A Conversation with Jackie Katz on Innovations for Using LOC in the Classroom

Join us for a discussion with Jacqueline Katz, the 2022-2023 Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow at the Library of Congress. Jackie will share the highlights of her year at the LOC and focus specifically on how she plans to use datasets and oral histories in the classroom. She will share examples of how using primary sources will help her to provide context to phenomena in high school biology and chemistry classes. Participants will discuss how using primary sources can elicit student conversations about scientific ethics and the nature of science.

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• Session Materials (PDF, 1.62MB)

Innovations with Digitized Newspapers - Newspaper Navigator

Chronicling America, a database of 16+ million digitized historic newspapers, is a product of the National Digital Newspaper Program, itself a partnership of the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Join us for an hour-long session and learn how users can now browse the collection’s thousands of digitized historical newspapers using an interactive map and timeline recently launched by the Library of Congress or an image search application developed by the 2020 Innovator-in-Residence. These tools allow the rich Chronicling America database to be searched via time, location, and image. This session will explore the tools and highlight innovative ways these tools can be used in the classroom. Participants will have time to explore the resources and develop connections between the collection and their own classroom.

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• Session Materials (PDF, 7.64MB)

Innovations with Sanborn Maps - Sanborn Maps Navigator

The Sanborn Maps Collection from the Library of Congress consists of over 50,000 historical atlases, with around 32,000 of them currently available online. These richly detailed maps offer many approaches for study and research for the classroom.

Join us for an hour-long session with Jackie Katz to explore the collection and examine an innovative application called Sanborn Maps Navigator, which encourages exploration of and engagement with the Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps collection. The session will highlight the work of several educators and provide participants time to develop connections between the collection and their own classroom.

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• Session Materials (PDF, 2.43MB)

Parallel Primary Sources for Enhancing STEM Experiences

Success in STEM fields requires flexibility and problem-solving. This interactive session will focus on strategies to help students examine primary sources from multiple perspectives. How can students identify different perspectives from which a single primary source may be examined? And how can examining multiple sources with different perspectives add to their understanding of a topic? We’ll demonstrate a number of related strategies and provide materials and time for participants to reflect on how they may be used in their STEM classes.

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• Session Materials (PDF, 432KB)

Primary Source Visible Thinking Strategies for the STEM classroom

"Follow the science" often involves revising our thinking as new evidence emerges. This interactive session will focus on primary source analysis strategies to encourage students to revisit and revise their thinking as new information becomes available. We'll demonstrate how using primary sources can help students develop and revise their thinking, and provide both free resources for teachers to use immediately and an opportunity for participants to reflect on how to use these strategies in their STEM classes.

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• Session Materials (PDF, 432KB)

Analyzing Primary Sources with a STEM Lens

Students engage (or disengage) with STEM classes in different ways and for different reasons. Providing opportunities for students to make observations, reflections and questions on primary sources of various topics allows them to see themselves as scientists, engineers, and mathematicians, and uncovers insights into the nature of science and math, as well as cross-curricular connections. This interactive session will focus on the foundational primary source analysis process and its application in K-12 STEM classrooms. We'll demonstrate how using primary sources can facilitate engagement, and provide an opportunity for participants to explore the free resources available on the Library's Teachers' page and reflect on using primary sources in their classrooms.

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• Session Materials (PDF, 432KB)

Pre-National Book Festival Webinar for Educators

During the 2021 National Book Festival, educators and students will have the opportunity to engage with authors like never before! This pre-National Book Festival Webinar is the perfect opportunity for teachers and librarians to learn about this year’s festival opportunities, as well as how festival events can be included in instructional planning.

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• Session Materials (PDF, 432KB)

Online Open House

Want to learn more about the collections of the Library of Congress from the experts who work there? Join us for the second installment of our online open house! Rotate through short sessions (15 minutes each) on specific online resources, tools, and collections of interest. Plan to share some of your ideas for classroom use across the curriculum. Tentative Library participants include the African and Middle Eastern division; Asian Division; Copyright; Geography and Maps; Hispanic Division; American Archive of Public Broadcasting; Performing Arts; Prints and Photographs; Poetry and Literature; Science and Technology; and the Veterans History Project.

Participants who stay for the entire event will receive an automated email certifying their attendance.

