Past and Present-Day Warriors: American Indian Military Service

Description

From the National Museum of the American Indian website:

"Warriors have always held an honored place in American Indian societies. Responsible for protecting their communities, homelands, and rights, Native soldiers have served with distinction alongside (and sometimes against) the United States military in every major American conflict, including the Revolution, Civil War, and World War II. Discover why Native Americans serve in the military and explore the intersection of warrior culture in the lives of today's veterans."

For more on the National Museum of the American Indian, refer to NHEC's Museums and Historic Sites entry.

Sponsoring Organization
National Museum of the American Indian
Start Date
Cost
$20
Duration
Four hours

Teacher Institute in Early American History

Description

Designed for high school social studies teachers who teach United States history and government, this intensive week-long workshop will immerse participants in early American history "on location" in Williamsburg, the restored capital city of 18th-century Virginia, and nearby Jamestown and Yorktown. 25 teachers and a returning mentor teacher will be selected for each session. Participants will be involved in an interdisciplinary approach to teaching social studies with colonial American history as the focus. Teachers will have the opportunity to exchange ideas with noted historians, meet character interpreters, and take part in reenactments of 18th-century events. They will review various interactive teaching techniques with a mentor teacher and with each other. Instructional materials in a variety of media will be provided to participants to use in their classrooms. Together with Colonial Williamsburg staff, teachers will prepare new instructional materials for use in their own classrooms.

Contact name
McKee, Amanda
Contact email
Registration Deadline
Sponsoring Organization
Colonial Williamsburg
Phone number
757-565-8417
Target Audience
8-12
Start Date
Cost
$1900
Course Credit
Three graduate credit hours available from the University of San Diego
Duration
Eight days
End Date

Holocaust and Human Behavior Three-Day Seminar

Description

From the Facing History and Ourselves website:

"Using Facing History's principal resource book, Holocaust and Human Behavior, as well as video, primary sources, and presentations by survivors and leading scholars of the Holocaust, participants will experience a rigorous encounter with this powerful history. During the Seminar, a wide range of innovative teaching strategies are used to help teachers confront the Holocaust. At the conclusion of the Seminar, participants leave with a thorough grounding on how to incorporate these teaching tools into their classrooms in ways that will help students connect the history of the Holocaust to the ethical choices they face today."

Sponsoring Organization
Facing History and Ourselves
Target Audience
K-12
Start Date
Cost
$225
Duration
Three days
End Date

National Museum of the American Indian: Educator's Open House

Description

From the National Museum of the American Indian website:

"This event provides educators the opportunity to learn about the rich experiences available at the NMAI. The day's activities include tours of exhibitions, the Haudenosaunee Discovery Room, and the Resource Center; there will also be hands-on activities. Educators who pre-register will receive a package of resources."

For more on the National Museum of the American Indian, refer to NHEC's Museums and Historic Sites entry. Please note that this event is at the museum's New York City branch.

Sponsoring Organization
National Museum of the American Indian
Phone number
212-514-3716
Target Audience
PreK-12
Start Date
Duration
Five hours

Teacher Safari: Exploring the Fur Trade

Description

Educators can transition from school to summer with this two-day, traveling workshop. Both days will begin and end at the North West Company Fur Post. Educators will participate in an in-depth site experience at the Fur Post, venture out on the Snake River on a large Montreal-style canoe, and hike along portage trails used by the voyageurs. They will learn from fur trade experts, share ideas about their favorite lessons, and immerse themselves in Minnesota's fur trade history. Educators may sign up for one or both days.

Contact name
Cadwell, Jen
Registration Deadline
Sponsoring Organization
Minnesota Historical Society
Phone number
651-259-3432
Target Audience
4-12
Start Date
Cost
$245 members; $260 nonmembers
Course Credit
A partnership with Hamline University in St. Paul allows the Minnesota Historical Society to offer one credit per 12 hours of workshop time.
Duration
Two days
End Date

The River of Tides

Description

From a National Museum of the American Indian email:

"Four hundred years ago, in 1609, Henry Hudson made his first voyage on the river that came to bear his name. To mark this historic event, Pace University commissioned Joseph Bruchac, a writer and educator of Abenaki descent, to create a play based on crew member Robert Juet's journal of the famous expedition. The play tells of the coming together of the European and Indian culture, in all of its complexities, and of the Indians' efforts to preserve and protect the river and their way of life.

Educators are invited to see a special presentation of the original play by noted author Joseph Bruchac (Abenaki) entitled The River of Tides. There will be a Q & A with Mr. Bruchac following the performance. Educators who pre-register will receive a companion curriculum."

For more on the National Museum of the American Indian, refer to NHEC's Museums and Historic Sites entry. Please note that this event takes place at the museum's New York City location.

