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Category: Teaching Tools

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

Memorable Professional Development from the Library of Congress – It Made a Real Change

Posted by: Cheryl Lederle

“I had a paradigm shift. I went from trying to include primary and secondary sources to meet state standards to [an a-ha moment]! It is natural to include real resources because it adds quality and authenticity with a human face. I also will be able to take what I have been given and share, disseminate, using all the 'propaganda' you have given me into perpetuity, with rigor!”

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

Assessing Historical Thinking Skills Using Library of Congress Primary Sources

Posted by: Cheryl Lederle

When we ask teachers how they use primary sources, they often have rich and creative answers about how they hook students’ attention, deepen understanding, and even review concepts and content. We hear less about assessment, and most of the responses are questions about how to construct assessments using primary sources. The Stanford History Education Group has created formative assessments using primary sources from the Library of Congress. With these tools, teachers can gauge students’ historical understanding and ability to apply critical thinking skills by evaluating their analysis of primary source materials.The Spring 2013 issue of the TPS Journal, an online publication focused on pedagogical approaches to teaching with the Library’s digitized primary sources in K-12 classrooms, looks at how a teacher can assess not only content knowledge, but also critical thinking skills.