The Teaching with Library of Congress blog provides some great tips for finding articles in the Chronicling America Historic Newspaper Collections and provides some teaching ideas as well. Be sure to check out, too, the following learning activity: Comparing Reports: Battle of Little Bighorn. Below is a list of topic guides by subject, each of which…
Today in History–September 13–the Library of Congress features our national anthem, the Star Spangled Banner. On September 13, 1814 a lawyer named Francis Scott Key witnessed the British bombing Fort McHenry from Baltimore harbor and decided to write a song to commemorate what he saw. Uncover more of the story by visiting the Today in History section, then click the links below to…
Today in History–August 30–the Library of Congress features the Second Battle of Bull Run (Manassas), which ended this date in 1862 with a retreat of Union forces after three days of fighting. Find out more by visiting the Today in History section, then click the links below to access numerous primary sources and teaching resources related to Bull Run and the…
Today in History–August 25–the Library of Congress features Allan Pinkerton, born on this day in 1819. A dedicated abolitionist, Pinkerton had a shop that was a “station” for escaped slaves traveling the Underground Railroad but his detective career began by chance when he unwittingly discovered then knowingly helped nab two sets of counterfeiters. Find out more about the crime-busting exploits of this Private Eye…
The Teaching with Library of Congress blog provides some great primary source teaching ideas related to supporting the troops, focusing in on wartime clothing drives. Be sure to check out these World War I clothing-related posters. There are also lots more teaching resources to draw from. World War I related Teaching with the Library of Congress blog…
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…
Today in History–July 21–the Library of Congress features the first Battle of Bull Run, which began on this date in 1861. Find out more in the Today in History section, then access numerous primary sources and other teaching and learning resources related to Bull Run and the Civil War through the links below. Bull Run images Bull Run maps Bull Run…
Activity Guidelines Gather minutemen-related primary sources and print them out or make them available to your primary students digitally. As a class or in groups, have students review different primary sources and note what they see, think, and wonder. Next, you may choose to have students review source bibliographic information or secondary source materials and…
Today in History–June 17–the Library of Congress features the Battle of Bunker Hill, which was fought on this day in 1775 in Boston, Massachusetts. Find out more in the Today in History section and through the links below. Battle of Bunker Hill maps Battle of Bunker Hill images Battle of Bunker Hill sheet music Bunker Hill (song recording)…