Sponsoring Organization
National Museum of the American Indian
Phone number
212-514-3716
Target Audience
PreK-12
Start Date

Stories and Teaching Strategies: Minnesota's Greatest Generation

Description

From the Minnesota Historical Society website:

"Minnesota's Greatest Generation—the people who grew up during the Great Depression, came of age during WWII, and participated in the post-war boom—created a lasting legacy that has shaped all of us who have come after. This workshop will introduce teachers to the MGG website content and lessons, allow teachers to see the new MGG museum exhibit, and will give teachers the opportunity to learn from experts on the history of this era. If you teach 20th century Minnesota or United States history, this is the workshop for you!"

Sponsoring Organization
Minnesota Historical Society
Target Audience
PreK-12
Start Date
Cost
$50
Duration
Six hours

Illinois Law-related Education Conference

Description

From the Constitutional Rights Foundation Chicago website:

"CRFC's annual conference features over 20 teacher workshops on legal and political issues, interactive teaching methods, and innovative materials for the classroom. Participants can attend dynamic workshops featuring nationally recognized presenters, exchange ideas with colleagues from throughout the state, and take back free resource materials."

Sponsoring Organization
Constitutional Rights Foundation Chicago
Contact email
Location
Oak Brook, IL
Contact name
Margie Chan
Phone number
800-801-9933
Start Date
Registration Deadline

ABMC War Dead Database

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Annotation

This American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) Burials and Memorializations database features over 224,000 records of individuals buried or memorialized in ABMC cemeteries and memorials worldwide. Covering 24 cemeteries in 10 foreign countries and 3 additional memorials in the U.S., this database provides online access to burial information of those killed in action primarily during World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.

Additional individuals include veterans, active duty military, and civilians. The database also provides information on individuals in the Corozal American Cemetery (Panama) and the Mexico City National Cemetery (Mexico), including civilians and veterans of the Spanish-American War and the Civil War.

The database interface allows students to search by name, war or conflict, service or serial number, branch of service, unit, service entry location, cemetery/memorial, date of death, and keyword. Users can also search for service members who are missing in action and Medal of Honor recipients who are buried or memorialized by ABMC.

This organization of the material allows the user to explore a wealth of information. Students can research the geographic distribution of burials or explore representation among military branches in individual cemeteries. The ABMC database allows users to focus on who is buried and memorialized and to explore the experiences of individual soldiers as well as patterns and commonalities.

Students, for example, could begin to explore the number of women who served as nurses during World War I and the Influenza epidemic of 1918, or the experiences of the 100th Infantry Battalion of the U.S. Army during World War II. Or they could chose to search for an individual from their home state or community and use the database’s information as a starting point to research the life of this individual. They can download search results and print, email, or share individual records.

This valuable research and teaching resource is accompanied by a robust “Education Resources” section featuring interactive timelines and campaign narratives, cemetery or memorial-specific mobile apps, publications, videos, lesson plans, and curriculum ideas. The “Flying Yanks: American Airmen in WWI” interactive, for example, provides historical background for students exploring the air war in WWI, a timeline and map with primary sources, as well as individual stories of airmen.

Students can use the database in conjunction with the learning materials to enrich their understanding of U.S. military history, memorialization, public history, and numerous other historical topics.

Win the White House

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What is it?

Win the White House is an online game that allows students to simulate a presidential campaign of their own. This includes debating, completing primaries, choosing a vice president, fundraising, making appearances, and more.

Getting Started

Visitors can register to play Win the White House or play without registering (both options are free). However, if the player is not registered, they cannot continue a campaign later. Win the White House works on both Macs and PCs.

To start, the player chooses a candidate, slogan, political party, and issues that they focus on, such as environment, health care, and voting laws. For older students, topics such as gun control and gay marriage are included. (Throughout the game, they will have to periodically answer questions regarding their platform or the platform that their opposition supports.) They then begin their political campaign. For support, as well as examples of use and teaching plans for the game, check out Win the White House: A Game Guide for Teachers.

Examples

During the political campaign, students will painlessly review the details of running a campaign, including how the electoral college works and how those votes are weighed, as well as how important political marketing is.

Playing the game can point out to students how many factors contribute to the progress and success of a presidential campaign. As students play, make sure they notice and use the four blue buttons at the top of the play screen map to view the states through different filters as their campaigns progress. With these buttons, they can remind themselves how many electoral votes each state has, see how the popular vote is going, keep track of states' momentum (are states leaning red or blue?), and check how much money each state still has available to fund campaigns.

Although Win the White House is a learning tool, it is also a game, adding motivation to learn and presenting students with many choices. Note that the game provides an assessment of how well the students achieved their objectives at the end, which can help teachers measure student comprehension. Win the White House can help teachers see how well students understand both the political process and the media’s potential to influence the outcome of an election.

For more information

Looking for more high-quality games for use in the history or civics classroom? iCivics, creator of Win the White House, features more than 20 online games on topics ranging from municipal planning to immigration to the Bill of Rights. Check out our Tech for Teachers on Do I Have a Right? for our take on one of iCivics' more addictive games.

Not certain how best to use games for teaching? High school teacher Jeremiah McCall shares his tips for getting the most out of games in his six-part blog series.