Library of Congress: News for Teachers

Second Lecture in Kluge Center Digital Natives Series May 12

The second lecture in the Kluge Center series on Digital Natives will take place on Monday, May 12 at 4:00 PM in the Montpelier Room, Madison Building of the Library of Congress. Steven Berlin Johnson will discuss his book, “Everything Bad is Good for You.” Johnson will be joined by Derrick Dekerckhove, Edith Ackerman, and Marc Prensky.

Sponsored by the Library's John W. Kluge Center, the event is free and open to the public; no tickets or reservations are required. The lecture will be available at a later date as a webcast at www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/.

For those who missed Edith Ackerman’s April 4th speech on the Anthropology of Digital Natives, the webcast is now available at http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=4294

Baseball Resources at the Library of Congress

Correction: The 2008 National Book Festival will take place on September 27 not September 28.

Visit our Historic Baseball Resources page where you can learn more about the song “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” find links to historic baseball cards and see resources that teachers can use in the classroom.

Save the Date

The 2008 National Book Festival will take place on September 28, 2008 on the National Mall. Visit the book festival website to see cybercasts of previous festivals, link to our Young Readers Tool kit and in late summer see who will be joining us this year.

Making Connections through Poetry

Looking for ways to combine primary sources and poetry? Our new activity Making Connections through Poetry: Finding the Heart in History allows students to review and analyze primary sources and then synthesize the information and create poetry based on what they have learned. Students can print out their poems and the primary sources on which they are based and teachers can compile the poems and make chapter books that can be shared with students, other teachers and parents.

The Library of Congress Experience

Starting at 11am on April 12th the Library of Congress will introduce its new dynamic experience for visitors. Come to see our new exhibits and our interactive activities. Teachers will be able to learn about our lesson plans and other activities that they can use to bring the experience of visiting the Library into the classroom. We look forward to seeing you at our opening day festivities which will include music, crafts for kids and the opportunity to meet the Library’s newest Living Legacies.

After you visit the Library look for teacher resources on www.myLOC.gov. There will be five new multimedia activities to engage young people and get help them to think critically about primary sources from the Library’s collections. There will also be teacher-tested standards-based lesson plans to provide educators with the tools they need to integrate artifacts from the exhibitions into their curriculum.

National Poetry Month

Visit our Library of Congress Poetry reference resources page to find resources you can use to celebrate poetry in your classroom. Read poems written by Presidents of the United States. Learn about your state poet laureate and the current poet laureate of the United States, Charles Simic. See webcasts of poetry events that took place at the Library of Congress. Link to our Lyrical Legacies exercise and find ways to integrate poetry throughout the curriculum.

Kluge Center Lecture Series on “Digital Natives”

Today’s students have access to more information than ever before. They are more skilled at using computers and other digital devices to access their world. How can teachers work with these “digital natives” and figure out how to interact with these students on their level? The Kluge Center is sponsoring a series of presentations on “digital natives” starting with Edith Ackerman looking at how the young people of today think, learn and play.

Dr. Ackerman’s presentation will be on April 7th at 4pm in the Montpelier Room, James Madison Building of the Library of Congress. The event is free and open to the public. Other speakers in this series include Steven Berlin Johnson on May 12th, Michael Wesch on June 23rd and Douglas Rushoff on June 30th.

Lifelong Literacy Site

This new site, for parents, teachers and students in grades 4-6 was created to inspire young people to “explore new worlds” through reading and to promote literacy in all types of learning, including books, periodicals and cartoons. Your students may enjoy watching the featured Webcast, which showcases local poets and Washington D.C. students read some of their favorite poems. Watch this site - more resources are coming.

Changes to the Library's Home Page

The Library has expanded its home page to better organize and highlight the many programs, events and collections available to the public at no charge through its Web site, as well as a new section that gives users an easy search path to popularly requested topics and collections.

Today in History: September 11

The Library of Congress has collected a vast array of original materials concerning the attacks of September 11, 2001. This Today in History entry provides links to the collected content. Use this material with your students as you memorialize the anniversary of this historic day.

Witness and Response: September 11 Acquisitions at the Library of Congress

This online exhibition provides eyewitness accounts and commentaries regarding events surrounding the attacks of September 11, 2001. The exhibit includes works by professional photographers, amateur photographers, children, art students, and architects, and also includes comic book art and political cartoons that tell a compelling story. Use this material with your students as you memorialize the anniversary of this historic day.

