PORTSMOUTH EDUCATOR NAMED CONTRIBUTING TEACHER FOR LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, NATIONAL HISTORY DAY PARTNERSHIP
Only 15 Teachers Nationwide Selected to Create New
Series of Teaching with Primary Sources Guides
WASHINGTON, D.C. and PORTSMOUTH, RHODE ISLAND—National History Day® (NHD) is pleased to announce the selection of Ms. Samantha Hedden, a teacher at Saint Philomena School in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, as one of only 15 educators who will create a valuable new classroom resource. These student guides will be the newest addition to the wealth of materials provided by the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS) Consortium for educators in the United States and around the world.
Over the next several months, Ms. Hedden and the cohort of contributors will work directly with NHD and Library of Congress staff to write and test a series of five student guides based on the five NHD project categories: documentary, exhibit, paper, performance, and website. The guides will help students find, analyze, and integrate primary sources from the Library of Congress into their NHD projects. Ms. Hedden’s experience will include advanced virtual training with the Library of Congress and its TPS partners. Upon the guides’ completion, NHD will distribute the series online.
“Ms. Hedden and her fellow contributors bring many years of classroom and project-based teaching experience to this endeavor,” said Dr. Cathy Gorn, National History Day Executive Director. “Through this new series, these teachers will showcase the Library’s primary source collections for the benefit of National History Day students for many years to come. We are grateful for this opportunity to work with the Library of Congress as creation partners for this important project.”
The cohort of 15 teachers will begin its work with National History Day and Library of Congress staff immediately. The educators chosen for the program represent Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.
About National History Day® (NHD)
NHD is a non-profit organization based in College Park, Maryland, which seeks to improve the teaching and learning of history. The National History Day Contest was established in 1974 and currently engages more than half a million students every year in conducting original research on historical topics of interest. Students present their research as a documentary, exhibit, paper, performance, or website. Projects compete first at the local and affiliate levels, where the top entries are invited to the National Contest at the University of Maryland at College Park. NHD is sponsored in part by, HISTORY®, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Park Service, Southwest Airlines, the Crown Family Foundation, The Better Angels Society, and the Diana Davis Spencer Foundation. For more information, visit
About National History Day in Rhode Island
Rhode Island has been a state affiliate of National History Day for over 30 years and the RI NHD program is proudly managed by the Rhode Island Historical Society. National History Day in Rhode Island allows students in grades 6-12 to deeply explore an aspect of history, gain research and critical-thinking skills, and creatively deliver their research findings. Annually, the RI NHD program engages 1,500 students across the state.
About the Rhode Island Historical Society
The Rhode Island Historical Society, the state’s largest and oldest historical organization, is dedicated to honoring, interpreting, and sharing Rhode Island’s past to enrich the present and inspire the future. Founded in 1822, the RIHS is an advocate for history as a means to develop empathy and 21st century skills, using its historical materials and knowledge to explore topics of timeless relevance and public interest. As a Smithsonian Affiliate, it is dedicated to providing high-quality, accessible public programming and educational opportunities for all Rhode Islanders though its four sites: the John Brown House Museum, the Museum of Work & Culture, the Mary Elizabeth Robinson Research Center, and the Aldrich House.
The headquarters of the Rhode Island Historical Society are located at 110 Benevolent Street, Providence, RI 02906. Information: (401) 331-8575. Website: rihs.org. Follow the RIHS on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
About the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources Program
For more than a decade, the Teaching with Primary Sources program has provided extensive professional development opportunities for educators and enabled the creation and dissemination of teaching materials focused on using the Library’s digitized primary sources.
About the Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the world’s largest library, offering access to the creative record of the United States — and extensive materials from around the world — both on-site and online. It is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office. Explore collections, reference services and other programs and plan a visit at loc.gov; access the official site for U.S. federal legislative information at congress.gov; and register creative works of authorship at