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.
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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About the American Railroad Instructional Materials
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!