Posts Tagged ‘Library of Congress’

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Become a Virtual History Detective!

June 2nd, 2022

It’s Thursday, June 2, 2022, and time for Social Sciences at ClickSchooling!

William & Mary, Univ. of KY & Library of Congress: Be A History Detective

(hsi.wm.edu/)

Grades 6-12, approximately, with parental supervision

The Historical Scene Investigation (H.S.I.) website provides social studies students with the opportunity to become virtual history detectives. Students investigate prepared “case files” about historical events by examining primary source materials such as journals, diaries, artifacts, historic sites, works of art, quantitative data, and other evidence from the past.

Then, students compare the multiple points of view of the people who were on the scene at the time.

Developed in partnership with the College of William & Mary School of Education, University of Kentucky School of Education, and the Library of Congress, H.S.I. is an effort to take students beyond textbook facts and give them “experiences that more closely resemble the work of a real historian.”

When you get to the website you’ll see a menu that offers information about the H.S.I. Project and a link to the “Investigations” that include:

  • Jamestown Starving Time
  • Bacon’s Rebellion
  • The Boston “Massacre”
  • Lexington & Concord
  • Constitution Controversy
  • Antonio A Slave
  • Finding Aaron
  • Children in the Civil War
  • School Desegregation
  • Dropping the Bomb
  • Case of Sam Smiley
  • March on Frankfort
  • When Elvis Met Nixon

Click on any “case file” and a new page opens with a description of the historic event and a question for the student to answer through investigating documents. Click on “Student View” to read the documents and access a series of questions that guide the student in analyzing the information in order to crack the case.

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Listen! Historical Recordings from the Library of Congress

May 21st, 2022

It’s Saturday, May 21, 2022, and time for Music at ClickSchooling!

Library of Congress: National Jukebox

(www.loc.gov/collections/national-jukebox/about-this-collection/)

All grades, with parental supervision. NOTE: See warning below.

The Library of Congress provides a “National Jukebox” that makes historical sound recordings available to the public free of charge.

This exhibit transforms your computer into a gramophone featuring more than 10,000 78rpm disc recordings issued by the Victor Talking Machine Company between 1900 and 1925. You can listen to a broad range of songs including marching band music, novelty tunes, hits from musical theater productions, dance tunes, and opera arias. You’ll also find spoken recordings.

When you get to the site, you’ll see information about the collection and near the bottom of this page you will see the following information:

WARNING: Historical recordings may contain offensive language.

These music selections are presented as part of the record of the past. They are historical documents which reflect the attitudes, perspectives, and beliefs of people in a very different time period. For that reason, they may contain content that is offensive to users. As always, PARENTS SHOULD PREVIEW THE SITE and supervise all Internet activity.

  • Browse the featured content found here for look at the menu of featured playlists in the left margin which includes:
  • Browse all Recordings – Search by language, target audience, record label, date range, composer, lyricist, performer and genre.
  • Artists – Browse the artists from A-Z. Find recordings by music greats such as opera singer Enrico Caruso, Broadway legends Al Jolson and Fanny Brice, whistling virtuoso Charles Kellogg, composer and band leader John Philip Sousa, and thousands more.
  • Genres – Find a wide selection of genres of music including classical, opera, religious, popular music, blues, ethnic music, humorous songs, etc.

This is an AMAZING musical resource that takes time to explore. Bookmark it to return often.

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Books that Have Shaped American History

November 3rd, 2021

Library of Congress: Books That Shaped America’s History

(www.loc.gov/exhibits/books-that-shaped-america/)

Grades 5 & up, with parental supervision

The Library of Congress has a current exhibition called “Books That Shaped America” that highlights books that have had a historical impact on the lives of Americans through the ages.

The titles featured are by American authors and as the website explains, ” Some of the titles on display have been the source of great controversy, even derision, yet they nevertheless shaped Americans’ views of their world and often the world’s view of the United States.” The Library of Congress encourages visitors to read the books exhibited to explore the breadth and depth of America’s literary tradition.

