AMERICAN MEMORY

An online U.S. History collection of the Library of Congress: great breadth of material, reliability of sources, and great cross-referencing within LOC and to other government sites.

LOC has been digitizing materials for years:

• Documents
• Photographs
• Film
• Maps
• Audio recordings

The documents are often shown in original form: can be used for teaching students about using primary sources. (GOVT 1)

Large collection: it helps to use search aids. ( if you do a regular key word search for ìarmyî, limiting our search results to 1000, you will get 1000 records as a result!)

To search: Use Boolean operators, phrases in quotations, and check search tips for good hints: things you might not think about, like searching using a historically used term like ìsuffrageî whereas today youíll see ìvoting rightsî far more often.

Note: on the right you can limit by types of materials.

OR: Use Collections features: Collection Finder to see them grouped by topic, or click List all collections for an alphabetical title list.

Note: "show descriptions" expands each listing with more information about the collection.

Note that collections can be grouped by:

• broad topics
• time period
• area of the US
• format
• which division of the LOC

Click on each of these to modify your search ñ this narrows down which of the collections are listed (and searched) below. Note you can further select by clicking on/off using the check boxes.

Example:in History Collections :

Coolidge Era: the transition of America from agrarian to an industrial economy (VUS 8b).
Note: the collection is searchable and has extras: ìSpecial Presentationsî :

• explanation of time and of content.
• Glossary of terms and of people. Note the links ñ itís all cross-referenced.

Slavery, segregation etc. (VUS 6C, 7B) - note there are a number of collections.

Woman Suffrage (VUS 8d) - two collections: books and pamphlets, and images.

TIP: try finding specific subjects by using the ìEdit-Findî feature of your browser to search around this page. ìPearlî takes you to:

Pearl Harbor and Public Reactions, man-on-the-street sentiment illustrating American attitudes toward WWII (VUS 10a)

The Learning Page - The educational component of American Memory (access via main page)

Complete lesson plans, listed by topic and grade level. All use the AmMem online collection. Examples:

• Under Civics and Government: the debate surrounding the Constitution (VUS 5)
• ìFrom Jim Crow to Linda Brownî ñ the era of legal segregation from Plessy vs. Ferguson through Brown vs. Board of Ed. (VUS 8C),
• Great Depression, compared to the 1990s. (VUS 9c)

On main lesson plan page, also note Media Analysis Tools: information and tips for using primary source materials as a teaching tool. (VA SOL: 1)

Features and Activities are online web quests: students work through with a minimum of direction.

Example: American Memory Timeline ñ an online history textbook.

Also see Collection Connections - ways to integrate collections into curriculum. Example: Voices from the Dust Bowl (migrant workers stories from the Great Depression)

• Text, images and sound files all used in activities
• Cross-referenced w/several areas of study
• Links to other primary sources

NOTE: "(GOVT. ##)" or "(VUS ##)" refers to the corresponding Virginia Standard Of Learning (S.O.L.).

WORKSHOP:
SITES ABOUT U.S. HISTORY

• Avalon Project
• Ourdocuments.gov
• SIRS
• American Memory
• National Archives & Records
• Vietnam Project

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