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Archive: October 2015 (7 Posts)

One woman watches as another examines with a magnifying glass an ornate, decorative image on a printed page

Multimedia Moment: Analyzing Film in the Classroom

Posted by: Danna Bell

Viewing a film in class is a commitment of time and technology. Teachers want students to be active viewers, but most are more familiar with passively viewing film and video. How can teachers present film in a way that students are more likely to analyze its content? What aspects of viewing film may be beneficial to consider before analysis?

Posted in: Development of the Industrial United States (1877-1914), Teaching Strategies

One woman watches as another examines with a magnifying glass an ornate, decorative image on a printed page

Reminding Students that Events in History Do Not Happen in Isolation through a Letter Written by Thomas Jefferson in 1815

Posted by: Danna Bell

In the October 2015 issue of Social Education, the journal of the National Council for the Social Studies, our “Sources and Strategies” article featured a letter written by Thomas Jefferson a little more than 200 years ago. We suggested that Jefferson’s single page letter to his friend Samuel Harrison Smith, founder of the National Intelligencer, might serve to remind students that events in history often overlap one another.

Posted in: News and Events, Revolution and the New Nation (1764-1815)

One woman watches as another examines with a magnifying glass an ornate, decorative image on a printed page

Images of Native Americans: Exploring Changing Visual Representations

Posted by: Danna Bell

One benefit of my job at the Library of Congress is that I get to learn some history and read critical analysis while also locating resources and finding ways to support teachers in the classroom. One topic that I continue to learn more about is the history of the ways in which the lives of Native Americans in the United States have been documented.

Posted in: Culture and Folklife, Native American History

One woman watches as another examines with a magnifying glass an ornate, decorative image on a printed page

Primary Sources in Science Classrooms: Paint, Poisoning, Proportions, and Public Health and Policy

Posted by: Danna Bell

Throughout history, humans have sought out substances to color, coat, and cover dwellings, objects, and bodies. Modern inorganic pigments and dyes joined natural and organic substances used by the ancients. The properties of one substance, lead white, once made it the pigment of choice in white paint. However, the toxicity of lead contributed to a public health crisis.

Posted in: Contemporary United States (1945-present), Development of the Industrial United States (1877-1914), Science Technology and Math

One woman watches as another examines with a magnifying glass an ornate, decorative image on a printed page

Primary Sources in Science Classrooms: Mapping the Ocean Floor, Marie Tharp, and Making Arguments from Evidence (Part 2)

Posted by: Danna Bell

Textbooks and teachers often tell students about German scientist Alfred Wegener who went public in 1912 with his theory of continental drift. The scientific community did not widely accept Wegener's ideas during his lifetime and often derided colleagues who entertained the theory. Wegener passed away in 1930. Even as Marie Tharp was creating maps in the 1950s, scientists were actively constructing ideas and compiling evidence related to seafloor spreading and magnetic striping.

Posted in: Geography and Maps, Science Technology and Math

One woman watches as another examines with a magnifying glass an ornate, decorative image on a printed page

Primary Sources in Science Classrooms: Mapping the Ocean Floor, Marie Tharp, and Making Arguments from Evidence (Part 1)

Posted by: Danna Bell

What might a map from 1977, a poster from 1944, and a newspaper article from 1915 have in common with three twentieth century wars and the theory of plate tectonics? These three digitized artifacts in the Library of Congress’s collection have quite a bit in common when it comes to the emergence of evidence supporting a key theory in Earth science.

Posted in: Geography and Maps, Science Technology and Math