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Category: Lesson Ideas

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

Learning Beyond the Original Purpose with Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps

Posted by: Cheryl Lederle

In the November/December 2017 issue of Social Education, the journal of the National Council for the Social Studies, our “Sources and Strategies” article features a 1910 map of South San Francisco, San Mateo County, California. The map was created for the unique purpose of documenting estimated fire hazards, and resides in the Sanborn Map Collection, part of an ongoing digitization project at the Library of Congress.

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

Helping Students Explore Their Community’s Past through Photography

Posted by: Cheryl Lederle

Driven by a sense of urgency in documenting aspects of American life that are disappearing, such as barns, lighthouses, motor courts, and eclectic roadside art, photographer Carol Highsmith has donated her work to the Library of Congress since 1992. The images, recording current scenes and historical remnants of rural, urban, and small town life, are worthy of study. The project might also inspire students to document and preserve that which makes their own communities unique.