"Using primary sources and artifacts in the classroom to explore stories from the past is an excellent way, not only to study history, but to improve oral language development which in turn can enhance students' reading and writing skills. In this hands-on session, participants will analyze reproduction artifacts, including objects, primary documents, images, political cartoons, and more, to learn methods and criteria for selecting teachable primary sources for their classroom. Participants will learn how to analyze these materials and activities to utilize them across the curriculum."

"A panel discussion featuring Elizabeth Alexander, Natasha Trethewey, and Caryl Phillips."

"Across the country, an increasing number of teachers have discovered an exciting and innovative way to promote a love of history. Easy-to-use software (such as Microsoft’s PhotoStory and Movie Maker, and Apple’s iMovie) and extensive copyright-free online images (like those found on the Library of Congress’s American Memory site) make it possible for students to create high quality, Ken Burns-like videos combining narration, text, graphics, and historical images and music. Professor Mintz, a pioneer in the application of new technologies to history teaching and research, will lead teachers through the process of creating digital documentaries with their students."

"To many, the Great Plains are part of the Great Flyover, whose landscape and history alike are flat and featureless. But in this region in the middle of the nation, cultures have mingled and clashed for thousands of years. This seminar will focus on the 19th century, though also examining the first peoples and the continuing cultural exchanges of the 20th century. It will begin with the physical setting, plants, and animals, and consider early humans in both Native American traditions and anthropological/archeological studies. Europeans arriving in the 16th century accelerated the long history of change and evolution, initiating more than three centuries of converging peoples and cultures, new centers of power, flourishing trade, calamitous epidemics, and cultural and material intrusions from across the planet. Participants will visit Bent’s Fort to see a cultural crossroads illustrated through one family. The seminar will also examine cattle ranching, homesteading, scientific explorations, and the depiction of the plains in art."

This institute will "explore topics in American music from two distinct yet complementary angles. First, analysis of popular songs as primary source documents offers fresh material to enrich the understanding of social studies and language arts. Second, field trips and authentic performances offer a uniquely engaging evocation of an historical context. Aided by historians, musicologists, and teaching performers, participants strengthen their skills as historians and develop innovative strategies to integrate music into their teaching." Week by week, themes will include "Moving Along," "Work," War and Peace," "United/Divided," and "Home."

This workshop will "provide an interdisciplinary approach to the various dimensions of Franklin’s career as an inventor, which ranged over fields as diverse as science, civic institutions, diplomacy, citizenship, self-government, music, and mathematics." The workshop will include lectures, discussions, a performance of 18th-century music, visits to historic sites, examination of teaching resources, lesson plan creation, and readings.

This workshop will "provide an interdisciplinary approach to the various dimensions of Franklin’s career as an inventor, which ranged over fields as diverse as science, civic institutions, diplomacy, citizenship, self-government, music, and mathematics." The workshop will include lectures, discussions, a performance of 18th-century music, visits to historic sites, examination of teaching resources, lesson plan creation, and readings.

This seminar will examine the teaching of Eudora Welly's memoir "One Writer's Beginnings," including how social studies teachers can "draw upon its vivid portrait of a distinctive era in Mississippi history."

This workshop will explore the life and times of author and photographer Eudora Welty (1909-2001). Hosted at the Welty House, the workshop will include visits to archives and historic sites, lectures, discussions, and curriculum development.

This workshop will explore the life and times of author and photographer Eudora Welty (1909-2001). Hosted at the Welty House, the workshop will include visits to archives and historic sites, lectures, discussions, and curriculum development.