Lessons & Activities

We are living through history right now, and future generations will want to know: “What was life like in the 21st Century?” Maine libraries are creating an online, living time capsule of these times, and we want the thoughts and experiences of your students to be included!

Lessons incorporate creative projects, are compatible with distance learning, and align with Maine Learning Results.
Completed projects can be contributed to a Maine Contemporary Archives site to share with your community.
The photos, artwork, sound recordings, writing, and interviews your students create today will become the historical record of tomorrow.

Collect Your Community's Stories

What was life like in your neighborhood, town or community before you were born? How is it different now? This lesson plan will help you learn more about your community by conducting interviews with your neighbors, friends, and family.

Lesson Plan (PDF)

Exploring Portraits: Pictures That Tell A Story

What can a portrait tell us about a person, their experiences, and the world they live in? In this lesson, students will learn strategies for engaging with a portrait by identifying its elements and uncovering its layers of meaning. Students will then create an original portrait or self-portrait using the medium of their choice and present their artwork and the story it tells.

Lesson Plan (PDF)

Web-based Activity

Listening To The Present, Sounds Of The Past

Why study sound? And who studies sound? In this lesson, students will learn to think critically about sound. They will practice listening, investigate how sound can invite a deeper understanding of the past, and gain insight into the impacts of human behavior and technology on the natural world.

Lesson Plan (PDF)

Web-based Activity

Reading A Photograph (Or, Being A History Detective)

What can an old photograph tell us about history? Plenty! Photographs hold a wealth of information about what life was like in the past. In this lesson, students must act like sleuths and uncover the clues!

Lesson Plan (PDF)

Web-based Activity

#COVIDStories: Creating Primary Sources For The Future

Where do primary sources come from? This activity will have students document an aspect of their COVID-19 experience in the form of a social media post, donate it to their community archive, and then think about how that resource will inform people of the future.

Lesson Plan (PDF)

Web-based Activity

My COVID-19 Experience

How was your COVID-19 experience? The pandemic changed our lives in many ways. In this project, students will reflect on their own experience of the pandemic and interview three other people to learn what the pandemic was like for them.