- Adventure of the American Mind
- is a professional development program funded by a federal grant through the Library of Congress and administered by the Education and Research Consortium of the Western Carolinas.
- Ambassadors for Learning
- are teacher leadership opportunities that foster the use of Library of Congress digital primary sources through inquiry-based instruction designed for all ages and subject areas.
- American Memory
- provides free access through the Internet to written and spoken words, sound recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps, and sheet music that document the American experience. These materials, from the collections of the Library of Congress and other institutions, chronicle historical events, people, places, and ideas that continue to shape America.
- Best Instructional Practices
- Describes the use of Best Instructional Practices giving specific examples. Best Instructional Practices are effective teaching methods supported by research on improving student achievement.
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Examples:
The sorting activity allowed students to see for themselves and the teacher to observe how students connected what they knew about Native Cultures to the details in the images. The students knew the Understanding Goal for the lesson and worked to create sorts that related to the goal. When students had to explain their sorting categories and point to evidence in the image that supported their ideas they confirmed and revealed their understanding of the content. (Teaching for Understanding)
The final sort used for the photo journal was chosen by the students or differentiated by interest. The groups for sorting the pictures were organized by student readiness level with the topic of Native North American Cultures. (Differentiated Instruction)
- Bibliographic record
- is comparable to a traditional library catalog card. In other words, most online bibliographic records include a title, the name(s) of the author(s) or other creator(s), and subject terms assigned by a cataloger or subject expert. They may also include other descriptive notes or information. More from the Library of Congress help page
- Bibliographies
- are collections of materials on a variety of topics produced by the Digital Reference Team at the Library of Congress.
- Subject Specific Programs
- are Step Three professional development programs created to foster ongoing use of the Library of Congress resources and to build a larger community of digital Library of Congress patrons.
- Differentiated Instruction
- Is action in the classroom designed to effectively meet specific needs of diverse learners.
- Discover the Library of Congress
- is Step One in our professional development program to build a school or department-based team who will support other educators in using Library resources.
- Facilitator's guide
- has information needed to conduct a professional development activity, including a script and materials list.
- Formal Assessment
- requires students to demonstrate understanding, knowledge, and skill goals for the lesson through a product or performance requiring use of primary sources. It is often used at the end of a lesson.
- Handbook
- informs and guides to assist educators in using the Library of Congress Web site and designing primary source-based Learning Experiences for students.
- Introduction
- Uses primary sources to help students recognize their current understanding, knowledge, and skills related to the content of the lesson. Introductions are often a warm-up to intrigue and interest students, a review or introduction of prior knowledge needed for the lesson, and/or pre-assessment of student understanding, knowledge, and/or skill.
- Investigation
- Challenges students to use and adjust their understanding of a subject through reading, analyzing, and interpreting primary source(s) to consider the source's impact on the subject under study. Investigations begin with a question and end by answering the question and reflecting on how the answer connects to an explicit Understanding Goal.
- Investigative Question
- Guides the exploration of a topic on key concepts related to the broader Understanding Goal.
Example:
How can primary sources tell us about how geography may affect a group's ability to meet its basic needs?more examples
- Learn with Primary Sources
- is a professional development program to assist educators in using Library of Congress primary sources with students
- Learning Experiences
- are examples of primary-source based lesson segments, lessons, and LibraryQuests used to deepen student content knowledge and literacy skills.
- Lesson
- Teaches a topic within the subject through a complete Learning Experience. Lessons are guided by an Investigative Question and challenge students to connect learning to "big ideas" or Understanding Goals. Lessons often require multiple class meetings to complete.
- Library of Congress
- is the world's largest library and oldest cultural institution in the United States.
- LibraryQuests
- require students to complete a performance task to assess student understanding of the curriculum through a series of online instructional activities. Students work in-role as a professional in a field to solve a problem or create a product that might be used in the real world.
- Literacy Instruction
- Provides specific strategies to enable students to locate, comprehend, evaluate, and apply knowledge. Content related vocabulary instruction is part of literacy instruction.
- Permanent URL
- allows patrons to return to items from a search at www.loc.gov. The URL is found by viewing the source code of the Web page.
- Primary source
- is a piece of evidence created in the time period under study.
- Prints and Photographs Division
- is unique in its scope and richness, the prints and photographs collections today number more than 13.7 million images.
- Reading strategies
- are used by students to draw meaning from primary sources. These strategies may be used before (pre), during, or after (post) reading the primary source.
- Research Centers
- offer hundreds of special format, language, and subject area collections at the Library of Congress.
- Rubrics
- contain specific definitions of performance criteria written in language to be shared with students.
- Teaching for Understanding
- Challenges students to connect learning to large scale themes that are central to the discipline being studied while enabling students to actively use knowledge and skills across disciplines in purposeful ways.
- Technology Integration
- Is the action of using technology to create unique Learning Experiences for students that could not be achieved without the technology.
- Understanding Goal
- Articulates, in language used with students, an essential big idea of the subject that is central to the Learning Experience.
Example:
Primary sources provide a glimpse into everyday life in the past.
Geography and climate affect how people meet their basic needs.
more examples
- LibraryQuest
- Guides students through an online inquiry experience working in a role as a professional in a particular field to research a topic using primary sources in order to solve a problem or develop a product. Libraryquests offer student directions for independent learning through a Web page.
- Workshop Series
- is a 10 hour workshop series to assist teachers in using primary sources as a catalyst for learning and to effective use the Library of Congress Web site resources.