Overview
Consisting of 385 educational films produced for classroom use between the 1930s and 1980s, the Somerville High School Collection provides a representative sample of the subjects and genres of educational media used in classrooms during this period. Though collected by Somerville High School, the films are aimed at students from primary grades through high school and cover a variety of subjects including art, math, music, science, health, and social studies. A highlight of the collection is the Screen News Digest series, consisting of newsreels highlighting current and historically significant events between 1958 and 1979.
Dates
- Creation: 1939-1989
Language of Materials
Material is in English.
Access Restrictions
There are no restrictions on physical access to the paper portion of this collection. Collection is open for research. The Harvard Film Archive's manuscript collections and paper-based materials are accessed through the Houghton Library Reading Room. This material is shelved offsite at the Harvard Depository. Retrieval requires advance notice. Researchers should check with Houghton Public Services staff to determine retrieval policies and times.
Access to audiovisual material is by appointment only. Applications to consult this material should be directed to the staff of the Harvard Film Archive. Film prints are made accessible in close consultation with HFA staff. Although materials do not circulate for individual use, students, filmmakers, artists, and researchers are encouraged to use the collections on-site.
Use Restrictions
Reproduction and/or publication of materials subject to copyright requires written permission from a) the copyright owner, his/her heirs or assigns and from b) the Harvard Film Archive, owner of the original material.
Extent
368 16mm film prints8 DVDs
7 Digital Betacam (TM) tapes
1 linear feet (1 box)
Somerville High School, a 4-year, public educational facility, is within the scope of the Somerville Public School District. In the decades leading up to the 1980s, the district evolved from a 6-3-3 model separating primary, junior high, and secondary schools to an 8-4 model that better supported the enrollment figures. During this time, Somerville High School also incorporated the Somerville Technical Trade High School. The re-configurations over the decades led to the development of a diverse range of subject materials and audience-levels in their collection of educational films. The collection contains mostly 16mm film prints, which were popularly distributed by major educational firms such as Coronet Films and Encyclopeadia Britannica Films from the 1930s through the 1980s. The collection additionally includes some viewing and preservation copies in DVD and Digital Betacam tape format. It also contains one box of supplementary paper materials. The following categories elaborate on the types of films found in the collection:
- General films
- ___Art: This category includes films on music, painting, and general art education.
- ___Career guidance: This category includes a series of films exploring different potential career paths, such as banking or food preparation.
- ___Health: This category includes films on personal hygiene, nutrition, safety and risk prevention.
- ___Language Arts: These films cover grammar instruction, reading education, and both instruction of and reenactments of classic forms of literature.
- ___Math: These films cover basic math, the metric system, and introductions to geometry.
- ___Science: This category includes films on biology, botany, geology, animals, historical science, astronomy, electricity, physics, chemistry, and conservation.
- ___Social Studies: These films cover the basic subjects of history, politics, cartography, and economics. Also included in this category are films regarding social instruction and ethical education.
- Screen News Digest: This is a series of news reels produced by Hearst Metrotone News, Inc. between 1958 and 1979. Most episodes cover several current events, but some shorts focus specifically on one historically significant person, place, or event.
- Supplementary Materials: This box contains inventories of educational films kept by Somerville High School.
Arrangement
The original order and subject divisions of the film collection was largely adhered to, and the films are arranged within three series and subseries accordingly:
- I. General films
- ___Art
- ___Career guidance
- ___Health
- ___Language Arts
- ___Math
- ___Science
- ___Social Studies
- II. Screen News Digest films
- III. Supplementary materials
Acquisition Information
This collection was donated to the Harvard Film Archive by the Somerville Public School District’s Department of Library Media Services in 2005.
