Pam Coomer, library media specialist at Fairdale High School (Jefferson County), was selected from a pool of more than 300 applicants to participate in the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources Summer Teacher Institute June 27-July 1.

Each year, the Library of Congress provides the opportunity for a group of K-12 educators to attend one of its five teacher institutes in Washington, D.C. During the five-day programs, participants work with Library of Congress education specialists and subject-matter experts to learn effective practices for using primary sources in the classroom, while exploring some of the millions of digitized historical artifacts and documents available on the library’s website.

Pam Coomer

Pam Coomer

Educators attending the teacher institutes participate in and develop primary-source-based teaching strategies that they can take back to their school districts, apply in the classroom and share with colleagues. Teaching with primary sources is a powerful way to help students ask engaged, probing questions, develop critical-thinking skills and construct knowledge. All educators may freely access classroom materials, teaching tools and strategies for teaching with primary sources from the library’s site for teachers available here.

Primary sources are the raw materials of history – original documents and objects that were created at the time period under study. They are different from secondary sources – accounts or interpretations of events created by someone without firsthand experience. Students working with primary sources become engaged learners while building critical-thinking skills and constructing new knowledge.

The Library of Congress is the world’s largest library, offering access to the creative record of the United States – and extensive materials from around the world – both on site and online. It is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office. Explore collections, reference services and other programs and plan a visit at loc.gov, access the official site for U.S. federal legislative information at congress.gov and register creative works of authorship at copyright.gov

 

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Pam Coomer pam.coomer@jefferson.kyschools.us