This album was created by a member of the TPS Teachers Network, a professional social media network for educators, funded by a grant from the Library of Congress. For more information, visit tpsteachersnetwork.org.
Album of the Coronavirus Experience - Created by TPS Teachers Network Members
Album Description
Do you have a personal primary source unique to the current COVID-19 pandemic period? A journal entry about your current teaching situation (as if you have time to write)? A screen shot of students working with primary sources online? A sound recording of your own children or pets in your at-home work space? A photo of masked walkers in your neighborhood? Anything that describes the walls closing in on you or your ways of coping? A teaching anecdote in some shareable format?
Please upload these and similar primary sources created by YOU! Whether you are a classroom teacher, a librarian, a school administrator, a museum educator, a TPS Consortium member, or any other category of TPS Teachers Network member, help us build a collection of primary sources that reflect your own experiences as educators, parents, citizens, and survivors!
As an added challenge, imagine how you might use your primary source in the future. Add any potential teaching ideas to the Teaching Notes.
Finally, let's keep this album about personal experiences, not about a crazy meme or news item you found on the Internet. Let's make it about our own "raw materials of history" created from firsthand experience!
Open to everyone in the TPS Teachers Network!
Pre K - 2 3 - 5 6 - 8 9 - 12 13+ COVID-19 Firsthand Experiences bestof
The Home Haircut
Communicable Disease policy.docx
pandemic zombie 7-31-2020.jpg
Teaching Notes
I noticed this social distancing reminder placed by a creative homeowner along a bike path in Arvada, Colorado.
Reference note
Taken 7-31-2020 in Arvada, Colorado
ICU Patient
Teaching Notes
My husband was hospitalized in May. He did not have COVID but was in the ICU. I was able to visit him twice, but otherwise communicated by phone or through the medical staff. One nurse sent me this photo of items I took to him and cards. He appreciated a card from children who had made cards for patients.
Pet Peeve Mask
Teaching Notes
This has been a pet peeve of mine. I see masks everywhere! Please throw your used masks in the trash....PLEASE!
Masked Gnome
Teaching Notes
This Coronavirus album features a human wearing a mask, but none of statues wearing masks.
The gnome at the Peterson Station Museum(S.E. Minnesota) and the many other masked statues throughout the region always bring a smile to my face.
Teaching idea:
- Ask students to describe the masked statues they have seen.
- Ask students to if they have made masks for a stuffed animal or statue at their house.
- Encourage them to discover masked statues.
Reference note
https://postimg.cc/zyHvx8JG
sanitation station.jpg
Teaching Notes
How do you re-open a museum and hold summer day camps in the middle of a pandemic? With LOTS of hand sanitizer!
traveling trunks.jpg
Teaching Notes
When the majority of your museum mission and audience are school kids coming on field trips how do you spend your time during a pandemic? Developing traveling trunks and virtual outreach programs. *Sigh*
History at a Safe Distance: The Great Winona County History Hunt
Teaching Notes
The Great Winona County History Hunt was planned as a safe way for families (and everyone else) explore local history during the Corona Virus Pandemic. Participants purchased a map of 15 sites throughout the Southeast Minnesota county. The goal was to find the answer to the "fill-in-the-blank" portion of each site's description.
The History Hunt was an informative, fun and a break from the normal COVID era routine.
It also reminded me how much there is to explore in our back yards.
Photo: Fremont Township Town Hall
The first settlements in what would become Fremont Township of Winona County started in 1854. Fremont township was officially organized May 11, 1858. (MN statehood day) The unique Town Hall was built in the shape of an octagon and also served as a gathering place for the local women’s Christian temperance Union, 4- groups and other community gatherings. The photo was taken August 1, 2020, election day. 8 voters had been there by early afternoon. The low number can be attributed to the small population in the township AND to the increase in mail-in voting in 2020.
What's in your back yard?
Local History Townhalls Winona County Minnesota Octagon building
Signs Around the Neighborhood
Trumps-Guidelines.jpg
Teaching Notes
This was the first official communication I received from the US government (in the mail anyway) about the COVID-19 pandemic. Received 3-24-2020
Thoughts for the classroom:
- Why is the date important?
- What is happening in the US and other parts of the world?
- Who is this from, and why is it important?
- How does the information compare to information coming from the US Center for Disease Control at the time of publication? How about from the World Health Organization?
- Do these recommendations change over time?
- Why is it important where this information is coming from?
- How does this compare to information published by governments in other pandemics?
The Mask
Classroom Tent
Teaching Notes
Large tents like this one and other one classroom size smaller tents are spread throughout the Winona State University campus during the COVID era hybrid semester. Tents were in place before a significant number of students tested positive and began isolation. (Winona Countyt, Southeast Minnesota).
Historical note: Winona State originated as Winona Normal School in 1858 and is the oldest school of its type west of the Mississippi River.
