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Archive: 2016 (111 Posts)

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

New Ebooks from the Library of Congress: Scientific Data, Weather Forecasting, and the New Deal

Posted by: Stephen Wesson

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.

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

Discovering Elements of Urban Culture in America at the Turn of the Twentieth Century from a Children’s Book

Posted by: Danna Bell

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.

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

Primary Sources in Science Classrooms: Severe Weather and Community Resilience

Posted by: Danna Bell

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.

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

Primary Sources in Science Classrooms: Coal River and Human Impacts on Earth’s Systems

Posted by: Danna Bell

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.