This 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. It presents a lesson plan with teaching notes targeted to early and upper elementary students. TEACHER BACKGROUND Children—and adults!—will be shocked to learn most of their Thanksgiving facts are fables, not history. This short section … [Read more...]
NHD 2022: Topic Selection, Research, Sources & More
October 7, 2021 by Leave a Comment
We have compiled a big list of resources to help you dig deep into National History Day projects. Understanding NHD Projects Be sure to read the NHD 2022 rule book carefully! You should also check out this YouTube rules video playlist to review general rules for all NHD project categories, as well as category-specific rules. Explore the categories. Click the orange buttons to learn more about each category. Documentary project checklist evaluation form Ask an NEH … [Read more...]
Collections Spotlight: LGBTQ+ Resources
June 9, 2021 by Leave a Comment
LGBTQ Activism and Contributions primary source set with teacher's guide Photographs Gay men creating a display labeled "Free: Gay Liberation, Minnesota" 1970 Male couples 1970 Gay rights demonstration at the Democratic National Convention 1976 AIDS quilt, Washington, D.C. 1987 Gary Pride Parade image set 2012 An LGBT Pride flag 2018 Posters Gay is angry, gay revolution networker 1971 I never loved a man the way that I love you! 1973 Gays & work symposium … [Read more...]
Finding Resources: Story Maps
February 3, 2021 by Leave a Comment
Story Maps are immersive web applications that tell the incredible stories of the Library’s collections through narrative, multimedia, and interactive maps. The story maps are created within a Geographic Information Systems (GIS)-based software platform created by Esri. Story Maps are chock full of primary sources, including photographs, illustrations, texts, newspaper articles, and even maps. “I find story maps to be a twenty-first-century tool for a twenty-first-century library,” said … [Read more...]
Literature Links: 2020 National Book Festival
September 24, 2020 by Leave a Comment
Overview The 2020 National Book Festival ran from September 25-27 and featured a combination of prerecorded and interactive live Q&A programs with more than 120 authors, poets and illustrators. For a complete line-up of authors and their video presentations, please see the full video on demand list. Highlights from Children’s and Teen Stages at Virtual National Book Festival 2020 Minerva’s Kaleidoscope blog October 2, 2020 Democracy in the 21st Century Democracies around the world are … [Read more...]
NHD 2021: Topic Selection, Research, Sources & More
September 22, 2020 by Leave a Comment
For this year's topic selection resources and curated sets of primary sources, click here. The graphic above from the Chicago Metro History Fair (CMHF) is a great encapsulation of how to choose a topic for a history fair project. In addition, ask yourself the questions listed below. Does the topic relate to the 2021 National History Day (NHD) theme Communication in History: The Key to Understanding? Does the topic relate to local or state history? Does the topic really interest … [Read more...]
Timely Connections: Fresh Perspectives from Female Poets
April 4, 2019 by 1 Comment
In an article for Edutopia, middle school educator Kasey Short provides suggestions and tips for "Studying Female Poets to Understand History". After reading this thoughtful article, help your students get some fresh female perspectives of both history and contemporary life with these poetry-related resources. Curator’s Picks: American Women Poets Library of Congress Blog March 26, 2015 Anne Bradstreet, Colonial Poet Poetry by Civil War Era African American Women Are women people? : … [Read more...]
Timely Connections: Civics, History & Multidisciplinary Connections
December 19, 2018 by Leave a Comment
The overarching goal of a general education in the United States has been, and should continue to be, to promote civic competence. Teaching with primary sources, no matter the content focus, provides students with the skills necessary to be competent and active citizens. Digging into primary sources and grappling directly with different perspectives provides students practice in information literacy skills that they will employ in numerous contexts throughout their lives. When students "do" … [Read more...]
Integrating Technology: Making Myriopticons
May 24, 2018 by 1 Comment
OK, so this post isn't about digital technology but it does present an idea for combining history with a maker lab of sorts that incorporates math, engineering and art. Let's take a look at a blog post from In Custodia Legis, which features, “A Historical Panorama of the Rebellion” myriopticon, a toy manufactured by Milton Bradley around 1865. "The myriopticon was an educational device targeted at prepubescent boys that consists of a box containing a painted scroll and two scroll tubes. A key … [Read more...]
Citizen U: Lessons Infusing Civics Across the Curriculum
January 28, 2018 by Leave a Comment
The Citizen U curriculum is a collaboration between the Barat Education Foundation (BEF), Constitutional Rights Foundation (CRF), and DePaul University’s Office of Innovative Professional Learning (DePaul OIPL) and was developed thanks to a grant from the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS) program. The goal of the Citizen U curriculum is to infuse civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions across the core subjects in elementary, middle, and high school grades. Working with … [Read more...]
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