Is a newspaper a primary source? A political cartoon? A map? A lithograph? Is an excerpt in a textbook a primary source? How about a digitized facsimile? All of these questions came up during the Library of Congress’ Summer Teacher Institutes.
How can students be inspired to look closely—and think carefully—while they observe?
This is a guest post from Stacie Moats of the Library of Congress. The first time I tried facilitating a primary source activity during my post-graduate museum education studies, I only had to guide my peers’ analysis of a single artifact for five minutes. Yet so much of what I learned from this experience …
This post comes to us courtesy of Cheryl Lederle of the Library of Congress. Primary sources from the online collections of the Library of Congress can be powerful instructional tools. Analyzing these photos, films, maps, and audio recordings can help students engage with content, build their critical thinking skills, and construct knowledge. Observation skills are …
What’s the most frustrating part of teaching with primary sources? They’re often incomplete and have little context. What’s the most rewarding part of teaching with primary sources? They’re often incomplete and have little context.
This is the final post in a series discussing characteristics to consider when selecting primary sources to use with your students. At the beginning of each Library of Congress Summer Teacher Institute, the participants introduce themselves and explain their goals for the week. In every group of teachers there are a few that explain that …
Challenge your students to seek out the other side of the story — select primary sources that represent multiple perspectives.
Working with historians-in-training? Here are tips for selecting engaging primary sources that students can place in historical context.
Having trouble choosing that perfect primary source for your lesson? Here are some tips to get you started!
Today’s Teaching Strategies post is from our Library of Congress colleague Stacie Moats, who works closely with the Library’s Teaching with Primary Sources partnership program. Despite my training as a museum educator, I’m guilty of sometimes passing by priceless artifacts or works of art on exhibit without a second glance. Not surprisingly, students often do …