Another Primary Source to Consider: Film

By: Nina Kendall

            Have you been somewhere lately that you didn’t hear a phone buzz or chirp? While Teachers are learning to tweet and Grandparents are sharing pictures on Facebook, students today are using apps like Instagram and Vine to share pictures and video. Pictures have long been standard social media fare, but the addition of film is offering media consumers a way to tell stories differently. With a limit of 15 seconds or less, the format is a challenging obstacle for the storyteller.  Film has been a challenge for each generation of technology pioneers.

            Before America developed industries based on radio and film they had to learn how to use the technology.  The work of Thomas Edison and his peers are the basis of the early collections of sound and film. Their work is extensive and engaging. Through it we can get a glimpse of life from more than 100 years ago. These films have been preserved and digitized for use by the Library of Congress.

Inventing Entertainment  is a Library of Congress Collection of Edison Motion Pictures and sound recordings. This collection is an intriguing record of life in the late 19^th and early 20^th century.  These are Modern America’s home movies. Recorded as part of early experiments with new technology they reflect day to day life from all parts of the country. You can see how trains used to deliver mail or get a glimpse of the ghost dance. 

America at Work and Leisure  is another collection of films from 1894-1915 that you and your students can enjoy. Watch a parade, look at the work loggers do, or a gym class from more than 100 years ago.  These are primary sources that will appeal to students and engage them in conversations about how technology has changed American life and industries.

Here are few ways to use them you can incorporate early film into you classroom:

·         Use as a primary source hook to start a class discussion.

·         Incorporate a film into your class presentation.

·         Have students curate a film collection based on an issue or theme.

·         Have students create their own “wouldagrammed” video project incorporating an early film.

·         Incorporate 1 or more films into a webquest for students to complete.

10+ Ways to Participate in Digital Learning Day on February 5, 2014!

By Nina Kendall

Digital Learning Day will soon be upon us. This event is a chance for us to renew our commitment to educating children in a technology rich environment. You can share your plans and show your commitment by taking the Digital Learning Day pledge. If you are still looking for a few options for your social studies classroom, check out our suggestions.

Freedom Summer: National Youth Summit

Join the conversation at the National Youth Summit on Freedom Summer at 12 pm EST on 2/5/2014.  This is a unique opportunity to use technology to discuss Freedom Summer and the meaning of citizenship with participants in the Civil Rights Movement, other students, and modern activists. Students can submit questions for the summit and hear the responses from those involved. They can gain a sense of common national concerns and the continuing importance of an active citizenry.

#WhatsUpGW

Tweet a question about George Washington to the Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington at Mount Vernon using the hashtag above and they will respond.

Take a Virtual Field Trip

Take a Virtual Tour of the White House or another landmark or museum. Visit our pinterest board for more options.

Created Equal

Learn more about the struggle for equality with Created Equal, a National Film Project Created by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Here you can stream an original film and get suggestions about how to incorporate this resource into class.

Go On Mission US

Play a game to explore events of the past. Go to Mission US and then you choose  a mission. You can fight in the Revolutionary War, travel toward freedom, or struggle with the coming railroad.  These free interactive games can be played online or on an ipad or android tablet.  Students can learn and have fun.

ReadWriteThink Printing Press

Use the ReadWriteThink Printing Press to have students create posters or  brochures that show what they have learned and can share with you electronically.

Explore Abraham Lincoln’s Crossroads

Use the flash-based exhibit at the National Constitution Center to explore the political decisions of Abraham Lincoln. Compare your decisions with this talking Lincoln and deeply examine his struggles.

A More Perfect Union

Learn about Japanese Internment and the struggle for Civil Rights at the Smithsonian’s A More Perfect Union Web exhibit. Here you can explore the crisis surrounding the constitutional conflict and citizens of Japanese descent with primary sources, text, and film.

            Wordle

            Use wordle to help students analyze a historic document for major themes and terms. Students simply cut and paste the text into the generator and generate a shape. The word size represents the frequency it is used. This can be the beginning of a conversation about issues of a period or lead to the development of found poetry.

            iCivics

            Use iCivics to engage student conversations about citizenship and government. Teachers can use their digital resources to teach a lesson or have students play an interactive game. In Do I have a Right?, students demonstrate their knowledge of the rights of citizens. In Supreme Decision, students explore how the Supreme Court works. In Branches of Power, students show what they understand about the government.

            Romare Bearden's Black Odyssey
 
            Visit this site to learn more about the life and works of Romare Bearden. There are audio tour apps of this traveling exhibit available on both iOS and android. There is also a collage creation app available for free on ipads that feature Bearden's backgrounds. Challenge your students to embrace Bearden's remix perspective to make art and craft new stories.