Maps: More Than Just a Tool for Navigation

Most students think of maps as wayfinders, resources to help find their way from point “A” to point “B.” However, maps have been created for a variety of different reasons, and studying maps from the Library of Congress can show students how maps can do more than provide directions.

A mapp of Virginia discovered to ye hills, 1667

Have students look at the map from 1667 called “A mapp of Virginia discovered to ye hills” created by John Ferrar. Use the primary source analysis tool to help guide the students through a review of the map.

Students can read the descriptions on the map. Have them focus on the spelling of familiar words like “Carolana” and interpret the meaning of unfamiliar words used. Also have students think about the importance of including animals and other illustrations on the map.

Have the students study the map and determine if anything about the map is different from other maps they have seen in the past. Why do they think this map is different from others they have seen? Ask them to think about why this map was created and what users were supposed to know after reading it.

Pascaert van Nieuw Nederlandt Virginia, 1639

Students may compare this map to other maps of Virginia from the Library’s collections. You may select from the gallery shown in “More maps like this” on the bibliographic record for the 1667 map, or search the collections. Of special interest is the map by Joan Vinckeboons that documents New Netherlands and the rest of the east coast. What similarities and differences do students see? Why do they think the Ferrar and Vinckeboons maps were created?

How are maps used to provide different points of view?

 

 

Crossing the Delaware: General George Washington and Primary Sources

When I’ve asked my students, “Would anyone be interested in a trip on a ferry?” they’ve all cheered with excitement. But I wonder how many of us would be brave enough to take a night voyage through an ice-clogged river on a boat battered by snow and high winds. Primary sources from the Library of Congress can let students explore this momentous–and shivery–event.

Point of View in Photographs – All in the Details, Part 2

Focusing on details in a set of visual images can reinforce the idea that photographs have a point of view. Studying and comparing various photographs of a subject can reveal a great deal about how each photographer viewed the subject. In the previous post,we asked you to post your answers to the question “Which of these photographs are of the same person?” This post will explore the answer.

Point of View in Photographs – All in the Details

Focusing on details in a set of visual images can reinforce the idea that photographs have a point of view. Studying and comparing various photographs of a subject can reveal a great deal about how each photographer viewed the subject. Study the set of images and, in the comments, post your answer to the question. We’ll answer the question in the next post.

A Clean Sweep for the New Year: Exploring a Cartoon from the Turn of the Twentieth Century

Explore a cartoon, published as the front cover of a magazine in January 1905, that draws on the many metaphors about the New Year offering a clean start. Although many of the specific images in the cartoon may be unfamiliar to students, the labels on them offer a clear starting point for researching the context and the details the artist included.