You are here

Schoolhouse and Play Resource Set

The resource set includes additional sources to accompany the Primary Source Set and Lesson Ideas to help extend lessons and further student understanding. Primary Source Analysis Worksheets are available on the Elementary Primary Source Sets main page.


Kindergarten Children Playing With Chickens

Kindergarten Children Playing With Chickens (Photograph)

Three Greeley, Colorado kindergartners, two girls and one boy, feed a chicken and her chicks in the schoolyard of their school in Weld County. The two girls, both of whom wear large bows in their hair, stick their hands into a paper bag inside a wicker basket on the ground and pull food out it for the animals. The little boy watches intently as the hen and her chicks scratch for food among the two water dishes on the ground.. Photo courtesy of the Denver Public Library.

School Girls in Costume

School Girls in Costume, 1915 (Photograph)

Girls pose outdoors at the Sopris School in Sopris (Las Animas County), Colorado. They wear costumes possibly for a play. Photo courtesy of History Colorado & the Denver Public Library.

A Blizzard in 1913

A Blizzard in 1913 (Photograph)

A blizzard in 1913 piled the snow high in Denver, turning Eighth Avenue, below, into a snow run for sledders and a reminder for us that monstrous snowstorms are nothing new in Denver.


Columbian School  Traffic Safety Lesson

Columbian School Traffic Safety Lesson, circa 1939 (Photograph)

Photograph of a kindergarten class at Columbian Elementary School in Denver, Colorado during a traffic safety lesson dramatic play exercise. One boy stands with his arm raised, blowing a whistle by a "Stop" sign dressed as a traffic officer. One boy "drives" towards him in a push car and two other boys dressed as police officers ride tricycles toward the "intersection" in the opposite direction . Wood blocks define the road while other children stand and watch. One girl stands ready to push a baby carriage into the intersection.

Children and Burro Wagon ~ between 1880 and 1900?

Children and Burro Wagon ~ between 1880 and 1900? (Photograph)

Boys and girls ride a donkey and crowd a wagon in (probably) Colorado; houses are in the background.  Courtesy of History Colorado & the Denver Public Library.

Beach at Lakeside ~ between 1910 and 1920?

Beach at Lakeside ~ between 1910 and 1920? (Photograph)

Teenagers and girls play in the sand by Lake Rhoda at Lakeside Amusement Park in Lakeside (Jefferson County), Colorado; a lifeguard on a tower watches swimmers.  Courtesy of History Colorado & the Denver Public Library.


We Work and Play District 92 (Keota School) Basic Reader, 1946-1947

We Work and Play District 92 (Keota School) Basic Reader, 1946-1947 (Image)

Used by the Keota School , Keota, Colorado.  Courtesy of History Colorado.

McGuffeys Smaller Ecelectic Primer ~ 1849

McGuffeys Smaller Ecelectic Primer ~ 1849 (Image)

William Holmes McGuffey was hired in the 1830s by Truman and Smith, a Cincinnati publishing firm, to write school books appropriate for children in the expanding nation. His eclectic readers were graded, meaning a student started with the primer and, as his reading abilities improved, moved from the first through the sixth reader.  Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Geography Textbook, 1924

Geography Textbook, 1924 (Image)

This is one from 1924. It has stories about growing crops, other places around the world, and things like pictures of yaks from Tibet.