Primary Source Set: Hispanic Exploration in America

This "ready to download and use" Primary Source Set includes maps, images, documents and a sound file to help teach about the age of exploration, specifically, the contributions and interactions of Hispanic peoples in America.

Hispanic Americans - Themed Resources

This site is a good starting place for finding resources from across the Library of Congress' Web site that you can share with your students during National Hispanic Heritage Month.

National Hispanic Heritage Month: Library of Congress Portal

Visit this inter-agency portal to find the rich resources the Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum have provided to pay tribute to the generations of Hispanic Americans who have positively influenced and enriched our nation and society.

Everyday Mysteries: Why don't I fall out when a roller coaster goes upside down?

Not only will students learn the answer to this question, but they can explore wonderful images of "old time" roller coasters, read fun facts about this contraption, find web sites about roller coasters outside of the Library of Congress, and find books for further research from the site's bibliography.

Preview the New Teachers Page

Visit this preview of the Teachers Page with a new look and easier searching. Please let us know what you think about these changes.

Constitution Day Resources

As you plan your Constitution Day activities, don't overlook this offering from the Library's THOMAS Web site. You will find links to primary source documents, teacher resources, links to appropriate content from America's Library (for younger students), and book suggestions for elementary - adult readers.

Primary Source Set: The Constitution

Are you making your teaching plans for Constitution Day? This Primary Source Set, which includes images, documents, maps, sound files and analysis tools to teach about the United States Constitution, is ready to download and use in your classroom.

A Guide to the Spanish-American War

This guide links to a wide variety of Library of Congress material associated with the Spanish-American War, including manuscripts, maps, broadsides, photographs, prints, sheet music, and films, as well as external Web sites focusing on the Spanish-American War. This site also includes and a bibliography containing selections for both general and younger readers. Again, teachers will find the site useful both for teaching about Hispanic Heritage and the Spanish-American War.

A Guide to the Mexican War

This guide links to a wide variety of Library of Congress material associated with the Mexican War (1846-1848), including manuscripts, maps, broadsides, pictures, sheet music, books, and government documents, as well as external Web sites focusing on the Mexican War. It also includes a bibliography containing selections for both general and younger readers. Teachers will find the site useful for teaching about Hispanic Heritage as well as the Mexican War.

Webcast: Julia Lathrop, First Chief of the U.S. Children's Bureau

Julia Lathrop, an American social worker at the turn of the 20th century, was a pioneer in the field of child welfare. Her career and significance as a political force is the subject of this lecture by Cecelia Tichi, Chair of Modern Culture in the John W. Kluge Center, Library of Congress. Tichi's dramatic delivery style and use of Library of Congress images will engage your students in this relevant topic.

Louisiana: European Explorations and the Louisiana Purchase

This presentation consists of 119 documents-from maps to newspapers to cultural artifacts-that help to describe the region of North America that stretched from as far east as Alabama into what is now the state of Montana. Use this presentation, and its excellent essay, to help your students understand the impact of this event on the economic, cultural and political makeup of the United States.

Literature and Poetry Themed Resources

This site makes a wonderful starting place for teachers wishing to integrate the use of primary source materials through poetry. Don't miss the primary source set on creating "found poetry."

Biography of Charles Simic from the Poetry & Literature Center

On August 2, 2007, Librarian of Congress James H. Billington announced the appointment of Charles Simic to be the 15th Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. Use this online biography to introduce the new Poet Laureate to your students.

August edition: The Wise Guide

Introduce your students to the Library of Congress Web site through the playful and engaging Wise Guide. The August edition features fascinating facts on the legend of Evangeline, inventor Thomas Edison, cooking eggs on the sidewalk, the dog days of summer and singing.

Webcast: Publishing the Declaration

This discussion about the American Declaration of Independence focuses on its distribution through early American newspapers. This Webcast makes an excellent supplement to the materials you share with your students for Constitutions Day, 2007.

Webcast: Who Left the Freezer Door Open? What the Poles Are Telling Us About Climate Change

NASA scientist Robert A. Bindschadler discusses the latest space-based observations on the warming of the polar regions in a lecture at the Library of Congress. Students will learn what is actually taking place through scientific evidence, as well as what is expected to happen next.

Selected Internet Resources - Ice Cream

Did you know that July is National Ice Cream Month? The Library of Congress Science Reference Service has provided this timely, and extensive, resource about ice cream. Your students can learn about the history of ice cream, safety tips, the chemistry of making ice cream and more. The accompanying images from the Library's digital resources are sure to engage students of all ages.

