The Library of Congress: Teacher Resources

Last week I took part in a Teacher's Institute at the Library of Congress. I was fortunate to attend with a wonderful cross-section of teachers and media specialists from around the country. I learned just as much from my classmates as I did from the facilitators from the LOC (if you can't wait for the next teacher institute, you can take online modules). We talked about inquiry, visible thinking strategies, and so many other topics that my head is still spinning!

There are so many support tools available on the LOC's teacher page. There are teacher's guides and a student primary source analysis tool under "Using Primary Sources" and under "Classroom Materials" you can find lesson plans, themed resources, and primary source sets (to name a few). The LOC has over 25 million digitized resources, it is so nice to have a lot of the leg work already done for you!

I think music is a great primary source that can help students connect with the past. The National Jukebox has historic recordings from the Library of Congress.

Inaugural Post

Hello!

I am a middle school media specialist, and this summer I will attend one of the Library of Congress' Teacher Institutes. If you are unable to attend, the LOC has many resources for teachers available online, such as the Primary Source sets.

I intend to use this space to post lesson plans and any other resources that I find (or create) that help teachers and media specialists incorporate primary sources into the middle school curriculum. Posting will be light in the spring, but will pick up in July!