Educators Blog

Can you see what the Washington family is admiring on the table?  It is a map of Washington D.C. This print was made in 1798, so the City was still under construction.  Congress held its first session there on November 17,1800.  But the commissioners in charge of construction  had decided on September 9, 1791 to name the City after the first president.

The Historical Society of Pennsylvania has debuted a new short video series:  "Stories from the Archives" that might be useful in the classroom.  Each month a staff person shares something from our vast collection that he or she finds particularly interesting.  Each video is less than three minutes and provides teachers a quick way to either pique interest in a subject, showcase what an archive is, or illustrate a primary source for a topic under study.

With the Day That Will Live in Infamy last week, I got to thinking about how teachers might find resources on www.hsp.org for teaching about World War II.  While one could just search the whole website, sometimes it is helpful to have an inside guide to know where to look.

I just saw the movie Lincoln last night.  Fascinating movie for portraying Lincoln as the consummate politician - and a good period piece too. I wonder if any of you are using the movie's popularity as a way of discussing the Civil War or the 13th Amendment in your classroom? Share your ideas here.