For centuries, national and global leaders have appeared to take important steps toward peace, while still pursuing political concerns. The Library of Congress’s collections of primary sources can encourage students to explore the impact of a variety of peace settlements and how we can find peaceful solutions in our own lives.
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.
The bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, changed the lives of many Americans. On the homefront, one of the most dramatic changes was the transformation of the lives of Japanese Americans.
I talked the two sixth grade social studies teachers into letting me present the Waldseemüller Map: World 1507 and the Primary Source Analysis tool as part of their beginning of the year mapping unit.
Election Day is almost here. While the candidates and campaigns make one last pitch for votes, many classrooms and schools prepare to hold their own mock elections not only to engage students in current events, but also to teach and learn about one of the most important roles of citizens: voting.
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.
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.
Newspapers offer rich examples of complex text, and they often have features to help readers understand and put it into context. Chronicling America offers digitized historical newspaper pages from 1836-1922, including a time-saving list of Recommended Topics. In this election season, I was drawn to the pages about presidential elections. Here are a few particulars that caught my attention, with teaching ideas that came to mind.
When I attended the Library’s June Summer Teacher Institute, I was struck by how much the week of immersion in primary sources altered participants’ preliminary teaching plans. Between Library of Congress website discoveries and tours of real primary source collections, attendees extensively changed and enriched their plans.
