Historic newspapers are excellent primary resources for use in K-12 classrooms, especially for activities meeting Oregon Common Core standards in Social Sciences and English Language Arts. The Oregon Digital Newspaper Program’s Historic Oregon Newspapers online, and the Library of Congress’ Chronicling America website provide free access to keyword searchable historic newspapers that can be used in almost any lesson.

Oregon Common Core State Standards

The Oregon Digital Newspaper Program has developed lesson plans geared toward Oregon common core standards, based on common topics in Oregon history (geared toward 4th grade) and American history (geared toward 8th grade) that can be adapted to any grade level. Each lesson plan provides an overview, list of applicable Oregon Common Core State Standards, materials, vocabulary, extension ideas, and additional resources.

Lesson plans:

• Social Sciences – Grade 4
• English Language Arts – Grade 4
• Social Sciences – Grades 6-8
• English Language Arts – Grades 6-8
• High School Common Core

Tutorial Video: Using Historic Newspapers in the Classroom

Additional Resources

EDSITEment: The Best of the Humanities on the Web – An online resource for teachers, students, and parents looking for high quality educational materials, lesson plans, and websites covering a wide range of topics in the humanities; a project of the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Trust for the Humanities.

Links to K-12 Resources from the Library of Congress:

1. @TeachingLC Activity Using Primary Sources
2. Visualizing Change with Historic Images
3. Political Cartoons in U.S. History
4. 10 Ways to Enrich Classroom with Primary Sources, Part 1
5. 10 Ways to Enrich Classroom with Primary Sources, Part 2

Links to Videos Provided by the History, Philosophy, and Newspaper Library at the University of Illinois

1. American Newspapers, 1800-1860: Introduction
2. Growth of American Newspapers, 1800-1860
3. American Newspapers, 1800-1960: City Papers
4. American Newspapers, 1800-1860: County Papers
5. Types of Sources and Where to Find Them: Part I: Primary Sources
6. Types of Sources and Where to Find Them: Part II: Secondary Sources
7. Why Use Anything Other than Google for Historical Research?
8. Analyzing a Topic