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Posted by: Danna Bell
As we do at the start of each year we take a look back at the previous year and highlight posts that received the most comments from readers and the most mentions in social media outlets. We hope this look back refreshes your memory or leads you to materials you can use with your students.
Posted in: Lesson Ideas
Posted by: Danna Bell
January highlights include the first of over twelve million immigrants entering the United States through Ellis Island and the ratification of the Treaty of Paris...
Posted in: Lesson Ideas
Posted by: Danna Bell
The first post of this two-part series offered ten tips for filling classroom spaces with engaging primary source displays to promote systematic critical thinking. This second post lists ten ways to introduce primary sources into pedagogy. No matter your grade level or subject, the ten ideas start from this basic premise: For every lesson a primary source!
Posted in: Teaching Strategies
Posted by: Danna Bell
December highlights include the attack on Pearl Harbor and the arrest of Rosa Parks for civil disobedience.
Posted in: Lesson Ideas
Posted by: Cheryl Lederle
Timelines are timesavers for busy teachers, and the Teaching with the Library of Congress blog has highlighted some. The Teachers page offers even more, and the busy start of school seems like an auspicious time to point out a few.
Posted in: Teaching Tools
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.
Posted in: Teaching Tools
Posted by: Cheryl Lederle
African American History Month is a perfect time to celebrate the abolitionist efforts of white and black Americans alike, and to examine the relationship between the Emancipation Proclamation’s author and one of the greatest American abolitionists.
Posted in: African American History, Civil War and Reconstruction (1861-1877)
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