Maine Memory Network provides free, unprecedented, online access to tens of thousands of primary source materials and hundreds of online exhibits; a virtual textbook on Maine history; lesson plans; and numerous other resources.
There are currently more than 45,000 primary source items and hundreds of online exhibits in Maine Memory Network's constantly growing online database. Primary source items include:
- digital versions of letters, journals, and government records (all fully transcribed)
- photographs, paintings, maps, and other visual items
- clothing, tools, archaeological artifacts, and other objects.
Educators can easily access these materials for use in the classroom right from their classroom! All of this history is right at the fingertips of your students.
Maine Memory Network is a great resource for teaching Maine studies, U.S. history, social studies, and other disciplines that can make use of local historical collections. Teachers and students can find, save, and use primary source documents of local, state, and national significance. It's perfect for creating lesson plans and interactive classroom activities, and even offers a way for schools to develop partnerships and projects with historical organizations in the community.
Using Primary Sources In The Classroom
Primary source documents provide unique opportunities for the past to be explored. Eyewitness accounts provide a rich and descriptive explanation of the past and can give insight into perspectives that are rarely examined in depth by textbooks. Maine Memory Network is the resource for teachers for primary source materials on Maine history.
Lesson Plan and Materials
Recommended for middle school and high school students
Recommended for middle school and high school students. This lesson plan introduces students to using primary source documents and Maine Memory Network, and provides a model for future exploration and study. It can easily be adapted to the needs of a variety of students and classroom settings and includes suggestions for modifications and expansion.
Download the lesson plan.
To learn more about the work of historians and how they search for and use historical evidence, visit A Conversation Across Time and Space on Maine History Online.
Student Albums
The Maine Memory Network Album Tool allows teachers and students to save and sort primary source items from the database into personal online albums, write text to caption the items, and email the albums to others. This tool can be used by both teachers and students to share stories about Maine history.
Learn how to register for a teacher or student account, required for creating albums.
Learn how to create your own albums.
View examples of student albums:
- Northeast Harbor: From Rustic to Rusticators
- The Bryants and the Rockefellers: Two Seal Harbor Families
- Lyman Moore Middle School
Content-Based Lesson Plan Library
Explore lessons plans created by teachers and museum educators using the resources of Maine Memory Network. Organized by grade level and linked to Maine Learning Results and Common Core State Standards, educators can access and download these lesson plans at no cost. New lesson plans are added every year!
Visit the Maine Memory Network Lesson Plan Library for a complete list or Search for Lesson Plans on Maine Memory Network.
Interested in sharing a lesson plan that you've created? Contact Us or Upload your own lesson plan.
Finding Katahdin: An Exploration Of Maine's Past
Lesson Plans and Primary Sources for the Textbook
Grades 7-12
Finding Katahdin Online is a comprehensive multi-media resource for teaching Maine Studies that includes links to primary sources, lesson plans, and other activities. This resource is made possible through a partnership between the Maine Historical Society and the University of Maine Press.
Finding Katahdin Online complements Finding Katahdin: An Exploration of Maine's Past, a comprehensive Maine Studies textbook developed and published by the University of Maine Press for Grade 7-12 teachers and students. While designed to complement the textbook, Finding Katahdin Online includes much material that will be useful to teachers who don't have access to the book.
Visit Finding Katahdin Online!
Maine History Online
Recommended for high school and college/university students
Maine History Online tells the stories of Maine and its people through essays, exhibits, historical images, documents, and objects drawn from Maine Memory Network and its more than 250 contributing organizations across the state. You can explore the content by theme, time period, or using the search feature.
Visit Maine History Online
Other Educator Resources
These instructions on how to use Maine Memory Network - including how to access and study primary sources, create albums, and plan and complete your own community history project - were specifically designed and written for teachers and students.
