Library of Congress - Resources for the Common Core

 

The Library of Congress is a truly amazing resource for teachers, with collections that boggle the mind. Click on Digital Collections and have a look!

I'll write about various collections and their usefulness for you later, but today's post is about the Teaching with Primary Sources Program at the Library, and specifically, the current issue of The Teaching with Primary Sources Journal: Primary Sources and the Common Core State Standards, Vol. 1, No. 2, Fall 2012. You can download the entire journal in PDF and print it if you would like to have a hard copy.

Rich Cairn's feature article, Primary Sources: At the Heart of the Common Core State Standards, describes what using primary sources to achieve the CCSS looks like in practice. It concludes: "Primary sources can provide the raw materials teachers need to support student achievement in the CCSS. Primary source-based learning is at the heart of the standards. Using photographs, maps, manuscripts, and other primary sources to engage students in learning and building critical thinking and constructing knowledge will help prepare students for success in school and beyond."

The issue includes links to Research and Current Thinking and a Teacher Spotlight, both important and read-worthy. Perhaps the most useful, however, are two complete Learning Activities:

• Determining Point of View: Paul Revere and the Boston Massacre is suggested for 5th and 6th grades. The CCSS targeted are RI.5.6., RI.6.6., RI.6.7., and RI.6.8. Download the entire activity here.
• Teaching Speaking & Listening Skills with Primary Sources is recommended for grades 9 though 12 and targets the College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Speaking and Listening. Download it in its entirety here.

If you'd like to view previous issues of the TPS Journal, which was formerly known as the Teaching with Primary Sources Quarterly, go to the archive page. These are devoted to topics such as Critical Thinking, Differentiated Instruction, English Language Learners, Inquiry Learning, Literacy Integration, Project-Based Learning, and Science. 

What fantastic resources, for you and your implementation of the Common Core. Hurry over to see what you can use!