December in History at the Library of Congress

Many teachers like to include mini-lessons or bell-ringers about “this day in history.” The Library of Congress offers two resources that recount what happened on a particular day using the Library’s collections of digitized primary sources: Jump Back in Time (introductory) and Today in History (advanced). Choose the one that best matches your students’ reading levels to build both content knowledge and research skills with primary sources in context.

December highlights include Wilbur and Orville Wright’s first flight (introductory; advanced) and the Battle of Nashville (introductory; advanced), as well as milestones related to:

Education

• December 5, 1776:  Prestigious honor society Phi Beta Kappa was founded (introductory; advanced),
• December 13, 1769:  Dartmouth College obtained its royal charter (introductory; advanced);

The States

• December 3, 1818:  Illinois entered the Union as the 21^st state  (introductory; advanced);

U.S. Presidents

• December 14, 1799:  George Washington died at his Mt. Vernon home  (introductory; advanced);

Science

• December 20,1790:The first cotton mill in the United States began operation (introductory; advanced);

Poetry

• December 24, 1822:  Clement Moore composed his classic poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” also known as “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” (introductory; advanced).

To engage your students immediately, distribute or display one primary source from an entry and invite them to jot down a single detail they notice and then share. To draw your students deeper into analyzing the primary sources, ask them to record observations, reflections and questions on the Library’s primary source analysis tool. Anne Savage offers tips in the Blog Round-Up: Using the Primary Source Analysis Tool.

Students can also:

• Compare a secondary source account, such as a textbook explanation, to a primary source account. What can be learned from each? What cannot be learned from each? What questions do students have?
• Consider how a series of primary sources support or challenge information and understanding on a particular topic. Ask students to refine or revise conclusions based on their study of each subsequent primary source.
• Use the list of additional resources at the end of each Today in History entry to search for additional primary sources.

Some of our favorite ideas for using these resources came in the comments reacting to Primary Sources Every Day from the Library of Congress. Let us know how you use them!