Featured Source: Princeton Union Christmas Eve Dec. 24, 1914
“Christmas page.” The Princeton Union. (Princeton, Minn.), 24 Dec. 1914. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. Don’t miss these other Santa Clause resources!
Featured Source: Christmas Toys
“Christmas Toys.” Between 1908 and 1917. George Grantham Bain Collection. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. Summary: Small children gazing through Macy’s toy window, New York City.
Primary Source Spotlight: Inventors & Inventions
Inventor primary source sets More inventor primary sources Invention primary source sets More invention primary sources Primary source collections Exhibitions & special presentations Library blog posts
January No-Cost Training: Teaching with Primary Sources Level 1
Happy New Year! In January, TPS-Barat will offer free teacher training on teaching with primary sources from the Library of Congress digital collections. This online professional development training will cover finding and accessing Library resources as well as creating and implementing primary source activities. The online workshop will feature independent work at school/home and three one-hour synchronous sessions held Tuesdays January 13,…
Primary Source Spotlight: George Westinghouse
George Westinghouse & his companies George Westinghouse; his life and achievements 1918 The Inventor of the Air-Brake: George Westinghouse 1921 from Conquests of Invention Inside an American Factory: Films of the Westinghouse Works, 1904 George Westinghouse image set George Westinghouse historical newspaper coverage American Dynamo: The Life of George Westinghouse Inside Adams July 1, 2021 Meet…
Guided Primary Source Analysis: Why I Believe in Santa
Click the newspaper above to zoom in to the page. First read the center article, “Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus.” What was the editor’s claim and what arguments did he make to support that claim? Now read what the citizens of Rock Island had to say about Santa Claus and the Christmas spirit….
Today in History: Happy Hanukkah
Today in History–December 17–the Library of Congress features Hanukkah. On this date in 1979 President Jimmy Carter participated in the first National Menorah Lighting. Also known as the Feast or Festival of Lights, Hanukkah reflects the story of a one-day supply of oil at the temple miraculously burning for eight days. Find out more by…
Using Sources: Creating a Digital Annotated Bibliography
Cornell University Library describes an annotated bibliography as “a list of citations to books, articles, and documents. Each citation is followed by a brief (usually about 150 words) descriptive and evaluative paragraph, the annotation.”Lisa Oppenheim from the Chicago Metro History Education Center notes that annotations for National History Day (NHD) and Chicago Metro History Fair should…
Analyzing Primary Sources: Learning from Newspapers
The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) strike a balance between the reading of literature and informational texts and promote the use of a wide range of text types: “Through reading a diverse array of classic and contemporary literature as well as challenging informational texts in a range of subjects, students are expected to build knowledge, gain…
Guided Primary Source Analysis: Hello, Earth! Hello!
Click the newspaper above to zoom in and read the article. Make a chart that lists the name of each scientist or inventor mentioned in the article, whether the expert was quoted directly or indirectly, and the expert’s view of the possibility of communication with other planets. Find out more information about the publisher of this newspaper, then…
Primary Source Spotlight: Nikola Tesla
Topics in Chronicling America – Nikola Tesla timeline & select newspaper articles More Nikola Tesla historical newspaper coverage Featured Source: Tesla’s 1922 Future Tech Predictions guided primary source analysis activity Messages to and from Outer Space Finding Our Place in the Cosmos: From Galileo to Sagan and Beyond Poems of Personality “Tesla” Another Tesla portrait Tesla Memorial Society…
Selecting Primary Sources for Research Projects
When completing a research project you will want to include primary sources. Using primary sources is particularly important when creating a history project and required for National History Day (NHD) projects. To get a better understanding of different types of sources, review the post Selecting Primary Sources: Primary, Secondary, Tertiary? Think of primary sources as raw, unfiltered…