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Primary Source Prompts for Current Events 2019
Album Description
Primary sources provide engaging prompts for current news analysis. On a weekly basis, select a primary source from the Library of Congress that mirrors a topic in the news cycle. Using primary sources as prompts encourages students to compare and contrast similarities and historic differences between events of today and those of the past. It also invites exploration and virtual trips to the Library for more research. Follow up the sharing of a primary source prompt by discussing the news and formulating questions about the primary sources.
Students can curate their own weekly primary source news journal by researching and selecting a primary source from the Library of Congress based on weekly news events of interest to them. They can formulate questions around these primary sources and the week’s news topic. Pair that with an assignment at the end of the year to look back and reflect on patterns in the news and history.
This album is a sampling of primary source prompts for current events based on weekly news in 2019.
current events
news
2019
Social Studies/History
9 - 12
bestof
Retail Shopping - Week of December 23, 2019
Teaching Notes
Students research statistics on shopping trends and compare historic periods to today’s shopping trends.
Reference note
Title: Xmas shoppers, New York - https://www.loc.gov/item/2014688901/
Title: Ordering from Sears Roebuck catalogue, Pie Town, New Mexico, because of the distance to the nearest store. 1940 - https://www.loc.gov/resource/fsa.8b25560/
Impeached - Week of December 16, 2019
Teaching Notes
Students ask questions and research the three Presidents who have been impeached, comparing and contrasting the events.
Andrew Johnson William Clinton Donald Trump Impeachment Impeached
Reference note
Title: Andrew Johnson, 17th President of the United States and Vice President to Abraham Lincoln - 1860 -1865 -
https://www.loc.gov/item/2017660632/
Title: Bill Clinton, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing front- 1992
https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/93505822/
Title: Official portrait of President Donald J. Trump- 2017
The Constitution Annotated - Impeachment - Week of December 9, 2019
Teaching Notes
Students explore the Constitution Annotated and formulate questions about Impeachment. They apply their learning to the current Impeachment process.
NATO - Week of December 2, 2019
Teaching Notes
Students formulate questions about NATO and research the history of the organization and the role of the United States in the past and today.
Teaching Thanksgiving - Week of November 25, 2019
Teaching Notes
High School students create a Thanksgiving lesson for elementary students. They investigate primary sources related to Thanksgiving, current student Thanksgiving traditions, and determine how they would teach the history of this holiday.
High Crimes and Misdemeanors - Week of November 18, 2019
Teaching Notes
Students research historic impeachment evidence and formulate questions about current House Impeachment Hearings.
Veterans Day - Week of Nov 11, 2019
Teaching Notes
Students ask questions about the history of Veterans Day and explore how it is commemorated in their communities.
Time Change - Week of November 4, 2019
Teaching Notes
Students ask questions about the origins of Daylight Savings, how it is applied throughout the United States and investigate current discussions about "staying on savings."
Reference note
Title: Senate Sergeant at Arms Charles Higgins turns forward the Ohio Clock for the first Daylight Saving Time...
https://www.loc.gov/resource/hec.13949/
Title: Saving daylight ends, for 1918, Sunday, Oct. 27th Set your clock back one hour at 2 A.M. Sunday October 27th.
Impeachment Proceedings - Week of October 28, 2019
Teaching Notes
Students ask questions and explore the history behind the House of Representatives and the Impeachment process.
Andrew Johnson Impeachment Thaddeus Stevens House of Representatives
Lynching - Week of October 21, 2019
Teaching Notes
High School students research the history of the NAACP's fight against lynching and look at the implications of using the term in a political context.
Emoluments Clause - Week of October 14, 2019
Teaching Notes
Students research and ask questions about the Emoluments Clause in the Constitution and Federalist Papers No. 22
Constitution Emoliments Federalist Papers Alexander Hamilton House of Representatives
The Kurds - Week of Oct 7, 2019
Teaching Notes
Students investigate the history of the Kurds and their relationship to the United States. They formulate questions around the current news events related to Turkey and the Kurds.
quid pro quo - Week of Sept 30, 2019
Teaching Notes
Students investigate the meaning and use of "quid pro quo" in the current news and in the papers of Abraham Lincoln.
Role of Whistleblowers - Week of September 23, 2019
Teaching Notes
Students ask questions about the role of whistleblowers in a democracy and research whistleblower laws.
