Teaching World War II with Primary Sources
The Library of Congress has partnered with filmmaker Ken Burns and PBS on The War. This much anticipated documentary will be a valuable resource for educators who introduce students to this epic period in United States history. Educators who are alumni of the EIU Teaching with Primary Sources and Adventure of the American Mind programs have experienced the compelling collections of the Veteran’s History Project and are aware of the power of personal connections in teaching through building background knowledge or helping students realize the foundation of information they already possess.
At this time we would like to offer links to these resources that we hope will be beneficial to teachers.
EIU TPS Teaching World War II with Primary Sources
This curriculum tool was created with two goals in mind. The first goal is the basis for everything we do at EIU TPS, to familiarize students and teachers with Library of Congress digitized primary sources and collections and guide their use in inquiry-based research techniques. Interpreting historical documents, photos, map, posters, letters, music sheets and more help students gain a better understanding of history as the rich tapestry that it is, rather than a series of facts, dates, names and events.
The second is to help students connect on a personal level with the events, people, places and difficult conditions faced by American families, looking closely at some from Illinois, during World War II.
This booklet contains four sections:
- Primary Sources in the Classroom
- Primary Sources and Analysis Tools
- Library of Congress WWII Resources
- Library of Congress Overview
The War: Stories from Central Illinois
“The War: Stories from Central Illinois” is a collection of stories told by the people who lived WWII, on the battlefront and the home front. WEIU-TV sent out an open invitation to any WWII veteran, spouse or children of veterans to tell their stories. In April of 2007, they we invited to the WEIU-TV studios to tell their personal accounts of the war.
Veterans History Project Companion Site
Ken Burns and his colleagues filmed original interview material for The War. This VHP Web feature offers you a chance to experience some of the events depicted in The War, from the attack on Pearl Harbor to V-E and V-J Day, through additional interviews--as well as letters, diaries, and memoirs--found in the Veterans History Project archives. We’ve outlined topics covered in each of the seven episodes of The War. Highlighted topics are linked to lists of veterans from our archives who participated in those events. The contents of each collection featured in this Viewers Companion may be accessed online. These lists of World War II veterans represent a small sample of our collections from that war.
EIU TPS September Newsletter
The September issue of the Central Illinois Teaching with Primary Sources Newsletter with the theme World War II.
- Go to the Newsletter or download the PDF