Processing Information
Arranged & encoded by: Tricia Patterson, October 2013
Genre / Form
Topical
- Accidents -- Prevention
- Action in art
- Adaptation (Biology)
- Adler Planetarium and Astronomical Museum
- Aeronautics
- Africa -- Geography
- Africa -- Social conditions
- Africa, North -- Historical geography
- African American folklore
- African American tales
- African Americans -- Clothing
- African Americans -- Fiction
- Agriculture -- Mexico
- Agriculture -- Ohio River Valley
- Agriculture -- United States
- Air
- Air -- Pollution
- Airplanes, military
- Alaska -- Geography
- Alaska -- History
- Albania
- Algeria
- Amendments to the United States Constitution. Bill of Rights
- America -- Emigration and immigration
- American literature -- New England -- History and criticism
- Angels -- Fiction
- Animal behavior
- Animal weapons
- Animals -- Habits and behavior
- Animals -- Infancy
- Animals -- Wintering
- Antarctica
- Apples
- Archaeology -- Methodology
- Arithmetic
- Armstrong, Louis, -- 1901-1971
- Art -- Study and teaching
- Artificial satellites -- Orbits
- Artificial satellites in telecommunication
- Asia -- History
- Astronautics -- History
- Astronomy
- Aswan High Dam (Egypt)
- Atmosphere
- Atomic bomb
- Bangladesh -- History -- Revolution, 1971
- Banking as a profession
- Banks and banking -- Vocational guidance
- Beatification
- Berlin (Germany) -- History -- 1945-1990
- Berlin (Germany) -- Politics and government -- 1945-1990
- Berlin Wall, Berlin, Germany, 1961-1989
- Blood cells
- Bread
- Brezhnev, Leonid Ilʹich, -- 1906-1982
- Brickmaking -- Mexico
- Building trades -- Vocational guidance
- Bulgaria
- Byrd, Richard Evelyn, -- 1888-1957
- Cambodia
- Camp Century (Greenland)
- Canal Zone
- Capitalism
- Cardiovascular system
- Carols
- Cartography
- Carver, George Washington, -- 1864?-1943
- Caterpillars -- Fiction
- Cats -- Fiction
- Cats -- Juvenile films
- Child sexual abuse
- Children -- United States -- Interviews
- Children of minorities -- United States -- Interviews
- Childrens films
- China -- Foreign relations -- Soviet Union
- China -- Foreign relations -- United States
- China -- Politics and government
- China -- Politics and government -- 1937-1949
- Christmas stories
- Circus
- Circus animals
- Climate and civilization -- Africa, North
- Clothing trade
- Clouds
- Clouds in art
- Columbus, Christopher
- Commercial correspondence
- Communications -- History
- Communism
- Communism -- Czechoslovakia
- Competition
- Cosmic rays
- Cuba
- Cuba -- Foreign relations -- United States
- Cuba -- History -- 1959-1990
- Current events
- Cycling -- Safety measures
- Cyclotrons
- Czechoslovakia
- Czechoslovakia -- Foreign relations
- Denim
- Dental health education
- Desert survival
- Developing countries
- Diet
- Dinosaurs
- Diplomacy
- Discoveries in geography
- Dogs -- Fiction
- Draft -- United States -- History
- Dragons -- Fiction
- Ducks -- Fiction
- Dwellings -- Fires and prevention
- Ear
- Earth (Planet)
- Earth sciences
- Edison, Thomas A. (Thomas Alva), 1847-1931
- Educational films
- Egypt
- Egypt -- Foreign relations -- Syria
- Eisenhower, Dwight D. -- (Dwight David), -- 1890-1969
- Elections -- United States
- Electric circuits
- Electric units
- Electricity
- Electromagnetism
- Elephants -- Africa
- Elephants -- Asia
- Energy
- Energy conservation -- United States
- English language -- Adjective
- English language -- Lexicography
- English language -- Punctuation
- English language -- Verb
- Eskimo children
- Eskimos
- Ethics
- Ethiopia
- Ethnology -- Alaska
- Europe, Eastern -- Economic conditions
- Europe, Eastern -- Politics and government
- European Economic Community
- Everest, Mount -- Description and travel
- Explorer 1 (Artificial satellite) -- Orbit
- Explorer satellites
- Fables -- Juvenile films
- Fairy tales
- Farm life
- Farms
- Feminism -- United States
- Fire prevention
- Fisheries -- Massachusetts -- Gloucester
- Fishers -- Massachusetts -- Gloucester
- Flags -- United States
- Flowers
- Folklore -- Arabian Peninsula
- Food service -- Vocational guidance
- Forest animals
- Forest animals -- Fiction
- Forest conservation
- Forest management
- Forests and forestry
- France
- Franklin, Benjamin, -- 1706-1790
