Today in History–July 5–the Library of Congress features the Salvation Army, founded on this day in London in 1865 as the Christian Mission. Methodist minister William Booth and his wife Catherine founded the organization to fight poverty and religious indifference with military efficiency. The organization was renamed the Salvation Army in 1878 and expanded to the United…
Country Profile: France Creating French Culture: Treasures from the Bibliothèque nationale de France online exhibition France in America bilingual digital library site France Allied with American Colonies February 6, 1778 from America’s Library France primary source set World Digital Library France maps France image set French image set Films related to France France mentions in the Foreign Affairs Oral History Collection French American life…
India country profile: . . . extensive urbanization and trade appear to have begun in the Indus River Valley around 3000 B.C. with the Harappan civilization. From this period until the termination of British colonial rule in 1947, numerous empires ruled various portions of South Asia, often assimilating a rich array of peoples and each adding…
Today in History–June 2–the Library of Congress features the Indian Citizenship Act, enacted on this date in 1924. The act finally granted official U.S. citizenship to to all Native Americans born in the U.S. But because voting rights were governed by state law, some Native American citizens were barred from voting in political elections until 1957. Find out more by visiting…
Today in History–May 19–the Library of Congress features Johns Hopkins, born in Maryland on this date in 1795. Hopkins had to quit school at age 12 to work the family farm but he went on to become a very successful businessman. He used his fortune—$7 million at the time of his death—to found Johns Hopkins University and Johns…
Dig deep into a variety of teaching with primary sources topics. The TPS Journal, formerly titled the TPS Quarterly, is an online, peer-reviewed publication focused on pedagogical approaches to teaching with Library of Congress digitized primary sources in K-12 classrooms. Each issue provides sections related to the issue’s thematic focus: a feature article, an elementary primary source activity, a…
Today in History–May 5–the Library of Congress features the controversy surrounding teaching Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. On this date in 1925 John Scopes was arrested for teaching evolution in a Tennessee public high school. Originally conceived as both a test case and a publicity stunt, Scopes went to trial and was found guilty. Later, the Tennessee Supreme Court acquitted…
The Story of the Nations: Wales 1902 More books, articles and other texts about Wales Charles D. Cleveland to Abraham Lincoln, Thursday, February 05, 1863 (Sends sermon from Wales) Wales image set Sheet music related to Wales U.S. veteran oral histories (service in Wales) Foreign Affairs Oral History Collection interviews mentioning Wales U.S. historical newspaper coverage of Wales through…
Have you ever wanted to use a primary source document with students but hesitated because you felt the struggle to comprehend the text would be the focus of the task rather than text analysis? In a TweetChat about teaching with primary sources, middle school social studies teacher Chris Heffernan (@cheffernan75) articulated the dilemma, “This has been a…
Sri Lanka was known as Ceylon prior to 1972. It has a long rich history. Prime Minister Sirimavo Ratwatte Dias was the world’s first woman prime minister, serving three terms: 1960-65, 1970-77, and 1994-2000. Sri Lanka country study Sri Lanka – Places in the News April 2009 Sri Lanka timeline BBC Sri Lanka maps U.S. veteran oral histories (service in…
Veterans Administration legislation Veterans Administration reports & other texts Veterans Administration oral histories James Allen Alford served in Veterans Administration Facility Gerald Caffrey served as a radio operator and Morse code interpreter; after retiring served as a Veterans Administration Chaplain Frank Foley served in Europe but did not see action in combat; worked in years after war…
The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) strike a balance between the reading of literature and informational texts and promote the use of a wide range of text types: “Through reading a diverse array of classic and contemporary literature as well as challenging informational texts in a range of subjects, students are expected to build knowledge, gain…