curated lists of links to primary source teaching resources
Thanksgiving primary source set with teacher’s guide Primary Source Learning: The Wampanoag, the Plimoth Colonists & the First Thanksgiving Teaching Now: Separating Myths from History Thanksgiving with Richard Blanco’s “América” Thanksgiving Then & Now – an historical newspaper exercise for kindergarten Guided primary source analyses A Thanksgiving Truce Thanksgiving Shopping Insert A Preacher Tries Farming…
Library lessons Conservation Movement at a Crossroads: The Hetch Hetchy Controversy Explorations in American Environmental History Natural Disasters: Nature’s Fury Collection Connections Evolution of the Conservation Movement Mapping the National Parks Conservation & environment lessons from the Citizen U Multidisciplinary Civics Lesson Library Carbon Footprints, Climate, and Civic Causes Civic Actions to Impact the Future…
Below is a list with links to Library resource sets, featuring both primary and secondary sources, and teaching resources that coincide with monthly heritage and identity celebrations. So mark those special months but don’t stop there. Instead, come back to these resources time and again to give voice to diverse perspectives and celebrate inclusion all…
Unit & lesson plans Teaching Now: Learning About (Dis)ability in History- An Inquiry for Elementary Students Learning from the Source: (Dis)ability History How Disability Activists Created Change Ancient Rome’s Veterans with Disabilities: Roman Accounts and U.S. Veteran Comparisons Activities Accessibility Aids Child Labor in the Early 1900s Disabled Newsies League of the Physically Handicapped’s Protests…
The U.S. History Primary Source Timeline spans nearly 400 years, covering 9 time periods. Each time period includes an overview and several subsections and each of these, in turn, provide background information and a selection of curated primary sources. Colonial Settlement, 1600s – 1763 The American Revolution, 1763 – 1783 The New Nation, 1783 –…
Guided primary source analyses Boeing aircraft plant – production of B-17F D-Day The 6th of June Entrance to Manzanar Europe Is Getting Hot U.S. Must Set Pace for Racial Tolerance Woman’s Work Lessons & activities Diana’s White House Garden Tom Bober Digital Stories of Our Heroes Female Journalists of World War II & Today PBS…
This primary source set is targeted to elementary students and includes background information and thinking prompts. It was curated mainly 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, with the goal of helping students separate Thanksgiving myths from history. This…
Citizen U lessons integrating science, technology and civics Carbon Footprints, Climate, and Civic Causes Civic Actions to Impact the Future The Conservation Movement at a Crossroads: The Hetch Hetchy Controversy Do Our Parks Do What They Are Supposed to Do? Electromagnetism, Electric Communication, and Community Environmental Resource Management: Local and Historical Perspectives How Did Birds…
This definition from the Library of Congress provides a basic answer to the question above. “’Primary sources’ are the raw materials of history — original documents and objects which were created at the time under study. They are different from secondary sources, accounts or interpretations of events created by someone without firsthand experience.” To learn…
Lessons The Huexotzinco Codex Drake’s West Indian Voyage 1588-1589 Cesar Chavez & Good Citizenship Dolores Huerta Collaborating to Affect Change (elementary) Building Coalitions to Affect Change (middle school) Inspiring Civic Responsibility (high school) Media & Migrant Laborers Perspectives Guided Primary Source Analyses Bank note explorer vignettes Community & Teamwork Houston, Santa Anna, and Cos Los…
This curated collection of primary sources was created to help students think critically about what it means to be an American by exploring and analyzing different perspectives and voices, particularly marginalized ones, over time. Thanks to the inspiration of Jen Reidel, 2019-2020 Library of Congress Civics Teacher in Residence, who suggested this theme. Executive proclamations…
Click the images to access them, then print or add to a digital folder or platform. Have students match the primary source images of community helpers from long ago and now. Then have students draw a picture of themselves as community helpers and/or a community helper in their neighborhood and share stories about those people….