This online exhibit presents a unique opportunity to identify books of historical importance by era. When you get to the site, you’ll see a menu of featured “Themes” or periods of time, with icon images of a few of the book titles. Click on the link that says “View all items…” under each era including:

  • 1750 to 1800 – Find book titles such as, Experiments and Observations on Electricity by Benjamin Franklin, Common Sense by Thomas Paine, The Federalist: A Collection of Essays, and even the first American cookbook.
  • 1800 to 1850 – You’ll find Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, a book featuring papers written by Lewis & Clark about their great expedition, and Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas. You’ll discover why these books were of great historical importance
  • 1850 to 1900 – The titles here will most likely be much more familiar and include,The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Moby Dick by Herman Melville, Walden by Henry David Thoreau, Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, and many more.
  • 1900 to 1950 – Book titles you’ll recognize include The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, Jack London’s Call of the Wild, The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and more.
  • 1950 to 2000 – Discover Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White, Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, The Double Helix by James D. Watson, The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss, Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, etc.

Click on any book image and a new page opens that explains what the book is about and why it is historically significant. Some of the explanations are thought-provoking – and could stimulate lots of discussions.

You might want to copy the titles and use them as a guide the next time you head to the library for a good read.

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Posted in language arts

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History & Performing Arts with Bob Hope

October 9th, 2021

Library of Congress: Bob Hope and American Variety

(www.loc.gov/exhibits/bobhope/)

Grade 5 and up (approximately), with parental supervision

The Library of Congress offers this free online presentation of the life of entertainer Bob Hope and the history of American Variety entertainment including Vaudeville, Radio, Movies, Television, and more.

Using photographs, illustrations, and text this exhibit provides a biography of Hope’s career that provides fascinating historical information about the performing arts as well.

When you get to the website use the menu located under the title, “SECTIONS” that includes:

  • Early Life – Find out where Bob Hope was born, his real name, and how he got his start in show business.
  • Vaudeville – Discover Hope’s journey through vaudeville and get some terrific insight about what made this artform so popular.
  • Motion Pictures – Learn about the country’s transition to film making and the role of Hope’s series of “Road” pictures from 1940-1962 with Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour.
  • Joke File – Explore Hope’s theft-proof joke vault with more than 85,00 pages of bits, sketches, and jokes created by his team of comedy writers.
  • On The Road: USO Shows – Read about Hope’s 50-years of performing variety shows for U.S. troops.

This interesting exhibition about Hope’s life provides keen insight into American history, culture, life, and values. It may springboard interest in watching some of Hope’s films that the whole family may find entertaining. You can rent DVDs of Hope’s “Road” pictures such as Road to Singapore and Road to Rio. Your public library may have them as well.

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Posted in music

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What Happened Today in History?

March 18th, 2021

Library of Congress – Today in History

(www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/)

Grades 3-12, with parental supervision

 

Discover what happened today in history at this website from the Library of Congress.

When clicking on today’s link, the date should automatically be added to the end of the URL taking you to the highlighted events of the day. Looking for a specific date? No problem. Use the “Select date” field to enter your desired date and click go. Each entry includes: 

  • Information about the event or person
  • Relevant images
  • Links to “Learn More” about the subject.

There are links throughout the text as well to dig even deeper.

This is a neat resource to add to your daily history lessons.

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Become a Virtual History Detective

January 21st, 2021

Historical Scene Investigation

Grades 6-12, with parental supervision

This website provides social studies students with the opportunity to become virtual history detectives through investigating primary source documents.

Students investigate prepared “case files” about historical events by examining primary source materials archived at this website. Through these “journals, diaries, artifacts, historic sites, works of art, quantitative data, and other evidence from the past… they compare the multiple points of view of those on the scene at the time.”

Developed in partnership with the College of William & Mary School of Education, University of Kentucky School of Education, and the Library of Congress, H.S.I. is an effort to take students beyond textbook facts and give them “experiences that more closely resemble the work of a real historian.”

When you get to the website you’ll see a menu that offers information about the H.S.I. Project and a link to the “Investigations” that include: 

  • Jamestown Starving Time
  • Bacon’s Rebellion
  • The Boston “Massacre”
  • Lexington and Concord
  • Constitution Controversy<
  • Antonio a Slave
  • Finding Aaron
  • Children in the Civil War
  • School Desegregation
  • Case of Sam Smiley
  • March on Frankfort
  • When Elvis Met Nixon

Click on any “case file” and a new page opens with a description of the historic event and a question for the student to answer through investigating documents. Click on “Student View” to read the documents and access a series of questions that guide the student in analyzing the information in order to crack the case.

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