Alabama History Education Initiative

Description

From an Alabama Department of Archives and History brochure:

"The Alabama Archives is pleased to announce a major grant from the Malone Family Foundation to develop curricular materials for use in grades 4-12 classrooms. The project will utilize primary sources from Alabama as instructional materials for teachers to use in the classroom. The Alabama Department of Education is a key partner in the project and will assist in the coordination for the training of teachers across the state. As a pilot program, this project will serve to increase instructional access to primary sources and the effective use of primary sources in the classroom."

"The thrust of the proposed initiative is in two areas: (1) developing high-quality, easily implemented curriculum materials that will facilitate more effective instruction and learning; and (2) offering an extensive statewide program of professional development that will equip teachers to use the new curricular materials while also improving their knowledge of state and U.S. history."

Sponsoring Organization
Alabama Department of Archives and History
Eligibility Requirements

"Elementary (beginning with grade 4) and secondary social studies teachers from public schools in which at least 10% of the student population qualifies for free/reduced lunch are eligible to apply for the second cohort of 20 teachers in 2010."

Application Deadline
Award Amount
"$750.00 stipend for travel and housing; laptop for permanent professional and personal use; professional development credit"
Location
Montgomery, AL

Reading Strategies for Teaching Social Studies

Description

From the Goucher College website:

"What are the important reading strategies for the secondary social studies classroom? What are the important organization literacy patterns that can help unlock the social studies? What impact do they have on planning, delivery, and assessment of social studies content? This practical, hands-on course will focus on strategies and approaches that help students with non-fiction reading in the social studies. You will examine eight organizational patterns, including description, cause and effect, compare and contrast and problem solution, which help provide structure for informational text used in social studies. Additionally, we will examine and apply how to use anticipation guides, the role of prediction and related strategies, and how to evaluate and assess outcomes. Finally, all skills will be applied in 'how to do historical investigations.'"

Contact name
Peggy Altoff
Contact email
Sponsoring Organization
National Council for the Social Studies; Goucher College
Target Audience
Middle and high school social studies educators
Start Date
Cost
$700
Course Credit
"Two graduate credits are available through Goucher College for an additional $200."
Duration
Three days
End Date

Advanced Session: Using Library Resources to Create Lessons

Description

Teachers who have attended the Library of Congress's previous summer institutes, or who have served as American Memory Fellows, now have the opportunity to build on their skills with this advanced institute. Participants will work closely with Library specialists to improve their skills in searching the Library's website, to learn more about using collections at the Library, and to develop inquiry-based primary source teaching materials for use in their own classrooms. In addition to attending training sessions with Library specialists, participants will undertake intensive individual research in the Library's collections to discover primary source documents that support their teaching goals. By the conclusion of the institute, each participant will have created the initial stages of a lesson plan or other primary-source-based learning experience that they can take with them and integrate into their teaching. For previous summer institute participants or American Memory Fellows only.

Contact email
Registration Deadline
Sponsoring Organization
Library of Congress
Target Audience
4-12
Start Date
Cost
Free
Course Credit
No college or professional development credits are provided for those participating in the Teacher Institutes.
Duration
Four days
End Date

We the People . . . Mini Institute

Description

The institute is an intensive, professional development program on the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. Participants take part in lectures and discussions on constitutional themes pertinent to the curriculum content, classroom strategies, and performance assessment. An essential component of the institute is teacher preparation and participation in a simulated congressional hearing as a culminating activity. The hearing is a model for student hearings to be held during the school year. Experienced teacher mentors assist participants in discussing the challenges of teaching civic education and preparing for the culminating hearing.

Contact email
Sponsoring Organization
Law Focused Education, Inc.
Phone number
800-204-2222
Target Audience
K-12
Start Date
Cost
$25
Duration
Three days
End Date

The American Revolution

Description

This course focuses on three topics: political developments in North America and the British empire and the arguments for and against independence, culminating in the Declaration of Independence; the Revolutionary War as a military, social, and cultural event in the development of the American nation and state; and the United States under the Articles of Confederation.

Registration Deadline
Sponsoring Organization
Teachingamericanhistory.org
Phone number
419-289-5411
Target Audience
K-12
Start Date
Cost
Free; $500 stipend
Course Credit
Teachers may choose to receive two hours of Master's degree credit from Ashland University. This credit can be used toward the new Master of American History and Government offered by Ashland University or may be transfered to another institution. The two credits will cost $468.
Duration
Six days
End Date

Great American Texts: Democracy in America

Description

Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America is the best study of America to be written by a foreigner. It examines government, religion, the races, private associations, literature, the family, and much else, all the while contrasting democratic America with old aristocratic Europe. This course will examine as much of the book as possible, focusing especially on Tocqueville's account of the love of equality (and its dangers) and his prescriptions for the preservation of liberty.

Registration Deadline
Sponsoring Organization
Teachingamericanhistory.org
Phone number
419-289-5411
Target Audience
K-12
Start Date
Cost
Free; $500 stipend
Course Credit
Teachers may choose to receive two hours of Master's degree credit from Ashland University. This credit can be used toward the new Master of American History and Government offered by Ashland University or may be transfered to another institution. The two credits will cost $468.
Duration
Six days
End Date

"Aiming for Pensacola": Riding the Underground Railroad in the Deep South

Description

No details available.

Contact name
Clavin, Matthew J.
Contact email
Registration Deadline
Sponsoring Organization
University of West Florida
Phone number
850-474-2680
Target Audience
K-12
Start Date
Cost
Free; $750 stipend
Duration
Five days
End Date

"Aiming for Pensacola": Riding the Underground Railroad in the Deep South

Description

No details available.

Contact name
Clavin, Matthew J.
Contact email
Registration Deadline
Sponsoring Organization
University of West Florida
Phone number
850-474-2680
Target Audience
K-12
Start Date
Cost
Free; $750 stipend
Duration
Five days
End Date

Huckleberry Finn in Post-Reconstruction America: Mark Twain’s Hartford Years, 1871-1891

Description

The workshop features the presentations of several preeminent Twain and Gilded Age scholars. The combined expertise of this distinguished faculty affords teachers an outstanding opportunity to enhance their understanding of Mark Twain's legacy. The culmination of participants' work with this exceptional slate of scholars will be their creation of Twain-related lesson plans that they can use in their classrooms.

Contact name
Hotchkiss, Craig
Registration Deadline
Sponsoring Organization
Mark Twain House and Museum
Phone number
860-280-3146
Target Audience
K-12
Start Date
Cost
Free; $750 stipend
Course Credit
Mark Twain House and Museum is authorized by the state of Connecticut Department of Education to issue Continuing Education Units (CEUs) to Connecticut teachers participating in this institute. All CEU certificates will be issued at the end of the workshop. Teachers from other states should consult their own state's Department of Education to determine whether Connecticut CEUs have any transferable value, and if so, they too can request a CEU certificate at the end of the institute.
Contact Title
Education Program Manager
Duration
Five days
End Date