Presidential Library Websites Article

By Terry Funk
CA

Lamb, A., & Johnson, L. (2015). Rethinking President's Month Projects through Presidential Library Websites. Teacher Librarian, 42(3), 64-68.

Rethinking President's Month Projects through Presidential Library Websites

Summary: This article is jammed packed with resources/links for engaging youth during February - Presidents’ month. It includes: Digital exhibits and collections, primary source documents, photos, cartoons, audio, and video. The article explains the strengths of various formats by giving a link to one or more Presidents, e.g. photographs – Kennedy library media gallery. Several sites have a kids’ links and lesson plans. Themes such as American Disabilities Act, Civil Rights, and Energy and Environment that span across Presidential terms are also great topics for study. Instead of having students write a paper, the article suggests creating online presentations, using timelines, apps, and social media and supplies the information on how to do that. Of course, teaching students how to use search tools and other options is key to successfully navigation of online resources.

Evaluation: Wow! Great article for Teacher Librarians to refer to when collaborating with History/Social Science teachers across grade levels about Presidents. I never realized this treasure trove of information about Presidents existed online. The 20^th Century Presidents are associated with National Archive and Records Administration (NARA) Cooperative Program http://www.archives.gov/presidential-libraries/ and earlier presidents have libraries associated with nonprofit organizations and foundations. So glad I found this!