Geopolitical Events - Week of September 16, 2019
Teaching Notes
Students formulate questions about the history of the geopolitical events leading to the current relationship of the United States to Ukraine and Iran.
Reference note
Title: Der Frieden mit der Ukraine. Neuester Film 1918 https://www.loc.gov/item/2004665864/
Title: Iran Day demonstration, Sat. Jan. 26th, 10:30 A.M., Sproul Plaza, U.C. Berkeley Campus 1980 https://www.loc.gov/item/2015648423/
9/11 - Week of Sept 9, 2019
Teaching Notes
Adding to the historical record, students interview family and community members on experiences and memories related to 9/11.
Reference note
Title: Courtyard view of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum (more frequently known simply, as the 9/11 Memorial) in the Manhattan borough of New York, New York 2018-01-27 https://www.loc.gov/item/2018700328/
Title: South Bend, Indiana's, 9/11 Memorial, erected by South Bend fire department personnel in St. Patrick's Park 2016-09-27 https://www.loc.gov/item/2016631954/
Weather Reporting - Week of September 2, 2019
Teaching Notes
Students ask questions and investigate weather service reporting on storms and weather events.
e-Cigarette Advertising - Week of Aug 26, 2019
Teaching Notes
Students look at Cigarette advertising in the past and compare that to current e cigarette and vaping ads.
Reference note
Title: Our navy, for smoking and chewing 1890
https://www.loc.gov/resource/ppmsca.43670/
Title: High grade cigarettes, water tobagganning scence at Ontario Beach, Rochester, NY 1880
The Amazon & Brazil - Week of August 19, 2019
Teaching Notes
Students formulate questions about the impact of the fires in the Amazon. They work in groups to investigate selected questions.
Places in the News - Hong Kong, Greenland - Week of Aug 12, 2019
Teaching Notes
Students formulate questions and research the history around the current news on Hong Kong and Greenland.
Reference note
Hong Kong and vicinity. 1998 https://www.loc.gov/item/99443749/
The Arctic region. 2008 https://www.loc.gov/item/2009575046/
Gilroy, El Paso, Dayton - localities deal with mass tragedies - Week of July 29 & August 5, 2019
Teaching Notes
Students discuss the response by localities and the national government to mass shootings in the United States.
Puerto Rico - Week ofJuly 22, 2019
Teaching Notes
Students formulate questions about Puerto Rico's current politics and research the political history of the island.
Racism - Week of July 15, 2019
Teaching Notes
Students define, discuss and formulate questions around racism as depicted in the news media and as it occurs in rhetoric and practice historically and in current times.
Reference note
Title: African American children on way to PS204, 82nd Street and 15th Avenue, pass mothers protesting the busing of children to achieve integration. 1965 September 13 http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2004670162/
Title: Young boys harassing the Horace Baker family, the first African American family to move into the all white Delmar Village neighborhood of Folcroft, Pennsylvania - 1963 Aug 30 https://www.loc.gov/item/99402534/
Role of an Ambassador - Week of July 8, 2019
Teaching Notes
Students formulate questions around the role of Ambassadors in international relations and foreign policy.
Reference link: https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2016877261/
Reference note
Full Title:
British Ambassador assists Girl Scouts at 28th anniversary party. Washington, D.C., March 12. Lord Lothian, British ambassador to the United States, came to be entertained, but instead, entertained the girl scouts at their headquarters here today on the occasion of the 28th anniversary of the founding of the organization, following a radio address to 572,000 girl scouts all over the world, Ambassador Lothian climaxed the party by feeding a piece of the birthday cake to 11-year-old girl scout Winifred McGowan of Troop 138, 3-12-40
Commemorating the 4th of July - Week of July 1, 2019
Teaching Notes
Students formulate questions about the customs and traditions around the commemoration of the 4th of July. They research the history of Independence Day celebrations in their communities.
Reference note
Title: Youngster enjoys Independence Day Parade, Washington, D.C. Between 1960 - 1990. https://www.loc.gov/item/2011634210/
Title: July 4th parade - 1915 https://www.loc.gov/item/99615004/
Ready set - Candidate Debates! - Week of June 24, 2019
Teaching Notes
Students ask questions about the candidates and issues after viewing or reading about the debates. Their questions drive research on an issue or candidate. They compare the field of candidates to past primary races.
