How to Use Stamps to Teach History and Geography

There are many kinds of postage stamps.

Many postage stamps are works of art. Hundred of postage stamps issued by the United States Postal Service (USPS) start out as large drawings or sketches done by artists. Once approved to become a stamp, the drawings are copied and reduced to the small squares that people buy and stick on envelopes to mail a letter -- U.S. postage stamps. Throughout the history of the USPS, postage stamps have observed famous people, momentous occasions and historical monuments. It is no wonder, then, that it is possible to use stamps to teach history and geography.

Things You'll Need

• Enlarged photocopies of stamps
• Stamp collector's album containing stamps

Instructions

1. 

   Olympic sports are shown on a set of stamps.

   Print out copies of a U.S. stamp set that depicts Olympic sports. Discuss the various sports played in the Olympics, using the stamps as visual aids. Show where Greece is on a map, and explain the history of the Olympics, beginning with their origins in Greece.

2. 

   Original airplane stamp

   Teach the history of aviation using stamps that depict airplanes. Discuss the research that Orville and Wilbur Wright did to invent flying machines. Indicate North Carolina on a map, and say that that's where the Wright brothers conducted much of their research. Show students a copy of the Inverted Jenny, a famous airplane stamp printed in 1919. Tell them that over 400 stamps were printed with the airplane flying upside down before the printer noticed. Mention that 100 of these rare 24-cent stamps were put into circulation and that, in 2007, one sold at auction to a New York collector for $825,000. Just think, a 24-cent stamp worth almost one million dollars!

3. 

   A 6-cent stamp honoring President Franklin D. Roosevelt

   Speak to students about presidents and presidential elections, and use presidential stamps as visual aids. Discuss the Great Depression, and show copies of a 1982 20-cent stamp honoring President Franklin D. Roosevelt on the centennial of his birth.

4. Look at the work of postage-stamp designer and artist Paul Calle. Notice that he designed over 30 U. S. postage stamps. Pick a few of the subjects he crafted stamps about, including important historical figures, such as General Douglas MacArthur, Robert Frost, Helen Keller, Pearl S. Buck and Frederic Remington. Use other Calle-designed stamps to discuss the first landing on the moon and Vietnam veterans.

5. 

   A replica of the Iwo Jima memorial statue.

   Show famous U.S. monuments and statues using photographs or prints of stamps. Copy a stamp depicting the Lincoln Memorial. Then use a map to show where the memorial is located in Washington, D.C. Discuss other famous memorials in Washington, such as the Jefferson Memorial, the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial depicting the battle at Iwo Jima and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall.

Tips & Warnings

• Bring a stamp collector's book to class if you have one. Ask students if they have stamp collecting books to share with the class.

• Make certain that students do not touch any stamp collecting books to keep the books safe from harm.

References

• United States Postal Service: Postal History
• Hellenic Information Society: Brief History of the Olympic Games
• Wright House: First Airplane Flight 1903
• Boys Life: $825,000 for Rare 24-cent Stamp
• Linns: Stamp Refresher
• Knottywood Treasures: Stamps Designed by Paul Calle

Resources

• Maps of the World: Lincoln Memorial