Everything is a Primary Source returns to the NCSS Exhibitor's Hall

Watch this intro video!

Here's a preview of some of the primary sources I'd like to talk about with you!  

See You Soon,

Eric

Hello TPS Network!

It's been a minute since I posted about the status of my TPS internship project for the Library of Congress so I wanted to offer an update and ask for some potential input. 

Coming into my internship I had a clear but fairly general research topic: American propaganda during World War I. Inspired by some of the analyses of propaganda and political cartoons I had done as a high schooler, I singled out the WWI poster collection at the Library because of the robust assortment of images and messages. I have spent the last several months narrowing that focus to make it slightly more nuanced and (hopefully) as engaging as possible for a high-school audience. I learned through my research that the war was defined by many kinds of media, particularly music and newspapers, and I was inspired by my counterpart   Dhruv Kulkarni to explore some of these other mediums. Relying heavily on various blog posts, Chronicling America materials, and the different sections of the 'Echoes of the Great War' exhibit from 2017, I began steadily compiling a list of primary sources beyond just the posters I had started with. 

The search was not without its own set of obstacles. One of the biggest was trying to differentiate between topics that I found personally very interesting and material that I thought would be more suitable for students wanting a focused means of improving their competency with primary sources (I still, for example, think a historical examination of the evolution of figures such as Uncle Sam or Columbia would make for a fascinating research paper!). Additionally, understanding the different copyright restrictions of certain digital materials, navigating the accessibility considerations for recordings with no transcripts, and even simply sifting through the abundance of related materials the Library has to offer proved to be learning curves. Luckily, my internship has afforded me many new, very beneficial connections with LOC staff who were able to help me find some direction;   Michael Apfeldorf , for example, was among the first to show me how to use the Chronicling America editions. Danna Bell  recommended listening to the recordings in the American Leaders Speak Collection, while   Rachel Gordon offered some new topics and keywords to investigate, including the school garden armies and library war service. This year's Einstein Fellows   Jessica Fries-Gaither  and   Ralph Pantozzi helped me put many of my ideas into the context of a classroom, and I was even able to set up a call with one of the curators of the 'Echoes of the Great War' exhibit, Cheryl Regan, to get recommendations on approaches to researching WWI.  

More recently, I had the chance to meet with Megan Harris to explore the work of the Veteran's History Project. They introduced me to a very interesting source that I am not sure will fit within the parameters of my project, but would contribute nicely to a history lesson about the experiences of soldiers involved in the trench warfare of WWI; Irving Greenwald kept a pocket-sized diary in which he recorded his time training in Camp Upton and later while fighting in France. Though the pages are virtually illegible due to the minute size of Greenwald's writing, his sister Lena and daughter Cecilie dutifully transcribed Greenwald's entries after his passing in 1937. As a teacher, you could have students read sections of the diary and think about questions including: 

• What do these accounts tell us about the experiences of soldiers in WWI?  

• Do the anecdotes of this diary fit with your previous ideas about the war based on studies and media depictions? Why or why not? 
• Most of Greenwald's entries are quite short with quick, minimal statements and sentence fragments - why do you think Greenwald writes his entries in this way?

As I enter the final stages of the project, I am feverishly brainstorming the best ways to implement the sources I have identified in the classroom. I am currently thinking of taking a three-step approach: the first activity being an instructor-led analysis of one or two of the posters I have identified and allowing students to begin thinking about terms like 'propaganda' and 'patriotism'. The second activity intends to expand on their primary source-analysis skills by looking at examples of recruitment songs, both annotated sheet music form and their corresponding recordings, and assessing how they contribute to or counter their definition of propaganda. Then, finally, ending with some of the speeches from the 1920 presidential election to hear how politicians from the time addressed the masses about patriotism, nationalism, and Americanization in the aftermath of the war. In this final stage, I would really like for students to make connections to more contemporary examples of propaganda and political messaging, either exploring how messages are presented today/have been presented more recently, or having students create some sort of response to or guide for identifying propaganda.  

In an effort to be as responsible as possible when giving students the reigns in this section, I ask you all, as the experts, if you have any advice or recommendations for making connections between political messaging of the past and more recent political messaging. The Library has ample material on the First World War, are there other periods or moments you think would provide equally rich examples? If you have explored propaganda with classes, what were some strategies that worked best for you? 

Have you checked your state's Center for the Book lately? Did you know that's a program that is part of the Professional Learning and Outreach Initiatives office just like TPS? What can you find out about your own Center for the Book? How could you use it with your students? They're all looking for partnerships!

Check it out! https://www.loc.gov/programs/center-for-the-book/about-this-program/ 

  Pre K - 2   3 - 5   6 - 8   9 - 12   Library   Center for the Book  

I'm excited to be at the NCSS / TPS Poster Session this year sharing work with friend and new regional grantee in Detroit, June Teisan !

Come chat with me about the work we've been doing to connect primary sources with STEAM and place-, problem-, and project-based learning with teachers in Detroit.

Here's the poster. And you can learn more about InnovatED313's summer institute for teachers here.

Here's a little more background: I first met June as an Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow in 2014. Since then, we've been writing together (blog post, book chapter) about STEAM + PBL. And I'm thrilled that we've been able to identify connections with primary sources to this work.