Looking Back: Top Content of 2020

2020 certainly wasn’t easy but we hope that another year of highlighting great content from the Library of Congress and strategies and ideas for teaching with primary sources was helpful. In 2020 we began spotlighting TPS Consortium members and the resources and professional development opportunities that they provide. We also significantly expanded the Citizen U Lesson Library. There are now links to over 150 multidisciplinary civics lessons for grades K-12. Every lesson includes tasks/activities using 1 or more primary sources from the Library of Congress, begins with a task/activity that sparks inquiry, often primary source analysis, follows  up with tasks/activities to deepen inquiry through further student investigations, and concludes with a task/activity that has students applying their learning by taking action that makes contemporary/personal connections.

Below we link to our top 60 content for 2020 on the Primary Source Nexus. But, remember, there is so much more to discover. Click on the menu headers—Primary Sources, Learning Resources, Teaching Strategies, TPS & LOC.gov—or the colored section headers in the Browse Site Content box to uncover more. Another great way to find useful sources is to browse through the Themed-based Resources. You also won’t want to miss the Featured Sources section, which contains hundreds of guided primary source analysis activities for students in elementary schoolmiddle school, and high school; consider using these to supplement a lesson, as bellringers, or as literacy skill practice.

We believe that learning with primary sources help students become information literate, a skill we all need if we are to be informed citizens. We’re always interested to hear how you are teaching and learning with primary sources from the Library so if you have something to share or have a topic you would like to see highlighted, please contact us. Here’s hoping for a happier and healthier New Year!

Primary Source Picks

NHD Resources

Primary Source Spotlight

Today in History

Teaching & Learning

Analyzing Primary Sources

Learning from the Source

Primary Source Learning

Featured Sources

Guided primary source analysis activities

Tech Tips & Tutorials

Tech Tools

Using Sources