Each year the Library of Congress provides the opportunity for K-12 educators to attend one of its Summer Teacher Institutes in Washington, D.C. During the five-day institutes, participants work with Library of Congress education specialists to learn best practices for using primary sources in the K-12 classroom, while exploring some of the millions of digitized primary sources available on the Library’s Web site.
This is a guest post by Meg Steele, who works with K-12 teachers at the Library of Congress, and Mary J. Johnson, an educational consultant to the Library of Congress. Teachers in nearly every state are implementing the Common Core State Standards, mapping existing curriculum to the standards, and creating, revising or tweaking classroom strategies …
The bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, changed the lives of many Americans. On the homefront, one of the most dramatic changes was the transformation of the lives of Japanese Americans.
To help learn about these experiences, the Library of Congress offers a selection of primary sources representing the events.
When I’ve asked my students, “Would anyone be interested in a trip on a ferry?” they’ve all cheered with excitement. But I wonder how many of us would be brave enough to take a night voyage through an ice-clogged river on a boat battered by snow and high winds. Primary sources from the Library of Congress can let students explore this momentous–and shivery–event.
Information literacy standards require students to think about the creator’s purpose and determine the meaning of symbols. The Thomas Jefferson Building: Secret Messages is an online activity that helps students do both.
For many of us Thanksgiving Day is an opportunity to share a wonderful meal with family and friends, to give thanks for all of the good things that have taken place and to watch or play football.
This guest post was excerpted from e-mail correspondence from Eden Kuhlenschmidt, who works as a school librarian. Eden participated in a 2012 Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources Summer Teacher Institute. She wrote to us about her experience taking what she learned back to the teachers and students in her school. Watch this blog for the 2013 Summer Teacher Institute application — coming next month.
Helping students explore popular ideas about Thanksgiving is about as traditional as roast turkey and all the trimmings. Primary sources from the Library can help your students compare today’s images with those from the past.
Just a reminder that teachers have two chances to talk with Library of Congress education specialists at conferences this week.
As part of the continuing commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War, the Library of Congress just opened an exhibition The Civil War in America, displaying more than 200 items from the Library’s unmatched collections. Students may look at maps, letters, diaries, or photographs to learn about the experiences of those who fought in the war and those who were left behind to tend the homestead. While these sources are excellent, make sure to include music as a way to help students learn about life during the Civil War.