Politics and Policies - Week of June 17, 2019
Teaching Notes
Students research early political policies and ask questions around current policies and their political implications.
Iran - Week of June 10, 2019
Teaching Notes
Students formulate questions about the relationship between The United States and Iran and research specific past and present events.
D-Day Journeys - Week of June 3, 2019
Teaching Notes
In teams, students explore this Story Map, listen to the experiences and understand the significance of geography on D-Day. They can use this Story Map as a model for building their own Story Maps of historic events using primary sources from the Library of Congress.
United States, Mexico Relations - Week of May 27, 2019
Teaching Notes
Students ask questions and explore the historic and current relationship between the United States and Mexico.
Reference link: https://www.loc.gov/resource/highsm.26706/
Reference note
Title: Mural at the Chamizal National Memorial, located in El Paso, Texas, along the United States-Mexico international border
"The memorial is a National Park Service site commemorating the peaceful settlement of the Chamizal boundary dispute, a more than 100-year border dispute between the United States and Mexico that resulted from the natural change of course of the Rio Grande between the cities of El Paso and Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua".
The power of a subpoena - Week of May 20, 2019
Teaching Notes
Students discuss the process and procedures of a subpoena by a Senate committee.
Reference link: https://www.loc.gov/item/2016873225/
Reference note
Title: Defies Senate Subpoena. Washington, D.C., March 18. Defying a subpoena of the Senate Lobby Committee, Dr. Edward A. Rumely, Executive Secretary of the Committee to uphold constitutional government, today refused to produce the organization's files concerning campaigns against New Deal legislation. On advice of counsel, rumely refused to surrender the files to the committee when ordered by Senator Sherman Minton, Chairman, 3/18/38
Abortion Laws & Debate - Week of May 13, 2019
Teaching Notes
Students formulate questions and explore history around abortion laws and debate.
Abortion Roe V. Wade Anti-abortion Pro-choice Pro-life Right to Life
Reference note
[Demonstration protesting anti-abortion candidate Ellen McCormack at the Democratic National Convention, New York City] 1976 Jul. 14. https://www.loc.gov/item/2005696369/
Title:"Right to Life" demonstration, at White House and Capitol 1978 January 23. https://www.loc.gov/item/2016646416/
Trade - Week of May 6, 2019
Teaching Notes
Students formulate questions on tariff and trade policies, researching past trade controversies and the present.
Religious Intolerance, Hate Crimes - Week of April 29
Teaching Notes
Students discuss current attacks on religious institutions and people. They formulate questions around the topic of hate crimes and research past and present crimes and impact.
Reference note
Title: Temple Emanu-El in Miami Beach, one of the nation's few beaches open to Jews when the synagogue was built in 1947. Miami Beach, Florida. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2011634589/
Title: The Al Khair mosque in Youngstown, Ohio, which is home to the Islamic Society of Greater Youngstown http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2016632523/
The Census - Week of April 22, 2019
Teaching Notes
Students brainstorm and research questions around the Census and the current Supreme Court case on adding a citizenship question.
Reference note
Title: It's your America! Help the ten-year roll call--1940 census, U.S.A https://www.loc.gov/item/92503698/
Title: Taking census, 1920 - https://www.loc.gov/item/2016827352/
Notre Dame - Week of April 15
Teaching Notes
Students can create media to enhance their written poetry related to news events.
Reference note
Notre Dame I, bookstalls - https://www.loc.gov/item/2003681713/
Paris, Notre Dame II, Quai de la Tournelle https://www.loc.gov/item/2003681714/
Notre Dame, Paris - January 18, 1949 https://www.loc.gov/item/2016650167/
Taxes and Revenue Reform - Week of April 8, 2019
Teaching Notes
Students generate questions around current tax law, the history of the income tax and Federal tax code changes.
Reference note
Title: Typist typing tax forms - https://www.loc.gov/item/2016646596/
Title: The fountain of taxation - https://www.loc.gov/item/2011647481/
Airline Inspections - Week of April 1, 2019
Teaching Notes
Students ask questions and research answers on the process and procedures of airline inspection.
