to familiarize themselves with the primary sources in this workshop. The students will work independently, in small groups, and in whole group to complete a detailed organizer of what they know, what they want to know, how they will find/learn what they want to know, and what they’ve learned throughout the workshop.
Part 2: Introduction to Abby Aldrich Rockefeller and MoMA, curated set of sources, and KWHL sections
Share some background information about Abby Aldrich Rockefeller and MoMA and then provide the students with the curated set of primary sources to analyze.
Students will work independently on the K section of the KWHL framing document. Instruct the students to cite what they include in the section as they go, rather than waiting until the end of the workshop.
Divide the students will share in small groups and have them share out what they included in the K section of the organizer.
Students will independently work on the W section of the framing document and then generate two to three research questions.
In a whole group, ask students to share out their research questions.
For the H section of the organizer, ask students to provide three more sources where they plan to find additional information about what they want to know/their research questions. All primary and secondary sources should be cited in the H section.
In the L section of the document, ask the students to reflect on what they learned from the workshop, primary sources, AAR, and MoMA.
Reflection
As a whole group, ask the students to reflect on the workshop with the following questions:
- What was most challenging?
- What skills did you hone?
- How can you connect the work to other classes and daily life?
- Was the workshop what you expected?
- What would you change about the workshop?
Document Guide
Below is a list of primary source documents used and where it is located in our collections.
Letter from John D. Rockefeller, Jr. to Nelson A. Rockefeller
September 14, 1933
Series E | Office of the Messrs. Rockefeller records | Rockefeller Archive Center
Letter from David H. Stevens to Nelson A. Rockefeller
January 17, 1934
Series E | Office of the Messrs. Rockefeller records | Rockefeller Archive Center
Letter from Nelson A. Rockefeller to H.E. Winlock
January 10, 1934
Series E | Office of the Messrs. Rockefeller records | Rockefeller Archive Center
Report of Publicity for the Museum of Modern Art
1932
Series E | Office of the Messrs. Rockefeller records | Rockefeller Archive Center
Present Status and Future Direction of the Museum of Modern Art
1932
Series E | Office of the Messrs. Rockefeller records | Rockefeller Archive Center
Letter from A. Conger Goodyear to Nelson A. Rockefeller
October 27, 1931
Series E | Office of the Messrs. Rockefeller records | Rockefeller Archive Center
Letter from Nelson A. Rockefeller to Walter H. Lippincott
May 17, 1932
Series E | Office of the Messrs. Rockefeller records | Rockefeller Archive Center
Letter from Alfred H. Barr, Jr. to Nelson A. Rockefeller
December 1, 1931
Series E | Office of the Messrs. Rockefeller records | Rockefeller Archive Center
“Rebirth of a Museum,” The New York Times
October 8, 1958
Series E | Office of the Messrs. Rockefeller records | Rockefeller Archive Center
“Televised Art Instruction Series Draws an Audience of All Ages,” The New York Times
July 25, 1952
Series E | Office of the Messrs. Rockefeller records | Rockefeller Archive Center
Additional Resources
MoMA Archives and Library
Museum of Modern Art
Photo Essay: A Mother, a Son, and Modern Art (2020)
Liesel Vink, Rockefeller Archive Center RE:source
MoMA through Time, MoMA
Museum of Modern Art
Inventing the Modern: Untold Stories of the Women Who Shaped the Museum of Modern Art (2024)
Ann Temkin and Romy Silver-Kohn (editors)
“Abby Aldrich Rockefeller and American Modernism at MoMA” (2025)
Eliza Butler, Rockefeller Archive Center Research Reports
Art in Our Time (2004)
Glenn Lowry, Michelle Elligott (editor), Harriet Schoenholz Bee (editor)
