During this workshop, participants will consider three major topics. First, they will examine Dickinson the writer. Emily Dickinson is now considered one of the greatest poets in the English language, yet her work was not known outside of a small circle of family and friends until after her death. Because Dickinson herself gave few explicit clues about her attitude toward publication, scholars debate reasons that she did not share her poetry with a wider audience. Ongoing discussion about the authenticity of Dickinson's manuscripts versus the printed poems, which were edited by others, lies at the heart of that debate. Second, they will consider Dickinson, a woman in 19th-century America. Because Dickinson's poems resonate in style and content with the 21st-century reader, her work is often described as "ahead of its time." Critics are often tempted to read her work out of its historical context, to focus on its universal connections to the exclusion of its 19th-century origins. Yet, as recent scholarship asserts, Dickinson's poetry is inseparable from the times in which it was written. Several new essay collections about the poet are devoted to questions of Dickinson's experience of the Civil War, her political opinions, her response to religious movements, and her interest in and connections to her literary contemporaries. Finally, participants will consdier Dickinson, resident of rural New England. Dickinson ended a poem with "I see New Englandly." Dickinson's ancestors settled in western New England in the 1600s. Her world was defined by its character and landscape, and the imagery and diction of her poetry reveal her deep connections to place. This aspect of Dickinson's poetry has long attracted the attention of readers and scholars, yet it has sometimes limited their appreciation for her artistic achievements, marking her as a quaint New England poetess. By modeling different approaches to inquiry-based and object-based learning, the workshop will equip educators with new pedagogical tools and will help them address national standards in English and social studies. They will explore their own interests in Dickinson's life and work through a series of meetings with mentor teachers that will culminate in an outline for a new or revised curriculum unit or a plan for new classroom resources.

This workshop provides a varied program of lectures, demonstrations, analysis of documents, independent research, and group work that introduces teachers to the holdings and organization of the National Archives. Participants will learn how to do research in historical records, create classroom material from records, and present documents in ways that sharpen students' skills and enthusiasm for history, social studies, and the humanities. Each participant selects and prepares to research a specific topic, searches the topic in the records of the National Archives, and develops a teaching unit that can be presented in his or her own classroom.

This institute is five days long, with follow-ups in the fall and spring semesters. It focuses on improving student learning through reading, writing, and thinking in history-social science. In addition to helping teachers with strategies for history reading and writing, this institute will strengthen and assist teachers with language arts instruction. This institute is also instrumental in deepening teachers' content knowledge as UC Berkeley professors in both world and American history collaborate with teachers in lesson development.

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.'"

From the beginning to the expert teacher, using technology as part of social studies instruction in the 21st century is essential. K–12 students use cell phones, the internet, video games, and many other forms of technology. To maintain relevance in the lives of those students, classroom instruction needs to include not only social studies content but 21st-century tools and skills. This workshop will showcase content-specific websites and technology examples that educators can use right away.

The use of primary sources as an instructional tool in the social studies classroom engages students, encourages high levels of learning, and raises test scores. But with so much to do and so little time, how can teachers know what strategies and resources work best? In this workshop, teachers will join other social studies teachers to find the answer to that question. Participants will be introduced to both online and print materials and provided specific examples of how to use those resources with their students.

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.

In this workshop, teachers will get a chance to tour the Stones River National Battlefield and discuss ways to use the park's resources to help students master curriculum standards in multiple disciplines.

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.