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The Wheels on the Bus...primary sources for K - 3rd learners

Album Description

When introducing primary sources to any learner, not just the young, having images that are familiar yet not is a gateway to deeper interest and engagement. There are many topics to explore, this one is the SCHOOL BUS. 

Virtually every school public or private has a school bus of some kind. But when did school buses get their start?  Turns our, it was way back in the 19th century with School Wagons that bounced and rattled the kids to school. These gave way to elongated and covered pickup truck like contraptions that eventually became the Bluebird yellow bus that patrol the streets of America today.  

One activity for little (or big) learners is to print sets of images of school buses from various decades, including school wagons, and have the students attempt to sort them into chronological order.  This will, inevitably, lead to "I Wonder" questions. 

Don't forget to include at least ONE story from the Magic School Bus series. School buses are, indeed, magic because they transport us on field trips!!! 

School Bus

Teaching Notes

In what decade do you think this photo was taken? What are some clues? What season is it? 

Reference link: http://www.loc.gov/item/ncr001537/

Reference note

Contributor Names

  • Wilson, William A. (William Albert), 1933- (Photographer)

Created / Published

  • May, 1978

Subject Headings

  • -  Education
  • -  School buses
  • -  Activities
  • -  Paradise Valley School
  • -  Photographs
  • -  Ethnography

Genre

  • Photographs
  • Ethnography

Repository

  • American Folklife Center

Digital Id

Ford Motor Co. (Rockville school bus)

Teaching Notes

What decade is this from?  How do you know?

Reference link: http://www.loc.gov/item/2016839714/

Reference note

Created / Published

  • [1925]

Genre

  • Glass negatives

Notes

  • -  Title from unverified data provided by the National Photo Company on the negative or negative sleeve.
  • -  Date from negatives in same range.
  • -  Gift; Herbert A. French; 1947.
  • -  General information about the National Photo Company collection is available at http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.npco
  • -  This glass negative might show streaks and other blemishes resulting from a natural deterioration in the original coatings.
  • -  Temp note: Batch three.

Repository

Digital Id

  • npcc 13446 //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/npcc.13446

Lineup of school buses near Wells, Texas

Teaching Notes

When were these buses used? How are they similar to the ones we ride today? How are they different? 

Reference link: http://www.loc.gov/item/2017783111/

Reference note

Contributor Names

  • Lee, Russell, 1903-1986, photographer

Created / Published

  • 1939 Apr.

Subject Headings

  • -  United States--Texas--Cherokee County--Wells
  • -  Small towns--Texas

Genre

  • Safety film negatives

Notes

  • -  Title and other information from caption card.
  • -  Transfer; United States. Office of War Information. Overseas Picture Division. Washington Division; 1944.
  • -  More information about the FSA/OWI Collection is available at http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.fsaowi
  • -  Temp. note: usf34batch4
  • -  Film copy on SIS roll 22, frame 1917.

Repository

Digital Id

  • fsa 8b21706 //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsa.8b21706

Holy Child School, Suffern, New York. School bus

Teaching Notes

This is a tricky one. When was this one used? Was it for a big school or a small school? 

Reference link: http://www.loc.gov/item/2018741302/

Reference note

Contributor Names

  • Gottscho-Schleisner, Inc., photographer

Created / Published

  • 1942 May 29.

Subject Headings

  • -  Religious education
  • -  United States--New York (State)--Suffern

Genre

  • Acetate negatives

Notes

  • -  Title and date from original negative sleeves or photographer's registers.
  • -  Credit line: Gottscho-Schleisner Collection, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.
  • -  General information about the Gottscho-Schleisner Collection is available at: https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.gsc
  • -  Forms part of: Gottscho-Schleisner Collection (Library of Congress)
  • -  Temp. note: Batch four.

Repository

  • Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA

Digital Id

Tip Estes' children boarding a school bus near Fowler, Indiana

Teaching Notes

What do you think about how these student had to get onto the bus? 

Reference link: http://www.loc.gov/item/2017763843/

Reference note

Contributor Names

  • Lee, Russell, 1903-1986, photographer

Created / Published

  • 1937 Apr.

Subject Headings

  • -  United States--Indiana--Benton County--Fowler
  • -  Tip Estes--Indiana

Genre

  • Nitrate negatives

Notes

  • -  Title and other information from caption card.
  • -  Transfer; United States. Office of War Information. Overseas Picture Division. Washington Division; 1944.
  • -  More information about the FSA/OWI Collection is available at http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.fsaowi
  • -  Temp. note: usf34batch1

Repository

Evening star. [volume], April 24, 1955, Page PAGE 5, Image 170

Teaching Notes

Do you and your teacher have to wash the school bus at the end of the day? 

