Educational Programs | Kean University

Students and Class Visits

The Special Collections Research Library and Archive, known as SCRLA, offers a range of educational programs tailored to different grade levels and subjects. We can customize lessons to differentiate and align with curriculum goals to enhance classroom learning. Class visits begin with an Introduction to Archives presentation and digital access instructions, followed by a hands-on workshop. Customized presentations and learning opportunities are available. Visits cost $8 per pupil and $10 per chaperone.

SCRLA aims to:

Engage students with primary sources. Students learn to handle authentic archival material and observe what they see and read.

Promote student inquiry. Team members and worksheets guide students to look more closely and evaluate the content of primary sources. It prompts them to make inferences and ask questions about the creator and the context of the source.

Develop critical thinking skills.
Students use their prior knowledge to analyze primary sources. Students consider the original purpose of the document, ask questions about the creator's bias or point of view, and draw conclusions.

Foster a love for research.
Students see sources beyond their school and public libraries. They consider where they can find more information, which makes them better-informed citizens. It also nurtures an interest in research and inquiry-based learning.

Expand historical and cultural understandings. Exploring original documents enables students to grasp the complexity of historical events and the diverse experiences of individuals throughout time.

Workshops

Keep It or Trash It?
Students role-play as archivists for a local museum, business, or state archive. They are given a box of materials and are tasked with deciding if the items should be added to their collection, returned to the donor, or trashed.

Sincerely Yours: 5 Centuries of Penmanship and Communication
Students view five centuries of penmanship to observe changes in cursive, practice penmanship with various writing implements, transcribe documents, and write a modern interpretation of older letters based on how people communicate today.

WWII: Local and Global
Read letters from the Nancy Thompson WWII Scrapbook Letter Collection by Kean students and alumni. Look at documents from local residents and businesses in response to the war, addressed to New Jersey Congressman Robert Winthrop Kean.

Represent!
New Jersey Congressional Representatives Robert Winthrop Kean and Florence P. Dwyer provide examples of our government at work from the late 1930s through the early 1970s. See examples of proposed bills and constituent responses, requests for help, student letters, campaign material, and more. Students learn how to contact their local representatives.