Lesson Plan
Library of Congress

Loc: The Grapes of Wrath: Voices From the Great Depression

For Teachers 9th - 10th
By examining primary sources, including songs, newspapers, interviews, and photographs of migrant farm workers in California during the Great Depression, students create a scrapbook from the point of view of a migrant worker, providing...
Lesson Plan
Library of Congress

Loc: The New Nation 1783 1815

For Teachers 9th - 10th
The creation and growth of the new nation of the United States is the focus of this article. Being divided into time periods makes this site easy to understand.
Lesson Plan
Library of Congress

Loc: Policies and Problems of the Confederation Government

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
This teacher resource includes imagesand historical documents, alllowing readers to trace the creation of our government from the Continental Congress through the Articles of Confederation. An overview helps to clarify the policies and...
Lesson Plan
Library of Congress

Loc: Teachers: Marco Paul's Travels on the Erie Canal

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
After studying various background materials, students read "Marco Paul's Travels on the Erie Canal" and participate in writing and discussion activities that will foster understanding of the Erie Canal and its impact on economic and...
Lesson Plan
Library of Congress

Loc: Port of Entry

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Through this activity students become historical detectives and use documents to trace the impact of immigration on the US.
Lesson Plan
Library of Congress

Loc: Immigration: Destroying the Native American Cultures

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Detailed and extensive account of the plight of Native Americans during the westward growth of America. Includes maps, audio recordings, authentic letters, speeches,a great timeline, and much more.
Lesson Plan
Library of Congress

Loc: The Great Depression and the 1990s

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students frequently echo sentiments such as, "The government is too big," or "The government should make welfare mothers pay for their own needs." It seems that many citizens, high schoolers included, have begun to believe in reduced...
Lesson Plan
Library of Congress

Loc: The Great Depression and the 1990s

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This site includes a unit about the Great Depression. Students will create a creative writing based on Dorothea Lange's 1936 "Migrant Mother" photograph. They will also write a position paper on the United States' current welfare issue....
Lesson Plan
Library of Congress

Loc: The Constitution: Counter Revolution or National Salvation

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Using primary texts and prior study of Colonial America and the Revolution, students examine "what type of government would best represent the ideals of the American Revolution." Worksheets, discussions, and role-playing within this...
Lesson Plan
Library of Congress

Loc: Around the World in 1896

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Working in groups, middle schoolers plan, take, and document a trip around the world in 1896 using World's Transportation Commission. This collection presents documentary evidence concerning the role of technology at the turn of the...
Lesson Plan
Library of Congress

Loc: The Civil War: The Nation Moves Toward War

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Examine the causes of the Civil War using primary source documents. This lesson plan gives background on the Civil War, includes a timeline, and a bibliography for further reading. Primary source documents include music, newspapers,...
Lesson Plan
Library of Congress

Loc: Immigration

For Teachers 9th - 10th
A content-rich site and Library of Congress "Featured Presentation" that looks at the immigration experiences of Americans from many backgrounds and countries. Includes lesson suggestions and resources, online immigration vocabulary...
Lesson Plan
Library of Congress

Loc: Introducing Students to Visual Analysis

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Young scholars will develop visual literacy skills by analyzing the images from John White Alexander's mural in the Thomas Jefferson building of the Library of Congress while learning about the history of the Library of Congress. Then,...
Lesson Plan
Alabama Learning Exchange

Alex: Calling All Books!

For Teachers 9th - 10th
High school students learn the basic outline of the Library of Congress Classification system that is used in larger college and public libraries. The class will place a collection of books into the correct classifications. An...
Lesson Plan
Alabama Learning Exchange

Alex: Where Can I Find That Book?

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st Standards
This lesson plan allows students to use current topics of study (e.g. the Stamp Act, the Boston Tea Party, the Intolerable Acts) to learn about the Library of Congress Classification System (LCC).
Lesson Plan
Library of Congress

Loc: Interviews With Today's Immigrants

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This site, part of a larger lesson plan about immigration from the Library of Congress, provides interviews that students had with immigrants from around the world.
Lesson Plan
Library of Congress

Loc: Teachers: Indian Boarding Schools

For Teachers 9th - 10th
The Library of Congress provides a series of lessons that taddresses historical efforts of assimilating Native American children into white culture through boarding schools.
Lesson Plan
Library of Congress

Loc: Teachers: Using Primary Sources

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
The Library of Congress provides teachers with a framework that will help integrate primary sources into all areas of the curriculum. Sections include "Why to Use Primary Sources," "Citing Primary Sources," and "Finding Primary Sources."
Lesson Plan
Library of Congress

Loc: Civil War Photographs: What Do You See?

For Teachers 9th - 10th
In this lesson students analyze a single photograph from the Library of Congress collection Civil War Photographs, 1861-1865. Using the skills developed, students then find and analyze other images. Conclusions reached will allow...
Lesson Plan
Library of Congress

Loc: Teachers: Child Labor in America

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Historical photographs provide students with a firsthand look at the issue of child labor during the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. In this lesson, students will use photographs to further understanding of the politics,...
Lesson Plan
Library of Congress

Loc: Collection of Lesson Plans

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This collection presents in-depth lesson plans on American history from the 18th century to the present. Lessons include African American history, women's history, Native American history and many other topics.
Lesson Plan
Library of Congress

Loc: The Huetzotzinco Codex

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Through the ancient natives of Puebla, Mexico, teachers can use this lesson plan to help students relate math and reasoning skills to primary sources discussed in social studies. Primary sources are available to figure out more about the...
Lesson Plan
Library of Congress

Loc: Lesson Plans: Political Cartoons: Finding Point of View

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Lesson plan on analyzing a political cartoon that satirizes the Stamp Act.
Lesson Plan
Huntington Library

Huntington Library: A Nation Conceived in Liberty [Pdf]

For Teachers 11th
In this instructional activity, 11th graders examine the events and political philosophy that laid the foundations of the American government, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. They also look at what role religion played in...