There are two Revolutionary War heroes depicted on this print who experienced very different outcomes. Who were the two men and what happened to each in the war? Review the 13 scenes related to Afro-American history on this lithograph. Which scene speaks most powerfully to you? Explain the reasoning for your choice. What person or event…
Integrating primary sources into the social studies curriculum doesn’t take a quantum leap of imagination, but can you imagine how they could be paired with math? Numerous teachers who have gone through Teaching with Primary Sources programs delivered by TPS consortium members, have done just that. Intrigued? Check out their formulas for mathematical learning by…
What different types of transportation are these men trying to use to get to California? Cartoonists sometimes exaggerate, or overdo, physical characteristics of people and things. Zoom into a more detailed image of this cartoon and look for examples of exaggeration. Describe one example and explain why it is a form of exaggeration for this situation. Find out about…
On August 28, 1963 a march organized by supporters of stronger civil rights legislation drew more than 250,000 people to Washington, D.C. Encouraged and inspired, Martin Luther King, Jr. strayed from the short speech he had prepared and delivered instead his famous extemporaneous I Have a Dream speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Primary…
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…
Describe the type of person would need these objects. For what purposes would the person use the objects? These objects are from 1802. Describe what a compass and magnet are like today. Explain how someone would use a compass and magnet today. Use the Primary Source Nexus search box to find information about William Clark. What did he do and who was…
Where was the Hippodrome Theater? What other details in the photograph support that answer? Use the Primary Source Nexus search box to look for more information about the Hippodrome Theater. What did you learn? Imagine you are one of the people on the street outside the Hippodrome Theater. What are you thinking or talking about?…
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…
The Library of Congress has compiled individual primary source sets for every state in the country (as well as a set related to U.S. territories) and this week the Teaching with the Library of Congress blog provides teaching ideas for using this rich set of resources. Be sure to check out the primary source collections below as well….