As the school year gets underway, we want to welcome back our old friends and introduce ourselves to new readers here at Teaching with the Library of Congress.
The Library has more than 20 million digitized primary sources available for free at www.loc.gov. This blog is dedicated to helping teachers explore and share ideas for teaching with these historical artifacts.
By analyzing primary sources, you can help your students:
- Engage with subject matter
- Develop critical thinking skills
- Construct knowledge
Primary sources are required in the content standards of all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and play a major role in the Common Core State Standards. (We’ll have more about that very soon.)
Watch this space for more ideas on the most effective ways to unleash the power of primary sources in your classroom. Here are some popular posts from our archive:
- What Makes a Primary Source a Primary Source?
- Look Again: Challenging Students to Develop Close Observation Skills
- Top Ten Tips for Facilitating an Effective Primary Source Analysis
Meanwhile, help us learn how we can help you. What would you like to see from us over the next nine months? What are you and your fellow teachers talking about as you start the school year?