What type of educational material is available on TeachVIHistory.com?
- There are ten activities for grades K-2 built around a primary source related to US Virgin Islands history, ten activities for grades 3-5, ten activities for grades 6-8 and twelve activities for grades 9-12. There are eighteen analysis worksheets, nine for elementary and nine for intermediate. These worksheets help teachers and students to work on primary source analysis. There are also coloring pages.
Do I have to be a teacher to use TeachVIHistory.com?
- The website and content were designed with educators in mind. Activities vary in subject matter for grades K to 12, and the intent is that an educator review the activities, adapt them to suit their lesson plans and students, and facilitate the discussions. That said, adult learners, and children with adult guidance can likewise navigate the website and learn from the activities.
How can I use this website?
- TeachVIHistory.com is a website where K-12th grade educators can find activities based on primary sources related to US Virgin Islands history. All users can browse the material and read through the activities. Anyone new to primary sources should start by visiting the Getting Started page.
Where do the primary sources included on this website come from?
- Many archives, museums and libraries in recent years have digitized material from their collections and made them available online. Through these digital collections, anyone with internet, a computer and some research skills can access these primary sources. This makes it possible for educators to bring documents and artifacts from archive, museum, and library collections into the classroom. Primary sources included on this website are from the collections of various institutions including Rigsarkivet (Danish National Archives), DET KGL Bibliotek (Danish Royal Library), Danish National Museum, Danish Maritime Museum, Library of Congress, U. S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Bethlehem Moravian Archives and University of the Virgin Islands through the Digital Library of the Caribbean (dLOC), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Caribbean Genealogy Library, and others.
Can we expect new materials, anytime soon?
- There are no current plans for adding more material.
Can I make suggestions about existing material, provide feedback, or recommend additional topics and activities?
- Yes, your feedback is encouraged. Please send an email with your comments. Visit the Contact Us page.
I am interested in finding primary sources related to a certain topic, where do I start?
- Visit the Resources page of this website to learn about various museums, archives and libraries that have material related to the US Virgin Islands in their collections.
Do primary sources used on this website include translations and transcriptions?
- The large majority of primary sources, within the written document category, used on this website, are in English. This was done intentionally to facilitate their use in the territory. There are however a few documents that are in other languages including Danish, Spanish, French and Dutch. Translations are included for column headings in some cases, and full translations are available for some primary sources, but not all of them. Developing the skills related to identifying letters and transcribing hand written documents is part of a historians job, so is finding solutions for translating documents.
Is this a new website?
- TeachVIHistory.com is a new website, it was released in 2022.
Can I use the primary sources for other uses besides classroom activities?
- The material presented on this website is intended for educational use in classrooms and homes only. To request permission to use materials for other purposes you must consult the museum, library or archive that has custody of the digitized original source. Each primary source referenced on this website includes a link to it. You will need to follow the link directly to the institution that has the item in their collection, and read that institution’s permission, rights and use statement to learn what is allowed.
Is internet access required to use the primary sources?
- All of the activities on this website are built around a digitized primary source. Internet access and a computer are required to access the primary sources.
Can I print the primary sources?
- Printing a primary source for use in a classroom activity does not work well for the majority of items included on this website. Many of the documents are in gothic script, maps have great detail, artwork and artifacts have fine details. All of these details are best experienced and investigated using the zoom and magnify features which are available online and through use of a computer.
Who created this website? Why was it created?
- TeachVIHistory.com was created by the Caribbean Genealogy Library, a research library on St. Thomas, to encourage the use of primary sources in teaching US Virgin Islands history. Learn More
