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Posted by: Danna Bell
Most students think of maps as wayfinders, resources to help find their way from point "A" to point "B." However, maps have been created for a variety of different reasons, and studying maps from the Library of Congress can show students how maps can do more than provide directions.
Posted in: Geography and Maps, Lesson Ideas
Posted by: Danna Bell
At the 12th Annual Library of Congress National Book Festival, we explored the use of primary sources along with books to address a variety of teaching points for students at any level.
Posted in: Lesson Ideas, Poetry and Literature, Teaching Strategies
Posted by: Danna Bell
Campaign posters, buttons and other ephemera are not new. Prior to the advent of radio, television and the internet, candidates used campaign signs, buttons, ribbons, light shades and banners to reach out to voters who might not have been able to come to a speech or access a newspaper. The Library of Congress has made many of these unique artifacts available online.
Posted in: Government and Law, Lesson Ideas
Posted by: Danna Bell
In his June 1st post celebrating the beginning of the Teaching with the Library of Congress blog's second year of publication, Stephen Wesson pointed out that for teachers and students the Library of Congress “represents a source of discovery and learning unlike any other. Last week when I joined twenty-seven K-12 educators at the second of five 2012 Summer Teacher Institutes in Washington, D.C., I did indeed witness nonstop discovery and learning in a unique and awe-inspiring setting.
Posted in: Lesson Ideas
Posted by: Danna Bell
What can a political cartoon say that a drawing or photograph can’t? The Teaching with the Library of Congress blog has published a few helpful posts on using political cartoons in the classroom.
Posted in: Lesson Ideas, Teaching Tools
Posted by: Danna Bell
What do you think of when you think of the President of the United States of America? We are fortunate that most presidents have left us their personal papers where we can read about their feelings, their concerns and their love for family and friends.
Posted in: Development of the Industrial United States (1877-1914), Lesson Ideas, Revolution and the New Nation (1764-1815)
Posted by: Danna Bell
Music in Our Schools encourages schools to make sure their students have access to music and the opportunity to learn and use music in their schools. The Library of Congress website has lots of resources that will help you combine music-related primary sources and other classroom activities.
Posted in: Fine and Performing Arts, Lesson Ideas, Teaching Tools
Posted by: Danna Bell
One way to introduce African American History Month is by facilitating a discussion about the ways in which African American achievement has been recognized in the nation's past.
Posted in: African American History, Fine and Performing Arts, Lesson Ideas