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, the Library of Congress provides online access to digital recordings of the National Press Club lunchtime … [Read more...]
Collection Spotlight: National Press Club Luncheon Speeches 1954-1989
October 19, 2016 by Leave a Comment
Today in History: Langston Hughes
February 1, 2012 by Leave a Comment
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, primary sources, and teaching and learning resources. Background Langston Hughes stories … [Read more...]
Primary Source Learning: America’s Library
December 13, 2011 by Leave a Comment
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. Each project includes all student materials as well as a teacher instructions. Presidential Portraits George Washington and Abraham … [Read more...]
Today in History: North Carolina
November 21, 2011 by Leave a Comment
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 Carolina stories from America’s Library North Carolina primary source set North Carolina maps North Carolina books & … [Read more...]
Selecting Primary Sources: Point of View & Perspective
August 10, 2011 by Leave a Comment
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, 7 and 9. The Teaching with the Library of Congress blog guidelines for selecting primary sources that will help students … [Read more...]
Primary Source Learning: Teaching with Primary Source Posters
August 5, 2011 by Leave a Comment
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 lesson that looked at U.S. military recruitment posters. Intrigued? Be sure to check out all of the Library's poster and graphic arts … [Read more...]
Selecting Primary Sources: Learning Activity Criteria
July 14, 2011 by Leave a Comment
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? What questions are we trying to answer? What problem are we trying to solve? What product are we trying to create? Activity Types – … [Read more...]
Learning from the Source: Jefferson’s Rough Draft of the Declaration
June 9, 2011 by Leave a Comment
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 the Thomas Jefferson’s Rough Draft of the Declaration of Independence post. … [Read more...]
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