• Session Materials, Part 1 (PDF, 22MB)
• Session Materials, Part 2 (PDF, 17MB)

Foundations: Information Literacy and Primary Sources

Information literacy involves multiple skills, including: identifying where information comes from, evaluating claims and evidence; identifying bias; and researching for additional information. Join Library of Congress education specialists as we apply information literacy skills to historical primary sources from the Library’s collections. We’ll practice these skills together and reflect on how they may be used in your educational settings.

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• Session Materials (PDF, 432KB)

Foundations: Analyzing Multiple Perspectives

Join Library of Congress education specialists as we model strategies to help your students examine primary sources from multiple perspectives. How can students identify different perspectives from which a single primary source may be examined? And how can examining multiple sources with different perspectives add to their understanding of a topic? We’ll practice a number of related strategies and reflect on how they may be used in your educational settings.

• Watch the Recording
• Session Materials (PDF, 432KB)

Foundations: Finding Primary Sources on LOC.gov

The Library of Congress web site (www.loc.gov) contains millions of digitized primary sources free to use with your students and a variety of free teacher resources. In this webinar, Library of Congress education specialists share tips and strategies for finding resources in the Library's extensive digitized collections, by navigating the website and using the search engine.

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• Session Materials (PDF, 432KB)

Online Open House

Want to learn more about the collections of the Library of Congress from the experts who work there? Join us for our first ever online open house! Rotate through short sessions (15 minutes each) on specific online resources, tools, and collections of interest. Plan to share some of your ideas for classroom use across the curriculum. Tentative Library participants include the American Folklife Center; Business; By the People crowdsourcing project; Historical Children's Literature from Rare Books; Congress.gov; Manuscripts; National Library Service for the Blind; Recorded Sound and Historical Newspapers.

• Session Materials (PDF, 432KB)

Foundations: Analyzing Complex Images

In this webinar, participants will learn and apply foundational strategies for analyzing primary sources that are particularly rich and complex in detail. When working with such images, how can we help students notice and examine details that may otherwise go unnoticed? And how can we help them relate these details to one another, in order to arrive at a fuller understanding of the whole? We’ll practice these strategies together and reflect on how they can be applied in your educational setting.

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• Session Materials (PDF, 432KB)

Teaching Poetry: Poetry 180 with Billy Collins

Join us for a conversation with former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins about his signature laureate project, Poetry 180—which brings poetry to schools for each of the 180 days of the school year.

Billy Collins, one of the most popular poets in America, is the author of 12 poetry collections—including Aimless Love: New and Selected Poems 2003 – 2013, and The Rain in Portugal, both New York Times bestsellers. The inaugural recipient of the Poetry Foundation’s Mark Twain Award for Humor in Poetry, Collins served as United States Poet Laureate from 2001-2003 and New York State Poet Laureate from 2004-06. He is a former Distinguished Professor of English at Lehman College of the City University of New York, and in 2016 he was elected a member of the American Academy of Arts & Letters.

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• Session Materials (PDF, 432KB)

Foundations: Analyzing Primary Sources from the Library of Congress

Join Library of Congress education specialists as we model foundational strategies for analyzing primary sources in the K-12 setting. Participants will practice making observations, reflecting to draw inferences, and developing questions. They will also learn about free teacher resources available from the Library’s Teacher’s Page. These resources and strategies are designed to facilitate student engagement, critical thinking, and construction of knowledge. Come learn how they can be applied in your educational setting!

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• Session Materials (PDF, 432KB)

Special Event: Transcribing Whitman

Join us as we launch a special Walt Whitman campaign of diaries and letters. Learn more about transcribing Whitman’s original notebooks and diaries in the classroom. This session will feature experts from the Library of Congress and NCTE educators who will explore together how crowdsourcing activities can help students build important close reading and interpretive skills. Attendees will have a chance to try transcribing for themselves using the latest batch of materials released by the By The People program including over 3,000 pages of Whitman’s notebooks and diaries!

• Watch the Recording External link
• Session Materials (PDF, 432KB)

Teaching Poetry: A Conversation with Alberto Ríos

Join us for a teacher-led conversation with Arizona Poet Laureate Alberto Ríos as he reads and discusses his work. This is part of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) co-sponsored series of poetry webinars.

Ríos's latest collection of poems is Not Go Away Is My Name. A National Book Award finalist, Ríos has taught at Arizona State University since 1982. He is Arizona's inaugural poet laureate, a recent chancellor of the Academy of American Poets, and director of the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing.

