Primary Source Learning: America’s Library
The Teaching with the Library of Congress blog provides an overview of the resources found in America’s Library and some great teaching ideas for using the website with younger students or older English language learners. For more involved projects, click the links below to access two primary source projects using America’s Library resources from TPS-Barat. Each project includes all student materials as well as a teacher instructions.
Presidential Portraits
George Washington and Abraham Lincoln are two of the most famous U.S. presidents. This project helps students to learn about these presidents while also using objective and subjective techniques to analyze primary source images and to contemplate how presidents are portrayed.
To complete the project students will:
- learn facts about George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.
- identify various types of primary sources.
- compare and contrast facts about Washington and Lincoln.
- use objective and subjective techniques to analyze historic images.
- create their personal autobiographies
- discuss how presidents are portrayed.
- arrange and pose for their own “presidential” portraits.
George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt were monumental men who made significant contributions to our country. Through image analysis and individual and group project work, students learn about the characters and contributions of these presidents and determine for themselves the qualities and accomplishments that make someone worthy of a lasting tribute.To complete the project students will . . .
- review the purposes of monuments and contemplate the qualities and accomplishments that make someone worthy of a lasting tribute.
- learn basic facts about Mount Rushmore.
- learn fun facts about the characters and contributions of the four presidents depicted on Mount Rushmore.
- analyze historical images of each of the four presidents depicted on Mount Rushmore to develop their own views of the characters of these men.
- compare and contrast the characters and contributions of the four presidents.
- decide if they agree or disagree with the selection of these four men for this great national monument and suggest other leaders who deserve a similar tribute.
- reflect on their own characters and accomplishments.
- describe contributions they would like to make to our country that would merit them receiving a lasting tribute.
- add their own images to Mount Rushmore.