Update: France in America

Conceived in partnership with France's national library, France in America is a bilingual digital library that explores the history of the French presence in North America from the first decades of the 16th century to the end of the 19th century. This substantial update (247 items) includes documents from Confederacy, and the birth of the Civil Rights Movement. The collection looks at events in history, beyond the American viewpoint, making it a wonderful resource for both World History and American History teachers.

Online Program for Teachers - Declaring Independence: Beyond the Fourth of July

Participate in this synchronous presentation on Wed., July 18 from 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. (EDT). Library of Congress staff will describe how the Declaration of Independence evolved from an idea to an event. A variety of drafts and editions of the Declaration as well as related documents will be shared. The insight you gain can be shared with your students, in your classroom.

Webcast: Michael Blake

Novelist, screenwriter and activist Michael Blake, perhaps best known for his book and screenplay, Dances With Wolves, shares the discoveries he made as he researched and wrote about Native Americans. Blake draws parallels between the time of the great Native American tribes, and the political, social and physical environment today. This Webcast will capture the attention of high school students and can provide powerful impetus to further discussion and research about today's issues.

Other Digitized Materials from Rare Books and Special Collections

If you haven't discovered this treasure trove, let us introduce you to a collection of materials that is sure to intrigue and engage your students. These materials include rare books, posters, prints, miniatures, and other documents that date from the 1500s to the early 1900s. They are grouped in the following categories: American, Prints by John James Audubon, Children's Literature, Other Books, Magic Posters, Miniatures, Travels and Voyages.

Everyday Science Mysteries - Is it possible to fry an egg on the street?

The weather is in the news - many parts of the country are cooking in extraordinary heat. Your students may enjoy this science mystery and, may even feel compelled to try some hands-on experimentation of their own.

Webcast - A Portrait of Robert E. Lee Through His Private Letters

In her new biography, historian Elizabeth Brown Pryor presents dozens of previously unpublished letters to draw a new portrait of Lee's beliefs, his military ability and the times he lived in. Pryor uses Lee's newly discovered family letters as departure points for a series of surprising "historical excursions," telling his life story through an innovative blend of analysis, historiography and rich period detail. She looks into Lee's troubled childhood, the hardening of his anti-abolitionist views, his decision to join the South, his celebrated but controversial battlefield performance and his final wrenching years. Use this Webcast to bring this Civil War general to life for your students.

July Edition - The Wise Guide

This engaging edition offers a link to a fantastic summer reading list; a wealth of information about that summer barbecue favorite, hot dogs; a discussion of Woody Guthrie's song, "This Land is Your Land"; links to poetry web casts; and much more! The light, engaging design is sure to please your students and pull them into Library of Congress content. Take time to explore the archive for other "stories" to use in your curriculum.

Participate in the Veterans History Project

You may know about this excellent project but may not have known how to participate. The project has released a new toolkit to get you started. If adding an oral history project to your curriculum next year is one of your teaching goals, take time to review these resources and consider participation in this worthwhile project.

Taking the Mystery Out of Copyright

This interactive activity is a wonderful resource for introducing the mysteries of Copyright Law to students. The activity will help students understand how the law applies to their own work - what they consume and what they produce.

When Work is Done

How times have changed… or have they? In this lesson, high school students can explore leisure time in the United States between 1900 and 1950 through primary sources.

Summertime

Many students are looking forward to those âlazy days of summerâ as the school year draws to a close. Visit this Learning Page Community Center to find links to travel and leisure related resources from the Library of Congress.

Jewish American Heritage Month

This Web site, created collaboratively by the Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, offers students a glimpse into the life experiences of the generations of Jewish Americans who contribute to the fabric of American history, culture and society.

World War I: The Great War

This new presentation from the Veterans History Project offers the experience of World War I through the voices, images, and effects of those who were there. Students can view written accounts (letters, dairies and memoirs) and photographs that will breathe life into a study of this long ago event.

A Century of Creativity - The MacDowell Colony

As students move into summer leisure, encourage them to celebrate their creativity. They may be inspired by a visit to the online version of this Library of Congress Exhibition. Students will learn about famous works that trace their origin to the MacDowell Colony, such as: Thornton Wilder's Our Town, Aaron Copland's ballet Billy the Kid, and Dorothy and DuBose Heyward's play Porgy. Students will enjoy hearing "insider knowledge" shared by Library of Congress curators.

