Exploring Emerging America’s Windows on History Program

Since 2006, Emerging America’s Windows on History program has mobilized more than 30 research teams of K-12 students with their teachers and in partnership with historical societies, museums, town and college libraries, expert individuals, and other very local resources. Students learn to think historically as they track down primary sources to tell the story of their communities and their place in the world. This is the third in our series of close-ups on these sites.

Teachers Karen McKay and Caroline Allison first posted these ideas as part of the Emerging America Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources Training of Trainers program.

Guest Post: Rusty Annis, Belchertown, Massachusetts, Teacher

The Common Core approaches the content areas (Social Studies and the Sciences) with a particular emphasis on literacy. This has several implications. First, note that literacy in the Common Core means listening and speaking as well as reading and writing. Audio files from the Library of Congress, for example, have an important role to play. Further, English Language Arts components of the standards incorporate numerical data, audio-visual, and digital information. Census and economic data, historic films, and survey data–all gain importance in the classroom.