- Freight and freightage
- Freight cars
- Freshwater biology
- Frogs
- Frontier and pioneer life -- Kentucky
- Frontier and pioneer life -- Ohio River Valley
- Galapagos Islands
- Gaulle, Charles de, -- 1890-1970
- Geographical positions
- Geography -- Hawaii
- Geometry, Plane
- Geomorphology
- Ghana -- Foreign relations
- Ghana -- History
- Goddard, Robert Hutchings, -- 1882-1945
- Gold standard -- United States
- Goldfish
- Goldwater, Barry M. -- (Barry Morris), -- 1909-
- Gravity
- Great Lakes (North America)
- Growth (Plants)
- Hansel and Gretal (Tale)
- Hawaii - Description and travel
- Heads of state -- China -- Biography
- Health education
- Hearing
- Heart
- Heat -- Conduction
- Heat -- Convection
- Heat -- Transmission
- History, Modern -- 1945-1989
- Hitler, Adolf, -- 1889-1945
- Honesty
- Honesty -- Juvenile films
- Hotels -- Vocational guidance
- House construction
- Hungary
- Hurricanes
- Hydrogen bomb
- Hydrologic cycle
- Hygiene
- India-Pakistan Conflict, 1971
- Indians of South America -- Peru
- Indonesia -- Politics and government -- 1950-1965
- Industrial revolution -- United States
- Industrial technicians
- Insects -- Anatomy
- Insects -- Behavior
- International relations
- Inventions -- United States
- Israel-Arab War, 1967 -- Causes
- Jackson, Andrew, 1767-1845
- Jammu and Kashmir (India) -- Politics and government
- Japan -- History -- Allied occupation, 1945-1952
- Jazz musicians -- United States -- Biography
- Johnson, Lyndon B. -- (Lyndon Baines), -- 1908-1973
- Kangaroos -- Fiction
- Kennedy, John F. -- (John Fitzgerald), -- 1917-1963
- Kennedy, Mount
- Kennedy, Robert F., -- 1925-1968
- Koala -- Australia
- Korea
- Korea -- History -- 1960-
- Landscape painting -- Technique
- Laos -- Politics and government
- Latchkey children
- Latin America. Spanish America -- South America -- Brazil -- Regions, states, etc. -- Amazonas
- Launch complexes (Astronautics)
- Letter writing
- Light
- Lighthouse keepers
- Lincoln, Abraham, -- 1809-1865 -- Political career before 1861
- Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865
- Lindbergh, Charles A. -- (Charles Augustus), -- 1902-1974
- Lion
- Liquids
- Little Red Riding Hood (Tale)
- Livestock
- Louisiana Purchase
- Lumber and lumbering
- Magnets
- Mao, Zedong, -- 1893-1976
- Map reading
- Maps
- Marine biology
- Marine resources
- Marionettes
- Maritime Provinces -- Pictorial works
- Markets -- Mexico
- Marsh ecology
- Marshes
- Meat
- Menstruation
- Meteorological satellites
- Meteorology
- Metric system
- Mexico -- Pictorial works
- Microorganisms
- Middle East
- Middle East -- Foreign relations -- Russia
- Middle East -- History
- Middle East -- Politics and government
- Middle West
- Military art and science
- Mineral industries
- Minerology
- Miura, Yuichiro, 1932-
- Moon
- Morocco
- Moscow (Russia) -- Social life and customs
- Mountains
- Natural history -- Galapagos Islands
- Natural history as a profession
- Navajo Indian Reservation
- Navajo Indians
- New Brunswick
- Newspaper reading
- Nigeria -- History -- Civil War, 1967-
- Nile River Valley
- Nixon, Richard M. -- (Richard Milhous), --1913-1994
- Nkrumah, Kwame, -- 1909-1972
- Nominations for office -- United States
- North
- North Atlantic Treaty Organization
- Northwestern States
- Nova Scotia
- Nuclear Weapons
- Numerals
- Nursery rhymes
- Nutrition
- Nutrition -- United States
- Nutritionally induced diseases -- United States
- Oceanography
- Ohio
- Ohm’s law
- Outer space -- Exploration
- Pacific coast (U.S.)
- Panama Canal (Panama)
- Peanut products
- Peron, Juan Domingo, -- 1895-1977
- Peru -- Description and travel
- Physiology -- Study and teaching
- Pilgrims (New Plymouth Colony)
- Pilgrims and pilgrimages -- Netherlands
- Plant physiology
- Plants -- Reproduction
- Poland
- Political campaigns -- United States
- Political conventions -- History
- Political parties -- United States
- Pollination
- Porpoises
- Portrait painting
- Postal service
- Power resources
- Power resources -- United States
- Presidents -- United States
- Presidents -- United States -- Biography
- Presidents -- United States -- Election
- Presidents -- United States -- Election -- 1964
- Prince Edward Island
- Project Apollo (U.S.)
- Project Mariner (U.S.)
