Watch a demonstration of a search for a primary source QFocus from the Library of Congress, starting with Google. Learn how to do a Google search limited to the Library of Congress website and how to dig into the collections once you get there.
Teaching + Learning
Primary sources are powerful tools to use in learning, but they can pose a challenge for students. What happens when we teach students how to ask their own questions about primary sources? Hear from students and teachers who are using resources from the Library of Congress in combination with the QFT to spark more joy, curiosity, and a deeper engagement with primary source learning.
In this lesson snapshot, a high school ESL 4 class delves into factory farming, sustainability, and the food industry through Michael Pollan's book The Omnivore's Dilemma. They use the QFT twice throughout the unit; once as a pre-reading exercise and later to unpack two juxtaposed primary sources images of farming then and now, armed with knowledge from the book.
The QFocus is often the most challenging part of designing a QFT lesson. It is also an essential piece to get right. Though it gets much easier with practice, there is always a bit of delicacy and iteration involved.
Explore resources to help spark student questions and learning--during Black History Month — and every month.
Using primary sources — photos, newspaper articles, letters, and so much more — in combination with the Question Formulation Technique can be a powerful way for students to ask questions about the past and think about the present. Black History Month is a good opportunity for students to explore primary sources through questions.