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As students (or teachers) are sequestered at home, give them a creative outlet that encourages them to explore and learn about primary sources in the Library of Congress.
Daily or as often as possible, have them reflect on an activity, object or feeling they have encountered during their day and take a photograph of that. Then have them search the Photos, Prints, Drawings collections in the Library to find an image that corresponds. They might start with the Free To Use collections: https://www.loc.gov/free-to-use/
They can also flip this process by starting with a primary source and then taking a photo of a corresponding item in their home or surroundings.
Next students upload the two images to a slide. They might use Keynote, PowerPoint or Google Slides, all can export a slide as an image. They can share these on a class or school website or an approved social media site.
This will be good exercise to keep students connected and to personalize primary sources. And photography is fun!
In this album is my start. All are welcome to jump in with your own photos and primary source reflections. Just be sure to add the date and a caption to your corresponding photo.
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As I looked at these photos I thought of the Library of Congress collection After the Day of Infamy: "Man-on-the-Street" Interviews Following the Attack on Pearl Harbor with interviews gathered Dec. 8, 1941.
The September 11 Documentary Project also came to mind.
Questions:
- Does anyone know if LOC has started documenting the COVID19 pandemic?
- How are you/we documenting our experiences? I have made notes on my digital calendar. A friend is saving pertinent emails she writes and those she receives.
Good comparison connections, thanks for the suggestions 
Mary Alice Anderson
. Also important to document our experiences in this unique time. I’m collecting all the Photos our family takes during this sequester and holding them in a digital album.
According to this article from the New York Times, "Last week, the Library of Congress received its first Covid-19 collection: street scenes from New York, New Jersey and California by the photographer Camilo Jose Vergara. In addition to documenting stay-at-home life, mask styles, health care workers, the economic impact and how people are helping one another. The Library of Congress is also collecting web content, data and maps."
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