- Prospecting
- Public health -- Vocational guidance
- Rabbits -- Fiction
- Railroads -- Freight
- Railroads -- Passenger traffic
- Range management
- Reading
- Reconstruction (1939-1951) -- Japan
- Recycle operations (Chemical technology)
- Reflection (Optics)
- Refraction
- Refuse and refuse disposal
- Renewable energy sources
- Rocketry -- History
- Rockets (Aeronautics)
- Rockets (Aeronautics) -- History
- Rocks
- Romania
- Russia -- Foreign relations -- Hungary
- Safety
- Safety education
- Safety education -- Juvenile films
- Saint Lawrence Seaway
- Salmon
- Salmon fisheries
- Santa Fe National Historic Trail
- Satellites
- Saturn Project (U.S.)
- Science -- Methodology
- Sculpture
- Seeds
- Seeds -- Dispersal
- Seeds -- Dissemination
- Self-reliance -- Juvenile films
- Service industries -- Vocational guidance
- Sharks -- Behavior
- Shepherds
- Shipping -- Great Lakes (North America)
- Skiers -- Japan -- Biography
- Smith, John, -- 1580-1631 -- Drama
- Smithsonian Institution
- Social sciences -- Vocational guidance
- Soil conservation
- Solid waste management
- Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
- Sound
- Sound -- Recording and reproducing
- Sound -- Transmission
- Southwest, New
- Soviet Union -- Foreign relations -- China
- Soviet Union -- Foreign relations -- Middle East
- Soviet Union -- Foreign relations -- United States
- Soviet Union -- Politics and government -- 1953-1985
- Space
- Space flight
- Space flight to the moon
- Space vehicles -- Tracking
- Spain -- History -- 1939-
- Spine
- Star of Bethlehem
- States, Small
- Storms
- Study skills
- Suez Canal (Egypt)
- Sun -- Juvenile films
- Superstition
- Teeth -- Care and hygiene
- Texas -- History -- To 1846
- Thailand
- Thanksgiving Day
- Time
- Time measurements.
- Tombs
- Traffic safety
- Transatlantic voyages
- Transportation -- Africa, North
- Transportation -- United States
- Trees -- Phsyiology
- Trees in art
- Truman, Harry S., -- 1884-1972
- Tunisia
- Tuskegee Institute -- History
- Underwater exploration
- United Nations
- United Nations -- China
- United States -- Congress -- House
- United States -- Economic conditions
- United States -- Foreign relations
- United States -- Foreign relations -- China
- United States -- Foreign relations -- Cuba
- United States -- Foreign relations -- Latin America
- United States -- Foreign relations -- Soviet Union
- United States -- History -- 1789-1809
- United States -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783
- United States -- Politics and government
- United States -- Territorial expansion
- United States. -- President (1945-1953 : Truman)
- United States. Army -- Military life
- Vanguard II (Artificial satellite)
- Venezuela
- Vibration
- Vice-Presidents -- United States -- History
- Vietnam
- Vietnam War, 1961-1975
- Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- United States
- Virginia -- Social life and customs -- To 1775
- Vocational guidance
- Volcanoes
- Volcanoes -- Hawaii
- Washington (D.C.) -- Capitol
- Washington, Booker T., -- 1856-1915
- Water
- Water -- Pollution
- Water conservation
- Water-supply engineering
- Watercolor painting -- Technique
- Waterworks
- Weather
- West (U.S.)
- Whaleboats
- Whales
- Whales -- Behavior
- Winter
- Witches -- Fiction
- Women’s rights -- United States
- Wool industry
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Algeria
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Campaigns -- Africa,
- World War, 1939-1945 -- Tunisia
- World War, 1939-1945 -- United States
- World politics -- 1955-
- Youth -- Conduct of life
- Yugoslavia
- Title
- Somerville High School Film Collection, ca. 1939-1989 : Guide
- Author
- Harvard Film Archive, Harvard University
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- hfa00030
Repository Details
Part of the Harvard Film Archive, Harvard Library, Harvard University Repository
The Harvard Film Archive is one of the largest university-based motion picture collections in the United States, with a collection of 40,000 audio visual items, a growing number of manuscript collections, and nearly one million still photographs, posters, and other promotional materials from around the world and from almost every period in film history. The HFA's collection of paper materials, including the documentation of individual filmmakers as well as promotional materials such as posters, film stills, and ephemera are accessible to Harvard affiliates as well as to outside researchers.
24 Quincy Street
Harvard University
Cambridge MA 02138 USA
(617) 496-6750
hfa@fas.harvard.edu