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Posted by: Stephen Wesson
Informational text is more important to teachers than ever before, especially with the rise of the Common Core standards. The Library of Congress is an excellent resource for finding and using texts to build students' reading skills.
Posted in: Teaching Strategies
Posted by: Danna Bell
“The Library of Congress means many different things to many people,” wrote Stephen Wesson at the start of the second year of the Teaching with the Library of Congress blog. “But for teachers and students it represents a source of discovery and learning unlike any other.” He noted that the first year of the blog had looked at a variety of topics and provided teaching suggestions that help unlock the potential of our unique primary sources.
Posted in: Lesson Ideas, Teaching Strategies
Posted by: Anne Savage
Congress.gov, the official congressional information system from the Library of Congress, is a new public beta site for accessing free, fact-based information on the legislation and members of the United States Congress.
Posted in: Teaching Strategies
Posted by: Anne Savage
With winter arriving this month, my thoughts turned to a different kind of cleaning: snow removal. How were city streets cleared long ago, and what was life like before plows and snowblowers? I discovered some intriguing images that answer some of my questions and raise many new ones.
Posted in: Science Technology and Math, Teaching Strategies
Posted by: Cheryl Lederle
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.
Posted in: Industrial United States, World Wars and the Great Depression (1914-1945), Lesson Ideas, Teaching Strategies
Posted by: Anne Savage
Information literacy standards require students to think about the creator’s purpose and determine the meaning of symbols. The Thomas Jefferson Building: Secret Messages is an online activity that helps students do both.
Posted in: Teaching Strategies, Teaching Tools
Posted by: Anne Savage
Helping students explore popular ideas about Thanksgiving is about as traditional as roast turkey and all the trimmings. Primary sources from the Library can help your students compare today’s images with those from the past.
Posted in: Holidays, Teaching Strategies
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
Creatively sharpen your students thinking skills with headlines. Encourage direct student involvement in a analyzing headlines through maps.
Posted in: Teaching Strategies