Mine Over Matter

Political cartoons are a poignant way to examine energy sources. This analysis handout has scholars examining a cartoon by Joe Heller (a link to his gallery is included for possible extensions). Background information reminds pupils of...

NPR has documented the Sago Mine Disaster and has also provided glimpses into the lives of mine workers and the coal culture of the Appalachians.

Young scholars should gain a better understanding of the processes involved in extracting coal from the Earth as a result of this lesson. They reearch the history of coal mining, look into coal mining towns, and create a short story...

Middle schoolers go on an information gathering hunt on the Internet to study West African empires. They work in teams; meteorologists, bankers, writers, and archaeologists. They collect data on all sorts of topics related to West...

This collection uses primary sources to explore coal mining and labor in West Virginia.

Students explore the life and times of a coal miner in Illinois through the analysis of primary source documents and images.

Examine the economic and historical impact of anthracite mining in Pennsylvania's rich history. Included in this historical account are video, interactive, audio, and pictorial artifacts.

The history and economy of the mining industry in West Virginia are presented.

The key ideas in this 50-minute video lecture is that commerce and trade transformed the seventeenth century, that wars previously fought over religious beliefs transformed into wars over economic resources, and that the quest...

Sound recordings, photographs, manuscripts, and interactive maps describe a way of life in the mountains of West Virginia. The culture of the folks in the Big Coal River Valley as well as the environment of the Valley are explored.