Say Their Names: George Floyd Memorial
Teaching Notes
The Say Their Names memorial is part of the George Floyd Memorial at 38th and Chicago in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Markers honor Black Victims of police violence. Tributes honoring George Floyd and Philando Castille are at the front of the memorial.
The entirety of the Floyd memorial encompasses the intersection where Floyd was killed and parts of adjoining streets. It is a reminder of the social unrest and multiple anxieties facing the United States in 2020. Volunteers at the memorial told us that visitors have come from all over the World.
As murals of George Floyd fade, Minnesotans are working to keep their message in the public eye.
Minneapolis Star Tribune, 09/11/2020. Summary: Grassroots effort has collected nearly 200 boards so far. People are working with the Midwest Art Conservation Center and the Minnesota African American History Gallery and Museum
The Pandemic in Six-Word Memoirs
Teaching Notes
During the past several months, New York Times writer Larry Smith has "asked adults and children around the country to use the [six-word memoir] form to make sense of this moment in history: one person, one story, and six words at a time."
Several six-word memoirs even relate to school:
- Required school supplies: screens, screens, screens. -Darshana Chandra
- Tuning out parents, under my headphones. -Lukas Smith
- Afraid of: heights, snakes, opening schools. -Michelle Wolff
- I regret saying, "I hate school." -Riana Heffron
It's Really Tough
Teaching Notes
A quarantined Winona State University student shares her experience.
Like many higher education institutions, Winona State in southeast Minnesota went into a two week quarantine to halt the spread of Corona Virus. The 2 minute video is a personal account of a university freshman experience life in her dorm in September 2020.
The 2 minute video is a personal account of a university freshman experience life in her dorm during a campus quarantine.
Rochester Post Bulletin, September 23, 2020.
Voting from home during COVID
Teaching Notes
Where was your voting location during the pandemic. Record number of voters November 2020.
Outside Classroom Tent around Halloween
Teaching Notes
How were school Halloween activities effected by the pandemic?
Window Visits Posted at local health complex - December 2020
Teaching Notes
I took this photo while out for a walk around the campus of our local health complex. I thought of how sad it was to see this sign at the long-term care facility 8+ months since we first saw these signs.
All of my children book mobile, New York Ave. at Lincoln Place, Brooklyn
Teaching Notes
We always can find parallels in history to connect student interest in events around them and walk them back to learning about events in the past.
Our Contra Costa County public Library (located in the East Bay Area of San Francisco) just announced - after over a year of only being open virtually - that they will now be open for “Grab & Go” because health guidelines allow.
Have students research images of past “grab & goes” at libraries. And a link to more...
Reference link: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2020637110/
Reference note
Creator(s): Vergara, Camilo J., photographer
Date Created/Published: September 25, 2020.
Call Number: LC-DIG-vrg- 14234 (ONLINE) [P&P]
Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print
Notes: Title, date and keywords based on information provided by photographer. Gift; Camilo J. Vergara; 2020. Vergara's early coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic is in the N.B.M. exhibition "Documenting Crossroads: The Coronavirus in Poor, Minority Communities," https://www.nbm.org/exhibition/documenting-crossroads/ Forms part of the Vergara Photograph Collection (Library of Congress). pp/vrgcov
Subjects: United States--New York (State)--New York--Brooklyn. COVID-19 pandemic Time Lapse: COVID-19 Corona virus Crossroads Brooklyn Graphics libraries Bookmobiles
Proud Home
Teaching Notes
They look like yard campaign signs, but they are one way families are recognizing soon to graduate seniors who will go without the traditional ceremony in June. No senior awards ceremonies, proms, balls or end of high school year celebrations. These will be a primary source treasure as we remember all the changes brought on by the sequester.
IMG_20200320_165342.jpg
Reference note
3-20-2020
Arvada, Colorado
We had scheduled a birthday party with family for my four-year-old son but had to cancel at the last minute as things were rapidly closing due to the pandemic. We made the best of it and scheduled a Zoom meeting with the family to sing happy birthday and blow out candles. This has turned into a weekly check-in/happy hour on Zoom with family.
Colorado Statewide Stay at Home issued 3-26-2020
Teaching Notes
Why are stay at home orders needed during a pandemic?
Does the timing of stay at home orders help protect the population?
Reference note
Screenshot of emergency alert sent to moblie phone.
Captured 3-25-2020 8:22 pm MT
Screenshot of Waze Application 3-28-2020
Teaching Notes
How is technology used to spread information about a pandemic?
What are the risks of going out in public during a pandemic?
Reference note
Screenshot taken of popup notification when opening Waze navigation mobile phone application
Captured 3-28-2020
Arvada, Colorado
Learning from home 4-7-2020
Reference note
My daughter working on school from home 4-7-2020
She is in 4th Grade in Arvada, CO.
