Bober, Tom. "Picture Books and Primary Sources: Exploring Voting and Elections." School Library Connection (August-September 2016). http://slc.librariesunlimited.com/Home/Display/2029158

The article explores the interaction between picture books that focus on historic people or events and primary sources that students can access. This is shown through a picture book about two suffragists who traveled the country by car in 1916 to promote women’s right to vote. Their trip is well documented in photos and newspapers from the time. The article demonstrates different ways elementary students of any age can analyze primary sources to add depth to their understanding of the event in the book.

Bober, Tom. “Unmasking a Thanksgiving Tradition Through Photos and Newspapers.” Teaching with the Library of Congress blog. Library of Congress, November 19, 2015. http://blogs.loc.gov/teachers/2015/11/unmasking-a-thanksgiving-tradition-through-photos-and-newspapers/

This blog posts looks at the exploration of a lost Thanksgiving tradition, going house to house asking for pennies or candy on Thanksgiving day, through the analysis of photo and newspaper primary sources. Additional skills addressed include search techniques using language students would not be familiar with today as keywords for searching historical newspapers as well as using the analysis of a primary source to generate researchable questions. The activity described may best be used with upper-elementary students.

Bober, Tom, and Zavadil White, Brianna. “Reading Portraits: Analyzing Art as a Primary Source.” Teaching with the Library of Congress blog. Library of Congress, March 15, 2016. http://blogs.loc.gov/teachers/2016/03/reading-portraits-analyzing-art-as-a-primary-source/

Portraits, often not thought to be primary sources because they are artistic impressions, are discussed as primary sources through the example of a portrait of Thomas Jefferson. While the example may be most useful to upper-elementary students learning early U.S. history, the strategies for interacting with visual primary sources can be used by elementary students of any age.

Bober, Tom. “How Dandy Was Candy? Exploring Messages in Candy and Chocolate Advertisements.” Teaching with the Library of Congress blog. Library of Congress, February 2, 2016. http://blogs.loc.gov/teachers/2016/02/how-dandy-was-candy-exploring-messages-in-candy-and-chocolate-advertisements/

Students are often asked to review ideas of truth and perspective in advertising. This blog post does that through historical advertisements for candy. The post suggests several ways that students can interact with the advertisements. The variety of suggestions for analysis and limited text in the advertisements make this an activity that readers as early as second grade could partake in.

Bober, Tom. “Multimedia Moment: Exploring Fairy Tales from Long Ago.” Teaching with the Library of Congress blog. Library of Congress, March 29, 2016. http://blogs.loc.gov/teachers/2016/03/multimedia-moment-exploring-fairy-tales-from-long-ago/

For elementary students who study fairy tales, this post incorporates recorded audio and picture book primary sources from the early 20th century to expand beyond the books in their classroom when examine features of fairy tales as well as fractured fairy tales. The content and teaching suggestions work well for early-elementary students.

Bober, Tom. “The Americas Award: Bringing Literature to Life with Primary Sources.” Teaching with the Library of Congress blog. Library of Congress, September 24, 2016. http://blogs.loc.gov/teachers/2015/09/the-amricas-award-bringing-literature-to-life-with-primary-sources/

Literature that recounts historical events may be better understood when students analyze primary sources related to the event. In this post, both picture books and middle grade books are paired with primary source audio, film, and images to provide context to the story to impact student understanding.

Bober, Tom. “Heliocentric, Geocentric: Using Library of Congress Ebooks to Explore Science-Related Primary Sources.” Teaching with the Library of Congress blog. Library of Congress, January 13, 2015. http://blogs.loc.gov/teachers/2015/01/heliocentric-geocentric-using-library-of-congress-ebooks-to-explore-science-related-primary-sources/

The blog post shows a first-hand account of fifth grade students using the analysis of science-related primary sources to come to consensus on the definition of the scientific terms “heliocentric” and “geocentric” to describe models of the solar system. The learning with primary sources is very student driven and open ended, allowing students to come to their own understanding.

Sweeting, Ernestine, and St. Angelo, Teresa. “Kindergarten Historians: Primary Sources in an Early Elementary Classroom.” Teaching with the Library of Congress blog. Library of Congress, March 12, 2013. http://blogs.loc.gov/teachers/2013/03/kindergarten-historians-primary-sources-in-an-early-elementary-classroom/

This account of the use of primary sources in a kindergarten classroom to explore occupations includes specific suggestions for students to interact with primary source images and film. Student responses and reaction to the primary source analysis allows for a true feel for what this activity would look like in a kindergarten classroom.