Folklife Resources for Educators

Sponsoring Organization Information

Library of Congress
101 Independence Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20540-1300 (202) 707-5000

Baseball: Across a Divided Society - Primary Source Set
by Library of Congress
http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/primarysourcesets/baseball/

Sheet music, video clips, images, trading cards, and photographs tell the story of how baseball emerged as the American national pastime. Featured primary source items show Americans from different backgrounds and social experiences embracing the sport. A Teacher Guide (7 p. PDF) provides background on baseball in the context of American social and economic history, including a focus on minority participation, and a discussion of baseball in both urban and rural contexts.

Sponsoring Organization:
Library of Congress
101 Independence Avenue, SE
Washington DC 20540-1300
(202) 707-5000
http://www.loc.gov/teachers/

Civil War Music - Primary Source Set
by Library of Congress
http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/primarysourcesets/civil-war-music/

Sound files, sheet music, photographs, letters, and maps help students better understand the American Civil War through the study of the popular song, "When Johnny Comes Marching Home." The resources in this primary source set are intended for classroom use. Includes a Civil War Music teacher's guide (6 p. PDF), and photographs, audio recordings, maps, and manuscript materials drawn from the Library of Congress' online digital collections. There is also a link to primary source analysis tools.

Sponsoring Organization:
Library of Congress
101 Independence Avenue, SE
Washington DC 20540-1300
(202) 707-5000
http://www.loc.gov/teachers/

Dust Bowl Migration -- Primary Source Set
by Library of Congress
http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/primarysourcesets/dust-bowl-migration/

Photographs, recorded music, and song lyrics document the daily ordeals of rural migrant families from the Great Plains during a decade marked by both the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression. The resources in this primary source set are intended for classroom use. Includes a Dust Bowl Migration Teacher Guide (8 p. PDF), photographs, and sound recordings collected at California migrant labor camps, and a link to primary source analysis tools.

Sponsoring Organization:
Library of Congress
101 Independence Avenue, SE
Washington DC 20540-1300
(202) 707-5000
http://www.loc.gov/teachers/

Explore Your Community: A Community Heritage Poster for the Classroom
by American Folklife Center
http://www.loc.gov/folklife/poster/

Poster designed for the middle and high school classroom to encourage students to learn more about their own communities by engaging in documentation and field projects. Includes suggestions for heritage studies and community projects, such as interviewing friends and classmates about school-related traditions and developing a walking tour of a local historical neighborhood. The poster is also available free of charge from the American Folklife Center.

Sponsoring Organization:
American Folklife Center. Library of Congress
101 Independence Ave, SE, LJ-G49
Washington DC 20540-4610
(202) 707-5510
http://www.loc.gov/folklife/

Other Organizations:
Rural School and Community Trust
1530 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 240
Arlington VA 22209
(703) 243-1487
http://www.ruraledu.org/index.php

Hispanic Exploration in America - Primary Source Set
by Library of Congress
http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/primarysourcesets/hispanic-exploration/

Maps, drawings, a sound recording, paintings, written documents and presentations outline the role of Hispanic explorers in the discovery, exploration, and development of America. The resources in this primary source set are intended for classroom use. Includes a Hispanic Exploration in America teacher guide (7 p. PDF), and audio recordings, maps, and other manuscript materials drawn from the Library of Congress' online digital collections. There is also a link to primary source analysis tools.

Sponsoring Organization:
Library of Congress
101 Independence Avenue, SE
Washington DC 20540-1300
(202) 707-5000
http://www.loc.gov/teachers/

Les Bon Hommes Du Nord: French-Canadian Fiddle Music & Songs from New Hampshire
by American Folklife Center
http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=5687

Patrick Ross and Jean Theroux present a program of fiddle tunes and songs drawn from their French-Canadian heritage. They will be joined by Dalton Binette and Bow Thayer. All four musicians hail from the northernmost area of New Hampshire, adjacent to the Canadian border, across which people and cultural influences have flowed steadily over the last hundred years or more. The fiddle, accordion, and guitar are the most common instruments used in French-Canadian music.

Sponsoring Organization:
American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
101 Independence Ave, SE, LJ-G49
Washington DC 20540
202-707-4430
www.loc.gov/folklife

Thanksgiving - Primary Source Set
by Library of Congress
http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/primarysourcesets/thanksgiving/

Study photographs, paintings, letters, and official proclamations to discover historical perspectives on American Thanksgiving holiday traditions, beginning with the pilgrims who came to North America on the Mayflower. The resources in this primary source set are intended for classroom use. Includes a Thanksgiving teacher's guide (6 p. PDF), and photographs and manuscript materials drawn from the Library of Congress' online digital collections, and a link to primary source analysis tools.

Sponsoring Organization:
Library of Congress
101 Independence Avenue, SE
Washington DC 20540-1300
(202) 707-5000
http://www.loc.gov/teachers/

Unukupukupu Halau Hula: AFC Homegrown Concert
by American Folklife Center
http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=5648

Unukupukupu is the traditional Halau Hula (Hula School) of Hawai`i Community College, Hilo, Hawai`i. Here ancient dances and songs, rooted in the sacred `Aiha`a Pele (Ritual Dance of Volcanic Phenomena) intermingle with the rigor of academic inquiry.

Sponsoring Organization:
American Folklife Center. Library of Congress
101 Independence Ave, SE, LJ-G49
Washington DC 20540
202-707-5510
www.loc.gov/folklife