The personal and professional letters of Darwin, Dickinson, Rilke, Carroll, Rachel Carson, Wolfe; exchanges between Jefferson and the Adamses, Hawthorne and Melville, VanVetchen and Hughes provide historical views of worlds of discovery via primary sources. This session outlines the use of critical and creative-thinking skills as students learn to identify, analyze, and evaluate the primary sources of eminent minds. Learn how to take these penned notes and organize them into mentorship opportunities from the masters in your own classroom. The interdisciplinary nature of this material provides connections for all middle grades teachers regardless of grade, subject area, or experience.