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How Should We Index This Image?
Presented by Arden Alexander, Cataloging Specialist, Prints and Photographs Division & Libby McKiernan, Processing Technician, Prints and Photographs Division

Join Cataloging Specialist Arden Alexander and Processing Technician Libby McKiernan on an exploration of the Library of Congress Thesaurus for Graphic Materials (TGM), to learn approaches to describing images, using topical terms, plus ways you can use the TGM for your personal or work collections. The specialists will also invite participants to index some images from the Library’s collections with them.

Part of the: “Double Take” Webinar Series
The "Double Take" series invites participants to join specialists from the Library's Prints and Photographs Division, to explore and unravel some of the mystery of intriguing images from the collections. Along the way, the experts will share research strategies, visual literacy techniques, and answer questions.

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• Session Materials (PDF, 432KB)

Teaching Poetry: Audio Recordings of Poetry and Literature from the Library of Congress

In this session, Library of Congress experts will share two core resources for educators wishing to use audio recordings in their work with students:

Archive of Recorded Poetry and Literature
The Archive of Recorded Poetry and Literature at the Library of Congress dates back to 1943 and contains nearly 2,000 recordings of writers participating in literary events. Each April, the Library adds 50 newly digitized recordings to the online collection as part of National Poetry Month.

Poetry of America
Learn about this collection of field recordings by a wide range of award-winning contemporary poets. Each poet reads a singular American poem of his or her choosing, and also speaks to how the poem connects to, deepens, or re-imagines our sense of the nation.

• Watch the Recording External link
• Session Materials (PDF, 432KB)

When Was This Photograph Taken?
Presented by Kristi Finefield, Reference Specialist, Prints and Photographs Division

What clues can you use to determine when a picture was made or a photo was taken? In this session, Reference Specialist Kristi Finefield walks attendees through the process of determining the date range of an aerial photograph of Washington, D.C.

Part of the: “Double Take” Webinar Series
The "Double Take" series invites participants to join specialists from the Library's Prints and Photographs Division, to explore and unravel some of the mystery of intriguing images from the collections. Along the way, the experts will share research strategies, visual literacy techniques, and answer questions.

• Watch the Recording
• Session Materials (PDF, 4MB)

Teaching Poetry: Living Nations, Living Words

Join us for a special conversation on Living Nations, Living Words, the signature project of the US Poet Laureate, Joy Harjo. Leading the discussion will be specialists from the Library of Congress and members of the National Council of Teachers of English and the National Council of Social Studies.

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• Session Materials (PDF, 432KB)

Teaching Poetry: A Conversation with Rita Dove

Join us for a conversation with former US Poet Laureate Rita Dove. Dove will discuss her own approach to writing, share and discuss specific poems, and dedicate ample time for Q&A.

• Watch the Recording External link

Why Was This Picture Made?
Presented by Sara Duke, Curator, Prints and Photographs Division

When examining pictures of the past, sometimes asking the question of “Why?” leads one down an unexpected path. In this session, Sara Duke, Curator of Popular & Applied Graphic Art, will invite participants on an exploration of an image from the Library’s collections, with that question in mind.

Part of the: “Double Take” Webinar Series
The "Double Take" series invites participants to join specialists from the Library's Prints and Photographs Division, to explore and unravel some of the mystery of intriguing images from the collections. Along the way, the experts will share research strategies, visual literacy techniques, and answer questions.

• Watch the Recording
• Session Materials (PDF, 4MB)

White House or Not?
Presented by Kristi Finefield, Reference Specialist, Prints and Photographs Division

Join Reference Specialist Kristi Finefield to look closely at a photo from the Library’s collections, to apply visual literacy and photo research techniques, and finally to answer the question: is this the White House or not?

Part of the: “Double Take” Webinar Series
The "Double Take" series invites participants to join specialists from the Library's Prints and Photographs Division, to explore and unravel some of the mystery of intriguing images from the collections. Along the way, the experts will share research strategies, visual literacy techniques, and answer questions.

• Watch the Recording
• Session Materials (PDF, 4MB)

Teaching Poetry: LOC Resources

In partnership with the National Council of Teachers (NCTE), join us for a special conversation with a former Library of Congress Teacher-in-Residence to explore free classroom poetry and literature resources. Some items to be discussed include the Archive of Recorded Poetry and Literature, Poetry of America series, literature-focused primary source sets and much more. The audience will learn how to get access to free resources from the Library of Congress.

