Literature Links: Book Kits
Book Kits pair books with primary sources using engaging activities to help students in grades K-8 connect to literature. They are free to use for educational, non-profit use. Access the Book Kits today!
Analyzing Primary Sources: Exploring Broadsides, Flyers, and Posters
In “Spreading the Word for a Cause” from the Teaching with with the Library of Congress blog, Teaching with Primary Sources intern Haleigh Reutershan provides examples of primary sources that helped spread information and encourage people to unite and support causes in the times before social media. She then offers suggestions for guiding questions and…
Primary Source Learning: Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving primary source set with teacher’s guide Primary Source Learning: The Wampanoag, the Plimoth Colonists & the First Thanksgiving Teaching Now: Separating Myths from History Thanksgiving with Richard Blanco’s “América” Thanksgiving Then & Now – an historical newspaper exercise for kindergarten Guided primary source analyses Beyond the Bubble: The First Thanksgiving Teaching with the Library…
Primary Source Learning: Conservation & Environment
Library lessons Conservation Movement at a Crossroads: The Hetch Hetchy Controversy Explorations in American Environmental History Natural Disasters: Nature’s Fury Collection Connections Evolution of the Conservation Movement Mapping the National Parks Conservation & environment lessons from the Citizen U Multidisciplinary Civics Lesson Library Carbon Footprints, Climate, and Civic Causes Civic Actions to Impact the Future…
Selecting Primary Sources: Strategies & Tips
Use these resources from the Library of Congress and Citizen U to help you select the best primary sources for instructional use. Foundations Webinar: Selecting Primary Sources recording | session materials Selecting Primary Sources: Criteria for Classroom Use Selecting Primary Sources: Knowing your Students Selecting Primary Sources: Learning Activity Criteria Selecting Primary Sources for the…
NHD 2023: Topic Selection, Research, Sources & More
Students, we have compiled a big list of resources to help you dig deep into National History Day (NHD) projects. Understanding NHD Projects Read the Contest Rule Book carefully. English | Spanish Watch the NHD Contest Rules video. Explore the categories. Click the orange buttons to learn more about each category. Documentary rules video project checklist evaluation…
Primary Source Learning: Monthly Heritage & Identity Celebrations
Below is a list with links to Library resource sets, featuring both primary and secondary sources, and teaching resources that coincide with monthly heritage and identity celebrations. So mark those special months but don’t stop there. Instead, come back to these resources time and again to give voice to diverse perspectives and celebrate inclusion all…
NHD 2023: Teaching Resources & Strategies
Educators, check out these resources and strategies to help you as you guide students through the development of their National History Day (NHD) projects. Overview Explore NHD’s origins. Discover the benefits of implementing NHD. Learn about Teacher of the Year Awards. Find your state affiliate. Sign up for the NHD newsletter. Understanding NHD Projects Read…
Primary Source Learning: Disability History
Unit & lesson plans Teaching Now: Learning About (Dis)ability in History- An Inquiry for Elementary Students Learning from the Source: (Dis)ability History How Disability Activists Created Change Ancient Rome’s Veterans with Disabilities: Roman Accounts and U.S. Veteran Comparisons Activities Accessibility Aids Child Labor in the Early 1900s Disabled Newsies League of the Physically Handicapped’s Protests…
Analyzing Primary Sources: Caption Writer
The Caption Writer strategy comes from Dr. Roland K. Schendel, undergraduate/graduate professor of education at Metropolitan State University of Denver. Children experience much of their world by viewing pictorial and illustrated representations of it. Such visuals allow children to learn about the world around them. They translate ideas through viewing. In order to accurately translate…
Teaching Now: Learning About (Dis)ability in History – An Inquiry for Elementary Students
This brief unit plan and teaching guide was developed by Dr. John Bickford, Professor of Social Studies/History Education at Eastern Illinois University and Editor-in-Chief of The Councilor: A Journal of the Social Studies, in collaboration with Citizen U. The plan, developed in conjunction with this (Dis)ability History primary source set, includes teaching notes and is targeted…
Learning from the Source: (Dis)ability History
This primary source set is targeted to elementary students and includes background information and thinking prompts. It was curated mainly by Dr. John Bickford, Professor of Social Studies/History Education at Eastern Illinois University and Editor-in-Chief of The Councilor: A Journal of the Social Studies. Access the unit plan that utilizes this primary source set. Click…