In-person school was canceled for all Denver area schools (including hers) on April 3, 2020. She has work assigned Tues. - Fri. each week and typically works from 9am - Noon to complete her work. Her school is fortunate as they all have Chomebooks and used Google Classroom prior to closure, so it was a fairly easy transition to online learning.
wash ur hands.jpg
Corona season after season
Emergency alert: Extreme - Extending the Colorado Statewide Stay at Home Order
Reference note
Screenshot captured on mobile phone 4-11-2020 of emergency alert in Colorado
I will always remember this alert as I was in the kitchen making breakfast when I heard the very distinctive emergency alert tone (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Same.wav) coming from my phone and then then reading the heading "Emergency alert: Extreme". It sent a chill down my spine.
The message of the alert was to extend the Colorado stay at home order out several weeks, but it was widely known that this was going to happen and will probably extend past 3-26-2020. This is being posted 4-17-2020, so what actually happens remains to be seen.
Waiting to get inside the grocery store
Email from Elementary Teacher Cousin
Teaching Notes
In 2020, even families with adult children had concerns about how to protect and house them.
How did a typical family provide for the needs of children, no matter what age?
If adult children returned home, what were the solutions they devised to keep everyone safe? How did college students get home? What happened if foreign students could not return home to their countries of origin?
In the future, will students be able to find primary source evidence of how their ancestors experienced the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic? Where? In what forms? Will anyone save emails?
Reference note
My cousin has been scanning the many pages of a diary kept for fifty years by our great grandfather. She had asked me if I would be interested in transcribing it. I told her that "when things calm down" from all the work that the TPS Teachers Network is doing to support teachers, I would like to help out!
This email has been redacted (personal names blacked out) in case anyone wishes to share it outside the TPS Teachers Network.
Searching for Backgrounds for Zoom Meetings
Teaching Notes
Why did people want to change backgrounds when presenting TPS webinars or teaching online via Zoom?
What other online tools did educators use for teaching?
What was Zoombombing?
What was Zoom anyway?
6’ Hikes
Teaching Notes
Parks and Rec signs now include instructions on distance when walking or hiking (those trails that are still open). This primary source indicates how local governments inform people of required changes in social norms when out and about during a pandemic.
'The Howl'
Teaching Notes
How do different communities pay tribute to Medical Personnel, first responders and other essential workers? In times of chaos how do we show creativity and beauty?
- In Montana we do "The Howl" at 8:00 pm
- In Australia they do the "Howl" on Thursday nights.
- NYC- people applaud from their windows.
- Sound the horn to pay tribute to transit drivers.
- At 6:00 pm Italians open their windows and sing the classic songs and dance.
"In just two weeks, this 18:00 tradition has become fundamental to our daily routine and spread across Italy, becoming the country’s new national pastime to spread hope and boost morale." Erica Firpo
http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20200325-italys-inspiring-response-to-the-coronavirus
Reference note
'In Montana folks are doing the Howl at 8:00. It is to recognize the work being done by medical personnel, first responders and others on the front line during this Covid-19 pandemic. Our dogs joined in on the "Howl".
I know across the nation different communities are paying tribute in their own way.'
My husband Dan Ferris videotaped our dogs and I doing "The Howl"
Tank - Lab/Dane Cross
Diesel - Black Lab puppy
Buddy - Pound Hound Lab Cross
Ollie - Blackfeet Special (Rescue dog from Blackfeet Reservation) She belongs to a friend.
Disinfecting Fruit
Teaching Notes
When disinfecting groceries takes longer than buying them.
A Family 6’ Distance Walk
Teaching Notes
What kind of recreational activities were you able to participate in while keeping within your county or states’ health guidelines?
Reference note
Mulholland Ridge - Orinda/Moraga California
Lunch through a Screen Door
Teaching Notes
Eating indoors while friends/family visit and eat outside. How did you manage to stay connected yet maintain distance while visiting family and friends during the COVID-19 outbreak?
Reference note
Orinda, California
The Masked Librarian
Teaching Notes
On a lighter note, I’m not a seamstress but will give anything a try :-)
Here’s my homemade mask, put together from a t-shirt with the saying "Google Can Bring You Back 100,000 Answers. A Librarian Can Bring You Back the Right One."
Yard Cards
Teaching Notes
When you can’t visit in person, build a Yard Card. What types of signs or decorations have you seen around your neighborhood to bring recognition or smiles while we are retaining our distance?
Teddy Bear Windows
Teaching Notes
Posted on behalf of 
Mary Alice Anderson
After seeing a national news story about Teddy Bears displayed in windows to bring a bit of cheer and encourage neighborhood walking I set out to see what was close by. This one was just two houses away. I found several bears and hearts in my immediate neighborhood. It is such a fun and delightful idea.
Winona, Minnesota. March 2020.
