Lincoln's+Pockets

__Library of Congress Professional Development: Teaching With Primary Documents__ by Elizabeth Ridgway from the LOC

Elizabeth talked about the many free sources of historical information online at the LOC. Her example activity was as follows: 1. She divided us into groups 2. She handed out several images (which she downloaded from the LOC) that she said all came from one historical figure. 3. She then asked us to draw conclusions about the person from the items that we had. 4. This invited a lot of discussion from the groups as we tried to guess who this person was and what era they might have lived in. 5. After soliciting guesses from the groups, she told us that these were items that were found on Abraham Lincoln when he died. 6. Post activity questions might be what items are in your pockets and what would that tell people about you?

Other good information that we came away with: 1. The LOC has millions of images on site and online 2. Documents and images can be used to foster critical thinking such as 3. When you go to the LOC and navigate to the 'Teachers' section you will find these topics in the middle column
 * bias
 * perspective
 * one side of the story (what would an opposing view be like?)
 * classroom materials
 * Primary Source Sets and Themed Resources (like Jim Crow in America)
 * Lesson Plans
 * Collection Connections
 * Presentations and Activities

4. Professional Development Opportunities (see [|TPS Regional Grant Program]
 * There are self paced modules that include a certificate of completion
 * There are 5-6 modules that are "how to"
 * copyright
 * analyzing primary sources
 * finding primary sources
 * The "Build and Deliver" program is inquiry based for students
 * In D.C. they have an extensive 4 day program which includes
 * curators
 * subject matter experts
 * you will produce lessons
 * you will be given feedback
 * There is also money available in the form of Teaching American History through Metro State