As we were designing our series of posts on information literacy we were drawn to the American Association of School Librarians “Standards for the 21st Century Learner.” These standards focus on the importance of students being effective readers, not just of printed text but also of images, video and sound recordings.
A prolific inventor, Edison acquired more than a thousand patents for his inventions, which include the incandescent light bulb, the phonograph, and the motion picture camera. Derivatives of many of these inventions remain embedded in our lives today, though we don't always make the connection to Edison.
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.
In the most recent "Right to the Source" column in NSTA’s magazine The Science Teacher, Michael Apfeldorf discusses reactions in the early 20th century to reports of life on Mars. He explains that as early as 1894, scientists noted that conditions on Mars would not support life, but wild theories persisted in popular media. That reminded us of the Library's many April Fools' Day posts featuring primary sources that should not be taken at face value.
The latest edition of The TPS Journal, an online publication created by the Library of Congress Educational Outreach Division in collaboration with the TPS Educational Consortium, explores how the five themes of geography can be applied to analyzing primary sources, providing students with multiple perspectives and contributing to greater understanding of a topic.
Valentine's Day may be the perfect time to sink your teeth into advertising messages by studying ads about candy and sweets from historic newspapers in Chronicling America.
Using the Library's Primary Source Analysis Tool and a set of primary sources, teachers can introduce students to Hollerith's electric tabulating machine.
Why is something funny? Comedy stories can often be a reflection of an aspect of society. These simple narratives often present us with a funny scenario while social commentary lies underneath.