Developed in partnership with middle school social studies teachers, Read.Inquire.Write. (RIW) supports students in inquiry and argument writing in social studies. All resources are free, thanks to a grant from the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources program, but access to specific materials requires a free teacher account. As students progress through investigations in World Geography, Ancient World History, and U.S. History, they draw on their own rich and diverse … [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...]
TPS Spotlight: RISE for Racial Equity Webinars & Micro-credential
December 15, 2020 by Leave a Comment
So many teachers are reflecting on how to fight racism, how to help students through the impact of the isolation and fear of the pandemic, and how to help students thrive in these challenging times. Teaching during COVID-19 and in a time of dismantling systemic racism is an experience that requires innovative approaches grounded in empathy, inquiry, trauma informed practices, and innovative thinking. The RISE for Racial Equity Webinars & Micro-credential program offer practical strategies … [Read more...]
TPS Spotlight: 2020 NCSS Virtual Conference Poster Sessions
December 2, 2020 by Leave a Comment
Numerous TPS Consortium members have contributed posters (see listing below) to the 2020 NCSS Virtual Conference, took place online from December 4-6. Attendees can view conference presentations on demand until April 30, 2021. You may also contact the organizations directly to learn more. Book Backdrops: Connecting Primary Sources and Literature National Council of Teachers of English Participants will create a working definition of primary sources, learn to analyze primary sources, and … [Read more...]
TPS Spotlight: Maryland Humanities
November 5, 2020 by Leave a Comment
Maryland Humanities, a Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources Program Consortium member, partnered with Maryland Public Television and the Maryland State Department of Education to create the Thinkport Inquiry Kits— primary source sets designed to prepare students to analyze primary sources and conduct primary source research. The kits may also be used by teachers to facilitate warm-ups or other in-class activities. There are currently 190 Inquiry Kits based on Maryland social … [Read more...]
TPS Spotlight: KidCitizen
September 13, 2020 by Leave a Comment
KidCitizen is part of the Congress, Civic Participation, and Primary Sources Project, which is supported by a grant from the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources program. KidCitizen is a digital interactive for K-5 learners that promotes historical inquiry, civic engagement and literacy through the investigation of primary sources from the Library of Congress and making connections to their daily lives. To learn more about the design and pedagogy of the digital interactive, don't … [Read more...]
RISE Micro-credential Program Webinars
July 27, 2020 by Leave a Comment
Reflection, Inquiry, Self-awareness, and Empathy: Strategies to Integrate Racial Equity in Teaching Educators have been launched into uncertainty and unpredictable changes in teaching and learning. Navigating the emerging world of school calls for new levels of support for teachers. Citizen U, a program of the Barat Education Foundation, and DePaul University’s Office of Innovative Professional Learning with support from the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources program, are … [Read more...]
Join Us at NCSS 2019: Booth 22, Session 967, TPS Poster Session
November 15, 2019 by Leave a Comment
Barat Education Foundation is thrilled to have multiple opportunities to connect with educators from across the country at the National Council for Social Studies annual conference on November 22-23 in Austin, Texas. We've got loads of strategies, free resources, and, of course, swag to share. You'll also have the chance to get in on our raffles to win gift cards or the grand prize, free enrollment in the Citizen U TPS Civics Educator 3-course Micro-credential Program. Come join us! FRIDAY, … [Read more...]
Primary Source Learning: Information Literacy & Inquiry
May 22, 2017 by Leave a Comment
The Library of Congress has long realized that teaching with primary sources engages students and promotes critical thinking skills and helps them to construct knowledge. With a shift from a primary focus on content knowledge to the process of interacting with and comprehending, analyzing, and evaluating content, we can help forge deeper content knowledge while also emphasizing enduring understandings and reinforcing cross-discipline connections. Learning with primary sources helps students … [Read more...]
Closing night performance of Orson Wells' Macbeth. Check out our 