Exploring scientists' writings and drawings, such as those in the Scientific Data and Observations primary source set and its related ebook, can give students an idea of how and why scientists record their observations, thinking, and learning.
Pore over the first periodic table of elements. Highlight interesting entries in Thomas Jefferson’s handwritten record of temperatures of Monticello. Hear the stories of people struggling to survive the Great Depression.
The Library of Congress is once again providing students everywhere with a chance to touch, draw on, and explore treasures from its vast collections with the release of its three newest free interactive ebooks for tablets.
It seems like each school year flies by faster than the last, and that is exactly how I feel about my time here at the Library of Congress as the Audio Visual Teacher in Residence.
In the May/June 2016 issue of Social Education, the journal of the National Council for the Social Studies, our “Sources and Strategies” article featured The Rocket Book, a children’s book published in 1912.
The details contained in both the story’s prose and its illustrations—from the names and occupations of the tenants to the pastimes and inventions depicted—provide a unique glimpse of urban life in America in the early years of the twentieth century.
Throughout human history, communities have contended with the consequences and costs of severe weather. Recent discourse about climate, sea levels, and weather events include both national and local-level conversations about building community resilience in response to severe weather. Primary sources can initiate deep learning about severe weather and community preparedness and responses.
Individually and collectively humans exert both positive and negative influences on Earth's systems. Teachers and students studying the interactions among Earth's atmosphere, hydrosphere, geosphere, and biosphere and related human activity can explore images, manuscripts, and recorded oral history interviews from the Coal River community in West Virginia.
Throughout history, music has been used for celebrations and for memorial events; to sway opinion or highlight a specific point of view; or to encourage people to vote for a particular political candidate.