The Presidential Primary Sources Project (Specific Dates January to March 2020).

An outstanding opportunity for your class to participate in a videoconferencing project.

The Internet2 community was founded in 1996 as an advanced technology collaborative environment. It is made up of more than 320 institutions of higher learning, 50+ corporations, and others representing more than 100 countries. The Presidential Primary Sources Project teaches about presidents such as Lincoln, Roosevelt, and Washington from historians and National Park Service rangers.

The series includes the following:

  • Presidential Powers (presidential appointments, pardons and treaties) on January 16.
  • Andrew Jackson and the Trail of Tears (governmental interaction with Native Americans) on January 23.
  • Lincoln in Indiana ((boyhood of Abraham Lincoln) on January 30.
  • Exploring Lincoln in Washington (important Washington DC locations to Lincoln) February 6.
  • JFK Modern Presidential Campaign (power of television, image, and charisma in elections) (February 11).
  • Slavery in George Washington’s World (slavery and the Mount Vernon estate) on February 13.
  • Slavery in George Washington’s World (slavery and the Mount Vernon estate) on February 13.
  • Theodore Roosevelt (power of the presidency) on February 20.
  • Herbert Hoover (Bonus March) on February 27.
  • Ulysses S. Grant (What happened to Ulysses S. Grant’s slave, William Jones?) on March 3.
  • The Roosevelts (important documents related to the Roosevelt years) on March 5.
  • Lincoln (Emancipation Proclamation) on March 10. Theodore Roosevelt (path to presidency) on March 12.
  • Truman (Truman defeats Dewey) on March 24.
  • Ulysses S. Grant (civil rights and reconstruction) on March 26.

A quick google form with your email, name, phone, school, grade, type of school, # of students, city, state, time zone, and possible tech phone number will get you set up to go. The presenters will contact you to confirm and offer testing of videoconference connection before the date of the presentation. These interactive video discussions and exposure to primary source documents should provide an outstanding resource for your students.

Click here to be redirected to the Internet2 Presidential Primary Sources Project.

Looking for related sources?

Check out my TPT store for these differentiated passages with comprehension questions: (Click on the cover to be redirected to TPT.)