three-step activities spanning subjects and grades
The title of this print is “Grandma’s Toilet”. Zoom into this artwork and use details from the image to figure out what toilet meant in this time (1893) and context. After, look up different definitions of toilet. What can you infer, or figure out, about the relationship between the young girl and the older woman? Use…
This 1906 newspaper article quotes a 1904 magazine editorial, which sums up the “widely prevailing sentiment against the Chinese immigrant laborer in the United States.” Make a list of the arguments for the “defense of our political antagonism to the Chinaman”. The first page of the newspaper article responds to three arguments. Choose one and summarize the comparisons…
Describe how this illustration makes you feel. What details in the drawing contribute to this feeling? Write a description of this scene or write a poem to accompany the illustration. Now read the poem that this drawing illustrated. Describe how this poem compares with what you wrote. What other observations, reflections or questions does this source…
Above is the first page of Robert Frost’s poem “Dedication” with his handwritten edits. First read the final version of this poem. How does this poem make you feel? Why do you think Frost might have written this poem? Who do you think was the audience for the poem? Include specific examples from the poem in…
Carefully examine a larger image of this photograph. Then consider why the photographer chose to title the photo “The Poem”. Do you think this photo is poetic? Why or why not? How does this photograph make you feel? What do you think about when looking at this image? Make a list of 3 nouns, 3…
Review the Official Program Woman Suffrage Procession and read the program forward (page 3). What goals for the procession does the forward set? How do the accomplishments of the highlighted women on pages 3 and 4 seem to support those goals? Closely read the first 11 paragraphs of page 4: Why Women Want to Vote. What is…
For elementary & middle school students Read this newspaper article, then make a list of the countries mentioned that celebrate April Fool’s Day and information about how they celebrate the day. Explain which story you found funniest or most interesting. Create an April Fool’s Day poem using information from the article and your own experiences. For elementary & middle school students Read this newspaper article, then…
Where do you think this photograph was taken? Zoom into the photo and describe this place using details from the image to inform your description. (Save the link in the previous sentence to download the image to your computer which will allow you to zoom in with greater detail.) Next, make a guess at what decade this photo is…
Listen carefully to this audio recording. You will hear six different sounds. What do you hear? Where do you think this audio recording was made? Why do you think that? What questions do you have about this audio recording? Now listen to the full audio recording, then find out who made this primary source audio recording (be sure…
Zoom into the top half of this newspaper page that contains only the article’s headline and subhead and photos and captions. Based on this information, explain the points you think the newspaper article will discuss. Now read the article. What is the main point, or claim, of the article. List the arguments the author makes and…
Look at a more detailed image of this cartoon. Without conducting any further research, what can you infer about these two men just by looking closing at the cartoon’s details? Collaborate with others to find out more about the controversy surrounding the two men depicted in this cartoon. What details, if any, from the cartoon are referenced in the…
Complete a primary source analysis of this image using the Library’s primary source analysis tool (see links below). Then click the image above to see if the information found in the curator’s note answers any of your questions. paper (.pdf) digital padlet Can you find a discrepancy between this primary source document (be sure to look…