Although image analysis activities do not generally require reading (apart from reading bits of text found in an image), the skills required to extract information from visual content are similar to those required to extract information from text. Practicing these skills using primary source images provides students with a great scaffolded learning opportunity. The table below…
Image sequencing activities help students better understand written or spoken texts. Image sequencing requires groups of students to review an image set and match individual images with designated lines of text, discussing and justifying their choices. These activities give students great practice in the skills emphasized by the Common Core State Standards, particularly the CCSS standards…
In celebration of Native American Heritage month, the Teaching with the Library of Congress blog provides some great suggestions for teaching students to view the experiences and contributions of Native Americans from various perspectives. Comparing sources from multiple perspectives provides students with practice in critical thinking and evaluating evidence and arguments. Links to more Native American…
The Teaching with the Library of Congress blog provides several ideas for inspiring close observation and engaging students with primary sources, including having students make personal connections to an item, look for clues to time period and authorship, look for details that provide evidence of their thinking, and ask purposeful questions. Close observation of images is great practice…
Voices from the Dust Bowl: The Charles L. Todd and Robert Sonkin Migrant Worker Collection is an online presentation of a multi-format ethnographic field collection documenting the everyday life of residents of Farm Security Administration (FSA) migrant work camps in central California in 1940 and 1941. Todd and Sonkin, both of the City College of New York, traveled to Arvin, Bakersfield, El Rio, Firebaugh, Porterville,…
When teaching a topic with primary sources, it is important to provide multiple sources that represent a variety of points of views and perspectives. Doing so provides students with practice in critical thinking and evaluating evidence and arguments, skills emphasized by the Common Core English Language Arts Standards (CCSS), particularly CCSS anchor reading standards 4, 6,…