Teaching with Primary Sources Eastern Region at Waynesburg University provides free professional development and classroom materials for K-12 educators and pre-service teachers that support the effective use of primary sources and TPS-related materials from the Library of Congress' vast digital collections. Professional development activities under the TPS program include: TPS Foundations, TPS Across the Curriculum, and TPS Coaches. K-12 educators are welcome to participate in any or all workshops offered by TPS Consortium members, depending on their interests.
TPS BASICS
TPS BASICS supports educators in using the Library’s collections of millions of digitized primary sources to enrich students’ critical thinking and analysis skills.
TPS Across the Curriculum
TPS Across the Curriculum enhances the ability of educators to design student-centered primary source-based lessons that infuse carefully selected primary sources and content-specific knowledge to reach learning targets.
If These Monuments Could Talk: The Whiskey Rebellion, Popular Rights, and the Meaning of the First Amendment
A classroom-tested inquiry serves as a case-study to show how student-driven historical investigation can be the impetus for informed civic action. Participants actively engage with the same historic monuments, folklore, and primary sources from loc.gov used by eighth-grade students during an inquiry of the Whiskey Rebellion. Ultimately, the goal is to investigate the tenants of the First Amendment and how civic engagement impacts the local community today.
- Whiskey Rebellion Workshop Agenda and Lesson Plan
- Whiskey Rebellion PowerPoint Presentation
- Whiskey Rebellion Worksheets
- Whiskey Rebellion Primary Source Set
Designing C3 Inquiries with Library of Congress Political Cartoons
This online interactive class for middle and high school teachers and librarians combines the Library of Congress Herblock Cartoon Exhibit: Pointing their Pens and the C3 Inquiry Design Model to create ready-to-go visually-based inquiries leading to civic action. Participants will: analyze political cartoons using the Library of Congress Analysis Tool and the SCIM-C strategy; explore ways to support student generated questions for National History Day research projects; and design a classroom-ready inquiry using Library of Congress political cartoons and the C3 IDM Blueprint.
Oral History as Inquiry into the Long Civil Rights Movement
This in depth inquiry focuses on The Long Civil Rights Movement content and topics through the voices of ordinary people found in the oral history collections at the Library of Congress Folk Life Center. Educators who take this online class analyze twelve featured oral histories and develop historically informed interview questions to use in a live interview with a person who experienced the Long Civil Rights Movement. This live interview is recorded on StoryCorps.me and archived at the Library of Congress. We also examine best practices for conducting and archiving oral history interviews using resources from the Library of Congress Veterans History Project and recommendations from the Oral History Association for using oral history in the classroom. As a final project, participants develop their own inquiry plans that follow an Inquiry Design Model based on the C3 Framework and uses featured sources from the Library of Congress.
STEM: Using Primary Sources to Address Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Across the Curriculum
The Library of Congress contains historically significant technical documents that can be used to promote science, technology, engineering and mathematics into the classroom. Throughout this workshop participants will investigate the changing nature of science and technology and how they affect society. Participants will explore how to use primary source analysis in their classrooms to decipher evidence of technological advancements.
Spring 2016 Agenda
Spring 2015 Agenda
TPS Coaches
TPS Coaches engages educators and professional development providers in a community of educators dedicated to the improvement of education through the use of primary sources to support inquiry teaching and learning.
TPS Level III: Coaches Academy for Teachers
This six-week course for K-12 teachers and supports the development of leadership skills and knowledge. Through sample activities, peer discussions, and independent reading from a variety of professional organizations, participants gain a basic understanding of adult learning theory, peer coaching strategies, and facilitation techniques. The course prepares teacher leaders to guide educational colleagues to effectively use digitized primary sources from the Library of Congress to better support student learning. As a culminating project, participants design a strategy and plan to coach colleagues at their schools.
Spring 2016 Agenda
Spring 2015 Agenda
TPS Level III: Coaches Academy for Librarians
Develop valuable skills and information to share with your school community—become your school's TPS Coach! Coaches Academy for Librarians is a FREE online professional development course designed by and facilitated by librarian and TPS educational consultant, Jennifer Hanson, to help you develop the skills and knowledge you need to lead teachers in your school to use Library of Congress digitized sources effectively across the curriculum.
Spring 2015 Agenda
Fall 2014 Agenda
Content created and featured in partnership with the TPS program
does not indicate an endorsement by the Library of Congress.