Newseum announced Wednesday that it launched a new site, NewseumED, which offers lessons plans and resources for elementary, middle and high school students “to make history relevant today and to help educators shed new light on current debates about the First Amendment and media ethics.”
The site (which is free to use after registering) has 86 lessons plans, including two collections on civil rights and suffragists. The lesson plans focus on three areas — historical connections, media literacy and civics and citizenship. In media literacy, students can examine how journalists worked in the past and how they work today.
According to the press release:
The educational content is framed by the freedoms and ideals protected by the First Amendment, which acts as a springboard to explore more about the opportunities and challenges of our democracy.
Here’s a look at some of the original documents in the collection, which include journalism from the time:
The Lily, 1852 (Screen shot, NewseumED)
Daily Star Extra, April 7, 1865 (Screen shot, NewseumED)
Cleveland Daily Plain Dealer, Dec. 24, 1861 (Screen shot, NewseumED)
Pittsburgh Courier, September 7, 1963 (Screen shot, NewseumED)
Reporter Jim Purks’ notebook from the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, 1963 (Screen shot, NewseumED)