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• Session Materials (PDF, 432KB)

Special Event with Poet Juan Felipe Herrera

This event is hosted by our TPS partner, the National Council of Teachers of English. Join us for Part II of our National Hispanic Heritage Month celebration with the Library of Congress. This session will feature an intimate conversation with former US Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera, who will unpack one of his poems recorded for the PALABRA Archive and provide insight into his writing process. He will also discuss poets in the archive who have influenced him, and participants will have the opportunity to ask Herrera questions.

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• Session Materials (PDF, 3.62MB)

Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with the Library of Congress and the Palabra Archive

This event is hosted by our TPS partner, the National Council of Teachers of English. Join us for a demonstration of the PALABRA Archive (formerly know as the Archive of Hispanic Literature on Tape) led by Catalina Gómez, reference librarian in the Hispanic Division at the Library of Congress. This resource dates back to 1943 and contains nearly 800 recordings of poets and prose writers participating in sessions at the Library's Recording Laboratory and at other locations around Spain, Portugal, Latin America, and the United States. To date,writers from 32 countries are representedin this collection, which includes readings in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, French, Náhuatl, Mayan, Zapotec, Aymara, English, and Dutch.

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• Session Materials (PDF, 3.62MB)

National Book Festival for Educators - 20 Years in the Making

The 2020 Library of Congress National Book Festival will connect with audiences across the country for an interactive, online celebration of "American Ingenuity" for the festival's 20th year, featuring new books by more than 120 of the nation's most-renowned writers, poets and artists. During the weekend of Sept. 25-27, virtual stages will offer on-demand videos, live author chats and discussions, and options to personalize your own journey through the festival with particular themes. Educators and students will have the opportunity to engage with authors like never before. This webinar that will give you a sneak peek into the National Book Festival platform. There will be plenty of time to discuss how you can work the Festival into your instructional plans. Attendees in the live, one-hour special educator webinar are eligible to receive a certificate of participation.

• Watch the Recording External link
• Session Materials (PDF, 3.08MB)

Foundations: Information Literacy and Primary Sources

Information literacy involves multiple skills, including examining information sources in a variety of media; evaluating claims and evidence; identifying bias; and researching for additional information. In this interactive webinar, participants will apply these information literacy skills to historical primary sources from the Library of Congress and reflect on how these strategies may be used with their students.

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• Session Materials (PDF, 5.06MB)

Rosa Parks: In Her Own Words

Rosa Parks: In Her Own Words showcases rarely seen materials that offer an intimate view of Rosa Parks and documents her life and activism—creating a rich opportunity for viewers to discover new dimensions to their understanding of this seminal figure. This webinar will provide insight into the life of Rosa Parks as well as highlight resources that can be used with students.

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• Session Materials (PDF, 2.59MB)

Foundations: Analyzing Multiple Perspectives

Library education specialists will lead an interactive session in which participants will learn and practice strategies they can use to help students examine primary sources from multiple perspectives. Among the strategies used will be "Circle of Viewpoints" from Harvard Graduate School's Project Zero program. Participants will also reflect on how these strategies may be used with their students.

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• Session Materials (PDF, 820KB)

Learning to Teach All Over Again: Teachers' Reflections on Using Primary Source Analysis to Engage English Learners in Critical Democratic Discussions

Teachers of English Learners are challenged with designing instruction that simultaneously facilitates English language development and grade-level academic content mastery. However, many teachers struggle to move from policies to practices and mindsets to materials. Furthermore, many educators unintentionally enact a pedagogy of pity, lowering expectations to protect ELs from experiencing failure or struggle, a phenomenon that Pedro Noguera refers to as the "pobrecito syndrome" (2008). This session will discuss outcomes regarding changes in teachers' attitudes about ELs' abilities to succeed as well as their experience with facilitating rich democratic discussions with ELs using primary source analysis. Andrea Kolb, Center for Schools and Communities, will facilitate the session.

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• Session Materials (PDF, 3.85MB)

Foundations: Selecting Primary Sources

Thoughtfully selecting a primary source can be critical for the success of an educational activity, to ensure that students will be engaged and able to work effectively with the source. In this webinar, Library of Congress education specialists will share their criteria and processes for selecting primary sources. Participants will practice the selection process as well and reflect on how they can select appropriate and effective sources for their students.

