Cultural Products as Historical Narrative is the second of three sessions in the Stories That Connect: Using Film and Primary Sources to Build Belonging professional development webinar series. View all sessions.
This webinar includes a live musical performance!
Date: September 22, 2026 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Pacific Time/7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time
Location: Online (Zoom link will be sent to participants once they register)
Subjects: Art, Art History, English Language Arts, History, Music, Social Studies
Great For: Professional Learning, Teaching with Primary Sources, Oral History
Themes/Focus Areas: Active Listening Handouts, Civil Rights, Fashion as History, Music as History, Protest Art and Songs, Transcontinental Railroad, U.S. History, World War II
Grade Level: Grades 4-12, Professional Development
REGISTER HERE!
This webinar series is funded by a grant from the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources program. Content created and featured in partnership with the TPS program does not indicate an endorsement by the Library of Congress.
About This Webinar
This webinar will focus on the power and importance of Cultural Products and what they offer to compliment historical narratives and primary source learning with emphasis on:
- My Music with Rhiannon Giddens, which brings US history alive to explore the development of the Transcontinental Railroad during western expansion in the United States.
- The Bomber Boys: Flight Jacket Art, forthcoming materials that use this beautiful photographic history book highlighting various individuals served in World War II. This resource brings to life bomber jackets, oral history, and letters as important cultural products for historical learning.
- Rebel Hearts, which brings to life the power of art as a form of political protest and engagement
- Summer of Soul, highlighting the Harlem Cultural Festival of 1969 with opportunities for education regarding the civil rights movement, Black History, and more.
Mazz Swift and the Silkroad Project
We are pleased to announce that violinist Mazz Swift will be joining this free teacher webinar. During the webinar, Swift will be performing LIVE! She will also discuss her work as a creative artist engaging with historical songs.
Mazz Swift was featured in Episode Three of My Music with Rhiannon Giddens Season Two. Our learning materials for this episode focus on:
- Neurodiversity and Learning Styles
- Creative and Artistic Community
- Creative and Artistic Growth
- Improvisation in Music
- History of the American Transcontinental Railroad and Black Americans
- History through Music
- Music Lessons
Learn more about Mazz Swift in this Silkroad Ensemble artist profile: Spotlight: Mazz Swift.
This learning guide contains background context about the Transcontinental Railroad, a Pre-viewing Activity, and Active Viewing Recommendations.
Additionally, it also includes glossaries / lists of useful terms, discussion questions, related resources, and extended learning activates. The extended learning activities can include our supplementary Music Listening Handout and Song Analysis Handout.
Episode running time: 25 minutes
Subjects: History, Music, Music History, Social Studies, U.S. History
Lesson Grades: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
We hope you’ll join us at this upcoming free teacher webinar!
REGISTER HERE!
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The American Railroad Instructional Guide brings accurate historical information regarding the development of the Transcontinental Railroad. The guide address the impact of the railroad’s progress on individuals and groups vital to the success of this national endeavor. The lessons also present realistic experiences, many of which have been overlooked and misrepresented.
The American Railroad Unit is standard-based, with an emphasis on ELA and Social Science for middle school students. The Enduring Understanding – Students understand that progress has varying impacts on the people and cultures it touches – is the foundation that unifies each lesson. Each lesson, then, is designed to be integral to the unit outcome and relies upon the previous lesson(s), ensuring clarity of the day’s learning and the instructional journey.
Each lesson relies on key reading, critical thinking, processing, collaboration, communication, creativity, and reflection. Every lesson contains a student handout and a teacher key.
The American Railroad Student Guide features printable student handouts for all 11 lessons. Each lesson includes a Share Out, a Daily Learning Target, a detailed Reading Process, and Discussion Questions. They also include related primary sources, terms to know, worksheets and activities.
About The Bomber Boys: Flight Jacket Art
Our forthcoming teaching materials for this beautiful book offer a new way to engage students as they learn about World War II. Materials emphasize the A-2 Jacket as a Historical Document, handouts regarding material culture, object analysis as well as learning materials regarding folk art, symbology, oral history and more.