New RSS Feed - Poetry 180

Did you know that a poem is available for each weekday of the school year from the Library's Poetry 180 project? Now, these poems can be delivered right to your computer desktop through an RSS feed. English teachers and poetry lovers - sign up, today! http://www.loc.gov/rss/poetry/180.xml

A Guide to Washington, D.C., Materials

Are you or your students visiting the Nation's Capital this summer? If so, this guide to Washington's history will provide background information to enrich your visit.

Baseball... As American as Apple Pie

It's time for players and fans of all ages to enjoy one of America's favorite sports. Visit this Learning Page Community Center to find links to baseball related resources from all over the Library of Congress.

Science Tracer Bullets Online - Global Warming & Climate Change

Are hurricanes, melting glaciers, rising ocean levels, eroding coastlines, crop damage, food shortages, absence of rainfall, shrinking aquifers, wildfires, and lowered water tables signs of worldwide global warming? If your students are grappling with understanding this topic, introduce them to this listing of vetted print and Internet resources from the Science Reference Section, Library of Congress.

The Battle of the Bulge - Interactive Essay

This unique presentation uses U.S. Army situation maps to illustrate this famous WWII battle. Your students will enjoy the interactivity and the historical expertise share by Library of Congress curators.

Science Tracer Bullets Online - Global Warming & Climate Change

The Battle of the Bulge - Interactive Essay

Pictorial Americana

Are you looking for a primary source image to use as a lesson starter or to support a teaching objective? Peruse the table of contents of Pictorial Americana to see if there is a topical set of images about American life and history that fits your need.

Nothing to Fear - Lesson Plan for Grades 5-8

Use this lesson to help your students learn what the World War II experience was like for Japanese Americans living on the West Coast.

Web Portal Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month

This Library-wide Web portal offers links to video selections, sound files, Library collections, and teaching materials to use with your students during Asian/Pacific American Heritage month.

Remembering… David Halberstam

We will miss this prolific Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, historian and author. Listen to a portion of his talk in this webcast from the Library's 2002 National Book Festival.

Remembering…. Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald

This trailblazing lawmaker, the first African-American chairwoman of the House Committee on House Administration, was also the founder and executive director of the League of African-American Women and the founder of the Young Advocates, a political leadership-training program. Listen to her delivery of the 2007 African American History Month keynote address at the Library of Congress.

Asian Pacific Americans Community Center

Help your students understand Asian Pacific Heritage through the resources of the Asian Pacific Americans Community Center. Don't miss the Primary Source Set on Japanese American Internment during WW II.

Amazing Grace

This new Web site explores the history of "Amazing Grace," one of the best-known hymns in America, through items from the earliest printing of the song to various performances of it on sound recordings. Don't miss the illustrated timeline, the essays on the history of *Amazing Grace,* a discography, and a selected bibliography.

A Civil War Soldier in the Wild Cat Regiment … a Collection Connection from the Learning Page

Help your students make personal connections with history by considering the lives of a young Union soldier and his family during the Civil War. Through letters and other documents, the collection describes the drudgery of life in military camps, details of troop movements, experiences of a prisoner of war, a soldier's view of politics, and feelings of homesickness and familial love.

France in America … a Collection Connection from the Learning Page

Encourage your students to view history from different perspectives using the suggested teaching strategies in this collection connection. This bilingual collection, illuminating the role France played in exploration and settlement, the French and Indian War, and the American Revolution. will be useful to both World and American History teachers.

Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers

Read the news BEFORE it became history in this rich resource. View newspaper pages from 1900 to 1910 from pilot states and find information about other newspapers published in the United States from 1690 to the present.
A partnership with the National Endowment for the Humanities

Pages from the past: The Jay I. Kislak Collection

Don't miss this collection of books, maps, documents, paintings, prints, and artifacts from the time of the indigenous people of Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean through the period of European contact, exploration, and settlement. The “page turner” presentation provides a wonderful window to the past.

Women at War: Veteran's History Project

Help your students gain a new perspective by seeing war through the eyes of women who were there. Read the first-hand accounts of women who participated in the war effort - from nurses to code-breakers to welders, flight surgeons and officers.

Celebrating Women's History Month

The Library has published a new resource page featuring women's collections - from suffragist profiles to veterans' oral histories, stories on major historical figures, lesson plans for use in your classroom, collection guides and online exhibitions.

St. Patrick's Day

Do you know the source of the expression, "The wearing of the green..."? Visit Today in History for March 17 to learn about the St. Patrick's Day tradition and other evidence of the influence of the Irish in America.