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• Session Materials (PDF, 1.38MB)

Turning Inquiry into Action: How to Engage Young Learners with KidCitizen

This presentation highlights KidCitizen episodes that engage young children in analyzing resources from the Library of Congress and connecting what they learn to their daily lives. KidCitizen is a freely available digital interactive designed to foster young children's inquiry with primary sources. The digital episodes facilitate a developmentally appropriate process of careful looking, historical thinking, and evidence-informed analysis that are at the center of disciplinary literacy. By slowing down the act of looking, children discover new information and construct viewpoints as primary sources are mined. This session will be facilitated by Ilene R. Berson and Michael J. Berson, University of South Florida.

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• Session Materials (PDF, 12.39MB)

Foundations: Analyzing Complex Images

In this interactive webinar, participants will learn and apply foundational strategies for analyzing primary sources that are particularly rich and complex in detail. How can we help students identify and analyze details that may otherwise go unnoticed? And how can they relate these details together to arrive at a larger understanding? Participants will also reflect on how they might use these strategies with their students.

• Watch the Recording
• Session Materials (PDF, 1.98MB)

Pairing Primary Sources and Picture Books

A picture book that focuses on a historic event or individual can introduce students to a piece of history. Layering in primary sources allows for new engagement and understanding. This session will focus on how the pairing of primary sources and picture books can enhance the awareness of a historic event or individual, the research process taken by authors of historically based picture books, as well as the author's or illustrator's portrayal of history. Tom Bober, Missouri Association of School Librarians, will facilitate the session.

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• Session Materials (PDF, 2.95MB)

Foundations: Finding Resources on LOC.gov

The Library of Congress web site (www.loc.gov) offers millions of digitized primary sources free to use with your students, along with many free teacher resources. In this webinar, we'll share tips for finding resources in the Library's vast collections by navigating www.loc.gov and effectively using the Library's search engine. Come with your questions and let us help you find what you need!

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• Session Materials (PDF, 3.65MB)

Reflecting on Using Primary Sources to Meet the Needs of Diverse Learners

Explore key moments across U.S. history at which individual advocacy and broad campaigns for civil rights enabled people with disabilities to move from the far margins of society into full citizenship. Identify points in the typical U.S. History curriculum (such as Antebellum Reforms, early 20th century Immigration, and Post WWII social movements) to infuse elements of this history. Access a wealth of primary sources, free curriculum, and communities of support. Gain practical strategies and tools to make history truly accessible for ALL learners–especially students with disabilities. This session will be facilitated by Rich Cairn and Alison Noyes, from Collaborative for Educational Services.

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• Session Materials (PDF, 6.46MB)

Foundations: Analyzing Primary Sources from the Library of Congress

In this interactive webinar, participants will learn and apply foundational strategies for analyzing primary sources. How can we facilitate learning activities that help students become engaged, think critically, and construct their own understandings? It starts with making observations, reflecting on them, and asking questions. We'll practice these strategies and consider how to apply them in participants' settings.

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• Session Materials (PDF, 3.5MB)

Shall Not Be Denied: Women Fight for the Vote

The exhibition "Shall Not Be Denied" tells the story of the largest reform movement in American history with documents, photographs and scrapbooks from a diverse group of women who changed political history 100 years ago. Many suffragists donated their personal collections to the national library so that their stories would be remembered. The exhibition is part of the national commemoration of the centennial of the 19th Amendment in 2019 and 2020. Manuscript Division Chief Janice Ruth and historian Elizabeth Novara describe the creation of the Shall Not Be Denied: Women Fight for the Vote exhibition and highlight online primary sources related to that topic. Ms. Novara will also demonstrate By the People (http://crowd.loc.gov), a crowdsourced transcription project, to encourage teachers to use with their students. Take a look at the exhibition here: https://vimeo.com/341006311 External link

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• Session Materials (PDF, 3.73MB)

Introduction to the Question Formulation Technique for Primary Source Learning

This free, one-hour interactive webinar introduces educators to the Question Formulation Technique (QFT), a strategy through which individuals develop their ability to ask, work with, and use their own questions.

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• Session Materials (PDF, 2.32MB)

Scientific Literacy, Citizenship, and History: Analyzing Primary Sources from the Library of Congress Webinar

In this one hour webinar, we shared resources and strategies for educators interested in helping their students analyze Library of Congress primary sources to explore connections between scientific literacy and citizenship.

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• Session Materials (PDF, 2.75MB)

Teaching Civic Ideals through Primary Sources Webinar

A one-hour webinar demonstrating how the use of primary sources can offer students specific examples of civic principles, highlighting ways that a civic ideal has been tested, interpreted, and applied throughout American history.

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• Session Materials (PDF, 1.84MB)