Invasive species overtake both ecosystems and news headlines. Historical primary sources, such as newspapers from Chronicling America, paired with modern periodicals, reveal how organisms introduced into new ecological contexts can cause unexpected consequences.
I first stumbled across an image of Tom Wiggins when looking for images of African Americans during the Civil War, but I didn’t pay much attention to him until two days later when I saw the same piece of sheet music displayed at the National Portrait Gallery.
One hundred years ago next month, Alice Burke and Nell Richardson began a journey across the United States to promote women’s right to vote. Following their route can allow students to learn about them and their journey while also revealing more about the suffragist movement and women in the United States a century ago.
When I talk to teachers, it's clear that one thing has not changed since I left the classroom: teachers are always looking for ideas to increase learning opportunities. Even better if those ideas are quick and easy to implement!
In my first Multimedia Moment post, I focused on the action in actuality street scenes. One of the films, the 1897 Edison film Corner of Madison and State Streets, Chicago, showed people walking across the street with large signs that appeared to be advertisements. I instantly wanted to know what was written on the signs.
How can we best document an analysis of film as a primary source? The complex motions, multiple scenes, and pacing can be challenging aspects not only to students analyzing film, but even more so in communicating their analysis and sharing it with others.
Throughout history, humans have devised methods for transporting, testing, and transforming water, a limited natural resource. Examining historical primary sources invites students to grapple with the local, global, social, political, and scientific dimensions of water.
Primary sources can also be selected to stimulate and support student investigations; look for primary sources that provoke intrigue and offer clues to give students starting points for further investigation.