We will preview these materials in the webinar. Don’t miss out when they become available. Sign up for our newsletter!
About Rebel Hearts
Rebel Hearts tells the remarkable story of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. In 1960s Los Angeles, they bravely stood up to the patriarchy of the Catholic Church, fighting for equality, their livelihoods, and their own freedom against an all-powerful Cardinal who sought to keep them in their place.
Our Curriculum Guide for this film features three lesson plans:
- Lesson One: The Context of Change
- Lesson Two: Change Comes to the Immaculate Heart of Mary Sisters
- Lesson Three: The Power of Corita Kent’s (Sister Mary Corita’s) Calligraphic Art
In the webinar, we will focus on Corita Kent’s art to inspire learners.
About Summer of Soul
In Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson presents a powerful and transporting documentary — part music film, part historical record created around an epic event that celebrated Black history, culture and fashion. Over the course of 6 weeks in the summer of 1969, just 100 miles south of Woodstock, The Harlem Cultural Festival was filmed in Mount Morris Park (now Marcus Garvey Park). The footage was largely forgotten–until now. Summer of Soul shines a light on the importance of history to our spiritual well-being.
Our Curriculum Guide for this film features six lessons, including our very popular lesson that allows students to create their own music festival!
This film is a strong example of music as a powerful primary source.
If you haven’t registered for this free teaching webinar, you can do so now! REGISTER HERE!
August is American Artist Appreciation Month! We’re celebrating Corita Kent, also known as Sister Mary Corita! The acclaimed artist and teacher used painting and calligraphy to convey ideas about peace, racial harmony and social justice.
Lesson 3 The Power of Corita Kent’s Calligraphic Art in our free Rebel Hearts Curriculum Guide features a hands-on Visual Arts lesson suitable for grades 9-12 based on Sister Mary Corita’s artwork. It’s a powerful tool to help students find their voice through multi-media artwork.
You and your students can learn more about Sister Mary Corita / Corita Kent, her revolutionary protest art, and her time as a nun in the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary with award-winning documentary Rebel Hearts and the Rebel Hearts Curriculum Guide.
Rebel Hearts
PS If you’re teaching about Art, Artists and Art History, you might also like the lesson about The Hudson River Painters in our Walden, A Game Curriculum Guide.
Walden, A Game
These five award-winning documentary and feature films highlight the stories of exceptional women and their impressive accomplishments in STEM, religion, the arts, and human rights advocacy. Our free discussion guides and curriculum guides for these films can deepen engagement with the themes of gender, equality and human rights for all students. These positive representations of women can also expand students’ ideas about what leadership and excellence look like and inspire them in their own ambitions.
Jane
Documentary film Jane follows the life and career of Dr. Jane Goodall. Jane’s work with chimpanzees allowed a new understanding of what it means to be human and at the same time proved that women could be successful as scientists in a world previously dominated by men. Our free discussion guide includes a section on Women in the Biological Sciences Today. This film is a great way to get students of all genders excited about gender equity and STEM careers. For grades 4-12.
He Named Me Malala
He Named Me Malala charts the rise of Malala Yousafzai as an international advocate for girls’ education to become the youngest ever Nobel Prize winner at 17. Our curriculum guide for this documentary includes lessons on Working for Change (Social Studies/Community Service); Global Violence Against Women and Girls (Social Studies/Sociology); and Women’s Education, Health, and Economic Development (Social Studies/Health/Economics). Our discussion guide also explores the global status of girls’ secondary education and why education is so critical. In addition to introducing Malala’s incredible story, this film will inspire students about the power and importance of education for all. For grades 7-12.
Hidden Figures
The hit Disney film Hidden Figures is based on the real-life story of Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson, three Black women who overcame adversity to make historic contributions in the 1960s NASA space program. Our curriculum guide includes a career readiness lesson on Women of Science. Our discussion guide includes questions for students to consider about the lived experiences of the title characters as well as an exploration of STEM careers. These materials are our most popular downloads because students and teachers love this film! For grades 7-12.
