STEAM Primary Sources at the Library of Congress

Historical primary sources can be used in virtually any classroom, from the social studies to STEAM and kindergarten to high school. The most time consuming part of using primary sources is finding the right ones to use in your own classroom.

Here are some STEAM primary sources and strategies from Trey Smith, Science Teacher in Residence 2015-2016 at the Library of Congress:

• • Invasive Species and Historic Newspapers from Chronicling America

• • Electric Cars, Energy, and Engineering

• • Communicating between Continents with Cables and Code

• • Thomas Jefferson’s Measurement Problem

• • Concussions, a Century of Controversy, and Football
  • Mapping the Ocean Floor, Marie Tharp, and Making Arguments from Evidence

Each of these offers a few primary sources as well as inquiry strategies and classroom activities. You could also pair these primary sources with any of the literacy strategies from other ps strategies. 

Here are some more primary source sets good for STEAM instruction:

• • Understanding the Cosmos: Changing Models of the Solar System and the Universe

• • Weather Forecasting

• • Scientific Data: Observing, Recording, and Communicating Information

• • The Inventive Wright Brothers

• • Architectural Drawings
  • Science and Technology Digital Collections

Happy exploring!