Congress of Racial Equality conducts march in memory of Negro youngsters killed in Birmingham bombings

Primary Source Learning: Civil Rights

Citizen U multidisciplinary civics lessons Civil Rights and Civic Action Dolores Huerta Building Coalitions to Affect Change Collaborating to Affect Change Inspiring Civic Responsibility Selma & Voting Rights: Standing Up for Equality Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer More lessons Baseball, Race Relations and Jackie Robinson…

Important government shutdown notice for the Stature of Liberty

Timely Connections: U.S. Government Shutdowns

The latest U.S. government shutdown, begun on December 22, 2018 and suspended on January 25, 2019 is the longest in history. Find out what happens during a government shutdown. Read news articles following the suspension of the shutdown. Review timelines of past shutdowns from various news sources. Investigate historical and current legislation related to U.S….

Citizen U & Engaging Congress: Free Workshops in IL & TX

Citizen U & Engaging Congress: Free Workshops in IL & TX

WHY These free in-person workshops will help civic-minded educators develop engaged citizens by: improving inquiry-based teaching using Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS) methodology; reviewing the elementary through high school inquiry-based Citizen U interdisciplinary civics lessons interacting with the free civics app Engaging Congress; previewing the Library of Congress TPS Civics micro-credential pilot….

Lincoln at Gettysburg

Learning from the Source: Gettysburg Address Game On

This lesson may be completed in whole or in part, depending on the needs of your students and the time that you have. FOCUS QUESTION In what ways is equality a proposition, or belief, worth fighting for? LESSON OVERVIEW Students will consider whether equality is important to our democracy as they develop a deep understanding…

Citizen U

Citizen U: Multidisciplinary Civics Lessons

Citizen U integrates inquiry-based civics across core curriculum disciplines—English-language arts, math, science, and social studies—in elementary, middle school, and high school grades. Created through a grant awarded by the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources TPS program, Citizen U is a collaboration of the Barat Education Foundation, the Constitutional Rights Foundation, and DePaul University’s Office of Innovative Professional Learning. Get the Lessons! Download…

Green Book newspaper ad

Literature Links: Ruth and the Green Book

Elementary teacher librarian and former teacher in residence at the Library of Congress, Tom Bober (@CaptainLibrary), details a plan for pairing primary source analysis with the book, Ruth and the Green Book by Calvin Alexander Ramsey, to help students make connections to history and geography. In his post on Knowledge Quest from the American Association of School Librarians, Tom also…

Photograph of the Declaration of Independence

Learning from the Source: The Declaration, Her Declaration, Your Declaration

Discuss the Declaration of Independence. Why was it written? What meaning did it have in 1776? What meaning does it have today? Read the Declaration of Independence and highlight words and phrases that stand out to you. Read over the words and phrases you highlighted. In what ways does the language you selected help to…

We Shall Overcome

Learning from the Source: We Shall Overcome

Students will analyze historical and contemporary primary sources to examine how citizens persevered to overcome injustice and affect change during the 1960s civil rights era and consider the lessons the first March to Selma in 1965 provides for us today. Enduring understanding: Time, place, and culture influence our perspectives on people and issues. Essential question:…

The Claims of the Negro

Timely Connections: Frederick Douglass & Scientific Racism

In an opinion piece for the New York Times, Eric Herschthal, a fellow at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture at the New York Public Library, suggests that we remember Frederick Douglass “as someone whose insights about scientific theories of race are every bit as relevant in our era as they were when he wrote…