We are now accepting applications for Primarily Teaching—our summer institute on using historical documents in the classroom. Information and the application is available on our website. Workshops will be conducted at the following National Archives locations: Kansas City (Kansas City, MO) June 17–20, 2013 Atlanta (Morrow, GA) July 15–19, 2013 Boston (Waltham, MA) July 22–26, 2013 … Continue reading Summer Professional Development Workshops
I co-wrote today’s post with Stephen Wesson at the Library of Congress. It is also posted on the Teaching with the Library of Congress blog. In 10 words or less, it’s what we've got and how we got it. But we’ll go on. Because we get asked this question a lot. Both of us do. And because both … Continue reading What’s the difference between the National Archives and the Library of Congress?
Today's post comes from Jenny Sweeney, education specialist at the National Archives at Fort Worth. This Friday, April 12th, the biographical movie 42 about Jackie Robinson is set to be released. Millions of people will flock to theaters to relive or learn for the first time the baseball icon’s story. In 1947, Robinson crossed the color line … Continue reading The Rest of 42’s Story: Jackie Robinson as Civil Rights Activist
Today's post comes from Carol Buswell, education specialist at the National Archives at Seattle. Archives are almost nothing like libraries, except that they are open to the public for research purposes. Be prepared to learn something completely new. First, let’s talk about what you’re probably used to: libraries. Libraries collect documents. They are in competition … Continue reading What’s in the National Archives and how’s it organized?
From 1947 through 1952, the White House underwent a complete reconstruction within its original exterior walls. To get a better idea about the transformation of the White House, and "witness" its 1950s renovation compared to the current look of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, you and your students can take a visual tour of the Blue Room on Historypin. Shortly after … Continue reading Inside the White House on Historypin
Have you ever used current events to pique students' interest? Leveraged your students' hobbies to guide which primary sources you offer up for analysis? Do you have baseball fans in your classroom? We've got a brand new resource full of primary source documents, photographs, video, audio, and more. It's a free eBook we published just in … Continue reading Play Ball! (Primary Sources Edition)
Today’s post comes from Mickey Ebert, education specialist at the National Archives at Kansas City. Yesterday I called my favorite teacher. I hadn't talked to him in over 45 years. He had changed my life but I had never told him. After 32 years of teaching and telling the story about my favorite teacher countless times, I … Continue reading Mr. Hirni, Narrative Writing, and the Common Core
Today’s post comes from blogger Christopher Zarr, education specialist at the National Archives at New York City. The National Archives and the National Park Service have a lot in common. We preserve the records of our Government so that all people can discover, use, and learn from these documents. They preserve the natural and cultural resources … Continue reading The National Archives Partners with the National Park Service in NYC
"Primary Sources Rock." I first read that tweet in October 2010, in reaction to the launch of DocsTeach.org, our then brand-new online tool for teaching with documents. I used that phrase the next month as the title of my post on our sister blog, NARAtions, in which I shared some of the great feedback we were already hearing about the site. In … Continue reading DocsTeach has been rocking for two and a half years.
When I taught United States history to middle schoolers, my fellow teachers and I grappled with figuring out how to teach the New Deal. We wanted to create lessons to help our students get a handle on all of the New Deal agencies that were created in response to the Great Depression—and in the limited amount … Continue reading Helping Students Remember all of those New Deal Agencies