Reference link: https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1955-04-24/ed-1/seq-170/#date1=1777&index=0&rows=20&words=schoolbus&searchType=basic&sequence=0&state=&date2=1963&proxtext=schoolbus&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1

Reference note

Newspaper: Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972
Newspaper Link: https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1955-04-24/ed-1/seq-170/#date1=1777&index=0&rows=...
Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC
PDF Link: https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1955-04-24/ed-1/seq-170.pdf

Goats congregate near and in one of four old school buses at Prodigal Farm, near Durham in Rougemont, North Carolina

Teaching Notes

What do you think happens to school buses when they wear out and can't be used for students any longer? 

Reference link: http://www.loc.gov/item/2017883892/

Reference note

Contributor Names

  • Highsmith, Carol M., 1946-, photographer

Created / Published

  • 2017-11-15.

Subject Headings

  • -  United States--North Carolina--Durham County--Rougemont
  • -  America
  • -  Prodigal Farm
  • -  Dave Krabbe
  • -  Kathryn Spann
  • -  Goat farms
  • -  Old school buses

Genre

  • Digital photographs--Color--2010-2020

Notes

  • -  Title, date and keywords based on information provided by the photographer.
  • -  This is a working, 97-acre longtime tobacco farm turned to goat raising (once the ruminants had eaten the rampant poison ivy) that produces farmstead cheeses, breads, produce and specialty items. The animals don't live in the buses, but they retreat there during rainstorms (goats curiously dislike getting wet) and other severe weather.
  • -  Included in the Prodigal Farm herd (in 2017) are 85 "milkers," 165 kids born this year, and three breeding rams.
  • -  Purchase; Carol M. Highsmith Photography, Inc.; 2017; (DLC/PP-2016:103-7).
  • -  Forms part of: Carol M. Highsmith's America Project in the Carol M. Highsmith Archive.
  • -  Credit line: Photographs in Carol M. Highsmith's America Project in the Carol M. Highsmith Archive, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.

Repository

Digital Id

  • highsm 47218 //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/highsm.47218

Evening star. [volume], March 02, 1958, Page 29, Image 153

Teaching Notes

School bus safety is always a concern. Drivers don't always respect the laws. This school superintendent had a good solution for the parents. What do you think about it? 

Reference link: https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1958-03-02/ed-1/seq-153/#date1=1777&sort=relevance&rows=20&words=school-bus&searchType=basic&sequence=0&index=9&state=&date2=1963&proxtext=schoolbus&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=6

Reference note

Newspaper: Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972
Newspaper Link: https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1958-03-02/ed-1/seq-153/#date1=1777&sort=relevanc...
Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC
PDF Link: https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1958-03-02/ed-1/seq-153.pdf

Country District School Wagon

Teaching Notes

School bus or not a school bus? What clues help you decide? 

Reference link: http://www.loc.gov/item/2014690221/

Reference note

Contributor Names

  • Bain News Service, publisher

Created / Published

  • [between ca. 1910 and ca. 1915]

Genre

  • Glass negatives

Notes

Repository

Digital Id

  • ggbain 10237 //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ggbain.10237

Transylvania, LA.jpg

Teaching Notes

School bus or not? 

Reference link: https://www.loc.gov/item/2017738702/

Reference note

  • Carrying children home from school by wagon and mules near Transylvania Project, Louisiana, 1939

Abandoned school bus occupied by two workers from Fort Bragg, North Carolina in a settlement near the fort

Teaching Notes

What other uses can you think of for old school buses?

Reference link: http://www.loc.gov/item/2017793674/

Reference note

Contributor Names

  • Delano, Jack, 1914-1997, photographer

Created / Published

  • 1941 Mar.

Subject Headings

  • -  United States--North Carolina--Cumberland County--Fort Bragg

Genre

  • Safety film negatives

Notes

  • -  Title and other information from caption card.
  • -  Transfer; United States. Office of War Information. Overseas Picture Division. Washington Division; 1944.
  • -  More information about the FSA/OWI Collection is available at http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.fsaowi
  • -  Temp. note: usf34batch5
  • -  Film copy on SIS roll 3, frame 851.

Repository

Digital Id

  • fsa 8c04749 //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsa.8c04749

Modified school bus

Teaching Notes

Another old school bus...what could this be used for?

Hint: in some places they are used to haul a fruit that is big and heavy, green on the outside and red on the inside, and we love to eat it in the summer time 

Reference link: http://www.loc.gov/item/cmns000833/

Reference note

Contributor Names

  • Hufford, Mary, 1952- (Photographer)

Created / Published

  • 1997/08

Subject Headings

  • -  August
  • -  Summer
  • -  Customized vehicles
  • -  Qualitative excess
  • -  Photographs
  • -  Ethnography
  • -  West Virginia -- Logan County -- Man

Genre

  • Photographs
  • Ethnography

Repository

  • American Folklife Center

Digital Id

Williams County, ND.jpg

Teaching Notes

How did this school bus get from place to place to pick up students? 

Reference link: https://www.loc.gov/item/2017780863/

Reference note

  • Old school bus. Williams County, North Dakota

Contributor Names

  • Lee, Russell, 1903-1986, photographer

Created / Published

  • 1937 Oct