Explore the ways the free press has covered major events in history dating back to the American Revolution with PBS NewsHour EXTRA's interactive Journalism in Action: Civic Engagement and Primary Sources Through Key Moments in History, a website supported by a grant from the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources program. Fun, engaging civic activities for middle and high school students illuminate historical documents and help students make their own judgments using news … [Read more...]
Citizen U Bulletin Volume 2, Issue 8
April 22, 2021 by Leave a Comment
Bulletin Volume 2, Issue 8 SUBSCRIBE CIVICS IN ACTION Citizen U Weaving civics across grades and disciplines Click the links to access, like and share New Lessons Making a Mark: Marching & Leaping Towards Reform Students make connections between protest, reform, and legacy through … [Read more...]
Teaching Now: QFT with a Primary Source
April 14, 2021 by 2 Comments
First draft vs final drafts This is a guest post from Alyssa Park, a fourth-grade teacher at Scarselli Elementary School in Nevada. My main goals as a teacher are to make sure students leave my classroom bursting with curiosity and with greater self-confidence as learners. I also want them to know how to ask the right questions, how to decide on an action plan to get the information they need, and how to reflect on the work they’ve done. In my second year as a teacher, I learned about the … [Read more...]
TPS Spotlight: Right Question Institute
April 12, 2021 by Leave a Comment
The Right Question Institute (RQI) is an educational nonprofit that aims to make democracy work better by teaching a strategy that allows all people to learn to ask better questions and participate more effectively in decisions that affect them. RQI’s education program offers online courses and free resources on the Question Formulation Technique (QFT), a practical yet transformational strategy that teaches students how to ask, improve upon, and pursue their own questions. In collaboration … [Read more...]
Citizen U Bulletin Volume 2, Issue 7
April 8, 2021 by Leave a Comment
Bulletin Volume 2, Issue 7 SUBSCRIBE CIVICS IN ACTION Citizen U Weaving civics across grades and disciplines Click the links to access, like and share New Lessons Do Our Parks Do What They Are Supposed to Do? Students analyze primary source images and texts to investigate Frederick Law … [Read more...]
Teaching Now: Innovative Ideas to Teach Social Studies Skills
April 6, 2021 by Leave a Comment
The April 5, 2021 #sschat—a moderated Twitter chat using the #sschat hashtag—was chock full of innovative ideas to teach social studies skills from educators across the country. Here is how the group defines itself on the #sschat website. #sschat is more than a hashtag, it’s an open group of dedicated network of educators and enthusiasts who aim to improve their personal, and our collective, teaching of social studies subject matter. We aim to help social studies teachers by helping to … [Read more...]
Collection Spotlight: Joy Harjo
April 5, 2021 by Leave a Comment
On June 19, 2019, Joy Harjo was appointed the 23rd Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry by Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden. On making the appointment, Dr. Hayden said: Joy Harjo has championed the art of poetry—‘soul talk’ as she calls it—for over four decades. To her, poems are ‘carriers of dreams, knowledge and wisdom,’ and through them she tells an American story of tradition and loss, reckoning and myth-making. Her work powerfully connects us to the earth and the spiritual world with … [Read more...]
CARE Teaching and Learning Certificate Program
April 19, 2020 by Leave a Comment
Creating Authentic, Responsive and Engaged Learning in a Remote Situation Below are recordings of four free webinars held April 21, 23, 28, 30, 2020. If you attended any webinar and didn't receive the submission link to get CPDU/CEU credit, send an email. Any educator who watches all four webinars can earn a micro-credential certificate in Innovative Remote Teaching Practices with Civic-Mindedness by completing the following: for each webinar, write a 200-word essay detailing how you will … [Read more...]
Integrating Technology: Using Primary Sources from the Library of Congress through Distance Learning
April 14, 2020 by Leave a Comment
In case you weren't able to make it, or just want to watch it again, here is the recorded webinar hosted by inquirED and featuring TPS consortium partners from NCSS, the Right Question Institute and the TPS Eastern Region. After, access all the resources from this fantastic webinar. Related resources Teaching Now: Zooming In on the Benefits of Primary Source Analysis Using Google Forms Integrating Tech: Zoom-in to Primary Source Analysis Tech Tool: Creating a Google Form … [Read more...]
Integrating Technology: TPS Civics Interactives
April 8, 2020 by Leave a Comment
Engage K-12 students with primary source learning through these online interactives focused on civics. Bean Creative Case Maker features twenty pre-made civics challenges that teachers can share with their middle school students, or customize and annotate specifically for their needs. targeted to grades 6-8 Fablevision Civics! An American Musical has students use Library primary sources to create a smash Broadway musical hit that is historically accurate and celebrates the … [Read more...]
Christopher Columbus set sail for new world. Check out our 
Calvin Coolidge sworn into office as U.S. President. Check out our 