The Neighborhood Storyteller
In compelling documentary The Neighborhood Storyteller, a Syrian refugee mother in Jordan’s Zaatari camp empowers young girls through transformative reading circles, igniting hope and change. Asmaa Rashed’s read-aloud project uses literature as a catalyst to expand the teenage girl participants’ horizons, nurture self-worth, and inspire them to envision a future filled with opportunities. Our discussion guide deepens engagement with Asmaa’s story and includes a section on Grassroots Work, Life Skills, and Future Vision. This must-watch film inspires students of all genders about the power of finding their own voice and the potential to change the world they live in. For grades 9-12.
Rebel Hearts
Rebel Hearts chronicles the radical activism of The Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. They bravely stood up to the patriarchy of the Catholic Church in the 1960s, fighting for equality, their livelihoods, and their own freedom. Their bold acts of faith, defiance and activism turned the Church upside down, helping to reshape our society in ways that continue to resonate more than fifty years later. Our curriculum guide explores the sisters journey and also introduces the protest art activism of Sister Mary Corita aka Corita Kent with a hands-on art lesson. This film will fire up students with confidence to face down adversaries and obstacles of all sizes. For grades 9-12.
As a new year begins, we’re excited to share our newest film guides with you!
Our Latest Teaching Resources for Acclaimed Contemporary Films
To start a new year, we’re recapping our ten newest film guides. These acclaimed documentaries and hit feature films shed new light on history, current events, and the important figures and issues of our time. Our free teaching resources can help you put the rapidly-shifting news landscape into context for your students and lead productive discussions on sensitive and sometimes difficult topics.
Chevalier (For Grades 11-12)
Inspired by the incredible true story of France’s first Black classical composer Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges. Our Chevalier Discussion Guide sheds new light on the realities of 18th century France and can ignite student interest and engagement in learning more about the French Revolution.
Crip Camp (For High School)
Crip Camp shares with insight, humor, and joy the experiences of a group of disabled teenagers and their journey to adulthood and activism. Our Crip Camp Curriculum Guide and Discussion Guide delve into this rich and powerful story of disability activism, culture, and history.
Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down (For Grades 8-12)
This compelling documentary tells the extraordinary story of former Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords: her relentless fight to recover following an assassination attempt in 2011. We’ve created a “Gabby Giffords Discussion Guide and a Learning Guide.” También están disponibles en español.
Navalny (For High School)
Navalny unfolds with the pace of a political thriller. This Oscar-winning documentary follows Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in his quest to identify the men who poisoned him in a failed assassination attempt. We offer a Discussion Guide and a flexible Learning Guide that features six key learning sections which cover 9 subjects across the curriculum.
Rebel Hearts (For High School)
This heart-grabbing documentary chronicles the bold acts of faith, defiance and activism of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart that turned the Church upside-down. From marching in Selma in 1965 to the Women’s March in 2018, they challenged the notion of what a nun and a woman were supposed to be. Our Rebel Hearts Curriculum Guide includes a hands-on arts lesson based on the pop art of Sister Mary Corita.
Schindler’s List Special 30th Anniversary Guide (For High School)
In 2023, we launched a new improved Schindler’s List Curriculum Guide with a brand new antisemitism lesson to teach with this powerful & inspiring Academy Award-winner.
Summer of Soul (For Grades 7-12)
Summer of Soul is a powerful and transporting documentary—part music film, part historical record—about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, an epic event that celebrated Black history, culture and fashion. Our Summer of Soul Curriculum Guide provides an engaging introduction to major events in Black history—with an award-winning soundtrack.
Unzipped: An Autopsy of American Inequality (For High School)
This intimate documentary explores the frontline of America’s heated battles over gentrification, lack of affordable housing, and homelessness. UNZIPPED explodes stereotypes and humanizes the lived experiences of people caught in the cross-fire of America’s growing housing divide. Our Unzipped Learning Guide also explores actionable solutions.
Youth v Gov (For Grades 7-12)
This compelling climate court case documentary follows 21 courageous youth activists who file a ground-breaking lawsuit against the U.S. government for their right to a safe climate. Our Youth v Gov Curriculum Guide and Discussion Guide provide context to discuss breaking climate litigation news. Redirect your students’ climate anxiety into action-oriented optimism with these powerful teaching tools.