Reference link: https://www.loc.gov/item/2017880849/
Reference note
Full Title: Work progresses at Boeing South Carolina, an assembly site for Boeing's Commercial Airplanes division in North Charleston, South Carolina
Special Olympics - Week of March 25
Teaching Notes
Students ask questions and explore the history, impact and funding of the Special Olympics.
Ku Klux Klan Members - Week of March 18, 2019
Teaching Notes
Students ask questions and research the topic of White Supremacists and hate crime incidents from around the world, within the United States and historically.
College Admissions - Week of March 11, 2019
Teaching Notes
Students discuss, ask questions and explore the history of college admissions in light of the current college admissions fraud case.
Reference note
Yale - https://www.loc.gov/item/2014650130/
Sunset, November 1903--Thanksgiving number / Sheridan. https://www.loc.gov/item/94506749/
Pennsylvania [vs.] Georgetown, base ball, April 8th and 10th--Georgetown field https://www.loc.gov/item/94506797/
Tornadoes - Week of March 4, 2019
Teaching Notes
Students formulate questions around weather related disasters both historically and today.
Reference note
Title: Omaha tornado no. 10 https://www.loc.gov/item/90712158/
Title : Cincinnati Tornado, 1915 https://www.loc.gov/item/2014699408/
Congressional Investigations - Week of February 25, 2019
Teaching Notes
Students formulate questions about the investigative role of Congress and look at historic investigations as well current.
Congress Investigations Ken Starr Special Prosecutor[/tagrefPresident
The FBI - Week of February 18, 2019
Teaching Notes
Students formulate questions about the role of the FBI, its relationship to branches of government and the ongoing current investigations.
Vaccination - Week of February 11, 2019
Teaching Notes
Students formulate questions around recent disease outbreaks, vaccinations and immunization.
Reference note
Is your child vaccinated Vaccination prevents smallpox - Chicago Department of Health. [between 1936 and 1941] https://www.loc.gov/resource/cph.3f05173/
Dr. Schreiber of San Augustine giving a typhoid innoculation at a rural school, San Augustine County, Texas. https://www.loc.gov/item/2017878819/
Scientists assert that all diseases can be prevented by inoculation https://www.loc.gov/item/2011661758/
Impeachment - Week of February 4, 2019
Teaching Notes
Students formulate questions around the impeachment process both at the State and National level.
Impeachment Andrew Johnson Richard Nixon[/tagrefGovernor William Sulzer
Reference note
Title: [Demonstrators with "Impeach Nixon" sign near the U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C.] 1973 Oct. 22. - https://www.loc.gov/item/2011646493/
Title: Impeaching Sulzer - 1913 August 13. -https://www.loc.gov/item/2014693792/
Title: The ladies' gallery of the Senate during the impeachment trial - 1868. - https://www.loc.gov/resource/cph.3c19581/
Climate Watch - Week of January 28, 2019
Teaching Notes
With the Polar Vortex in the news, students use primary sources to generate questions about global warming, climate and weather.
Reference note
Snowbound automobiles in New York City, 1917: https://www.loc.gov/item/95504319/
Blizzard, 1/28/22: https://www.loc.gov/item/2016832020/
Blizzard, 1/28/22: https://www.loc.gov/item/2016846004/
Tipi with sign - Week of January 21, 2019
Teaching Notes
Students investigate conflicting protests and perspectives on the National Mall from the lens of point of view.
Image source: https://www.loc.gov/item/2011646498/
The state of the State of the Union - Week of January 14, 2019
Teaching Notes
Explore the significance and history of the State of the Union address.
Speaking Out - Women in Congress. Week of January 7, 2019
Teaching Notes
Students generate questions and explore the impact of women in Congress today and in the past.
Reference note
Title: House Black Caucus Rep. Shirley Chisholm https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2018650329/
Title: Six members of fair sex now members of National House of Representatives. - http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2016877229/
Title: U.S. Representatives - https://www.loc.gov/item/2015645194/
Federal Workers and a Wall - Week of Dec 31, 2018
Teaching Notes
Formulate questions and research around the current news topic. How do the primary sources connect to the topic? What questions do they prompt?
Reference note
Title: Federal Workers leaving office - https://www.loc.gov/item/2016646551/
Title: The Americanese wall - https://www.loc.gov/item/2006681433/