Zoom into this old map. Do some math, how many acres in total are listed on this map. There are 640 acres in 1 square mile. Approximately how many square miles is this farm? Look for clues on the map to see if you can determine when it was made and by whom. Make a…
Zoom into the selected section of the primary source shown above. Look closely at the details and answer the questions below. What do you see? What is happening in this scene? How do you feel when you look at this scene? What do you wonder about? Now look at the complete primary source and answer the questions below….
The San Francisco Call. (San Francisco [Calif.]), 20 Dec. 1903. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. Articles (Click the page image above to zoom in and then use the page arrow buttons to read the articles in this section or click the links below.) Boy’s Christmas Aboard a Whaler The Heart of a Child…
The page shown above comes from a transcript of a 1930s oral history interview with George Strester who remembers a memorable Thanksgiving time when his father, a preacher, tried farming in Nebraska in 1873. Click the links below to browse through some related images, then read Strester’s whole story. Describe how the images enhanced your understanding…
Read the lyrics to the song shown above, written by Sylvia Fine. What is the main message of the song? What is the tone of the song? Which words help set the tone? How does the tone influence the feeling you get from this song? Now compare these song lyrics to a draft of the lyrics (.pdf…
In a Teaching with the Library of Congress blog post, Deborah Thomas, program manager for the National Digital Newspaper Program at the Library of Congress, discusses Helping Students Read Between the Lines: Identifying Bias and Attitude in Newspapers for the Presidential Election of 1912. With three major candidates, rather than the traditional two, the 1912…
Zoom into the picture above (.pdf file) and analyze the photo using the primary source analysis tool. First, just use the picture to complete your image analysis, then review the bibliographic record to add to your analysis. Share your analysis with a partner, group or the class. This image lists some letters and numbers at the bottom of the picture. Enter…
What is the mood of this image? What symbols and other details in the engraving contribute to the overall mood it evokes? Now review the bibliographic record for this image. Describe what you learned and explain how that affects your “reading” of this source. Do a bit of research to learn more about the person…
This Emily Dickinson poem was set to music by composer Ernst Bacon. Take a closer look at this sheet music and read the lyrics. What feeling does this poem give you? What specific word choices influence how you feel? What kind of music do you think would go with these words (happy, upbeat, sad, mournful, lively, slow,…
Enduring understanding Time, place, and culture influence our perspectives on people and issues. Essential question How have perceptions of women in America and their roles in society evolved over time? Lesson prep Review and read all primary sources. Prepare primary sources for online or paper analysis. Have packs of sticky notes (three different colors) available….
Zoom into a more detailed image of this illustration. Study carefully the expressions–both facial and body–of each woman in this illustration. Use one adjective and one verb to describe each woman based on your analysis of their expressions. The full title of this illustration is “Studies in expression. When women are jurors.” This 1902 illustration…
What does the image above make you think about? What sense of this man, Jesse Owens, do you get from this picture? Next, review the bibliographic record for this photograph. What more did you learn? Now read this short life history of Jesse Owens created in 1939. What do you learn about him from this source?…