The National Press Club, with more than a century of history behind it, is known for its luncheon gatherings that have featured U.S. presidents, visiting world leaders, and other prominent persons to address the media members and answer questions about current affairs. Now, with the collection Food for Thought: Presidents, Prime Ministers, and Other National Press Club Luncheon Speakers,…
Today in History–February 1–the Library of Congress features writer and poet Langston Hughes, born on this date in 1902. Famous for his illuminating and moving depictions of African American life, Hughes was a prominent figure in the Harlem Renaissance movement. Learn more about this treasured American author by visiting the Today in History section, then click the links below to access more stories,…
The Teaching with the Library of Congress blog provides an overview of the resources found in America’s Library and some great teaching ideas for using the website with younger students or older English language learners. For more involved projects, click the links below to access two primary source projects using America’s Library resources from TPS-Barat….
Today in History–November 21–the Library of Congress features North Carolina, which ratified the Constitution on this day in 1789, becoming the 12th state in the new United States. Find out more about the history and culture of the “Tar Heel” state by visiting the Today in History section, then follow the links below to access more prime primary sources. North…
When teaching a topic with primary sources, it is important to provide multiple sources that represent a variety of points of views and perspectives. Doing so provides students with practice in critical thinking and evaluating evidence and arguments, skills emphasized by the Common Core English Language Arts Standards (CCSS), particularly CCSS anchor reading standards 4, 6,…
The Teaching with the Library of Congress blog gives some great tips on using the WPA Poster collection with students. One idea is to have students identify persuasion techniques. For a great resource on typical advertising persuasion techniques, check out Print Advertising Across the Centuries project. One teacher used this project as a template and created a…
The Teaching with the Library of Congress blog gives some great tips on selecting the most effective primary sources to use with your students. The TPS-Barat program offers some more tips, suggesting teachers ask themselves the following questions when choosing primary sources for use in the classroom. Goal – What is the overall activity or project goal?…
The Teaching with the Library of Congress blog has started to publish primary source starters–quick, easy-to-use activity ideas using primary sources from the Library’s collections. The first uses Thomas Jefferson’s rough draft of the Declaration of Independence to help students think critically about the process that produced the document. Get all the details by reading…