Online Seminar: Choices in Little Rock

Description

From the Facing History and Ourselves website:

"Facing History and Ourselves' newest online seminar, 'Choices in Little Rock,' is a rich and engaging exploration of the 1957 desegregation of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. The seminar traces the legal and personal struggles of African Americans from Jim Crow America through the landmark supreme court decision on Brown v. Board of Education, and ultimately, to the courageous actions of nine young men and women determined to make desegregation a reality. Their efforts would lead to a crisis that historian Taylor Branch once described as 'the most severe test of the Constitution since the Civil War.'

This online seminar takes place over seven weeks. Each week, participants will engage in a variety of activities that will include reading materials, viewing video clips, creating journal entries, and participating in online facilitated discussion forums. Participants are expected to complete approximately four hours of work each week at their own pace.

Each participant will receive a copy of our teaching guide, Choices in Little Rock, as well as some additional resources, prior to the start of the seminar."

Contact name
Tanya Lubicz-Nawrocka
Sponsoring Organization
Facing History and Ourselves
Target Audience
K-12
Start Date
Cost
$325
Duration
Seven weeks
End Date

The American Revolution

Description

This seminar will consider two different American Revolutions. One was the struggle for American self-determination. The second was the ongoing struggle for liberty and equality enunciated in the Declaration of Independence. Participants will consider the ideological, economic, social, and political causes of the War for Independence. They will also consider the war as a political, military, and social struggle. This course will discuss critical steps made during and after the war for liberty and equality: the abolition of slavery in the North, enhancement of women's roles, and enfranchisement of unpropertied white men. Since New York figured as a critical field of conflict in both American Revolutions, the seminar will take advantage of its location in New York to visit some of the most important Revolutionary sites.

Registration Deadline
Sponsoring Organization
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Phone number
646-366-9666
Target Audience
Elementary and middle
Start Date
Cost
Free; $400 stipend granted
Course Credit
Pittsburg State University (PSU) is pleased to offer graduate credit to workshop participants at a tuition fee of $199 per credit hour. Participants can receive three graduate credit hours for the duration of the week.
Duration
Six days
End Date

Teacher Institute in Early American History

Description

Designed for middle/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
7-12
Start Date
Cost
$1900
Course Credit
Three graduate credit hours available from the University of San Diego
Duration
Eight days
End Date

Teacher Institute in Early American History

Description

Designed for elementary 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
Elementary
Start Date
Cost
$1900
Course Credit
Three graduate credit hours available from the University of San Diego
Contact Title
McKee, Amanda
Duration
Eight days
End Date

Teacher Institute in Early American History

Description

Designed for elementary 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
Elementary
Start Date
Cost
$1900
Course Credit
Three graduate credit hours available from the University of San Diego
Duration
Eight days
End Date

Teacher Institute in Early American History

Description

Designed for middle/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
7-12
Start Date
Cost
$1900
Course Credit
Three graduate credit hours available from the University of San Diego
Duration
Eight days
End Date

Primarily Teaching [KS]

Description

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.

Contact email
Registration Deadline
Sponsoring Organization
National Archives (NARA)
Target Audience
Upper elementary through high school
Start Date
Cost
$100
Course Credit
Graduate credit from a major university is available for an additional fee.
Duration
Nine days
End Date

Tenement Life

Teaser

Students examine primary sources related to the life of an immigrant girl and her family to discover what life might have been like at the turn of the century.

lesson_image
Description

Students examine a set of primary source documents related to the life of an immigrant girl in order to investigate what life might have been like at the turn of the century.

Article Body

The Tenement Museum website provides engaging and entertaining ways to introduce young students to primary sources. The “Elementary School Lesson” found under “Primary Source Activities” uses a family photo, a postcard, a report card, and a passport to examine the life of Victoria Confino, an immigrant girl at the turn of the 20th century. Because these sources are mostly visual, they allow easier access for young students and English language learners than text-dense sources. The lesson provides useful guiding questions for the teacher when helping students examine the documents. After students have discussed the sources, they are asked to write a paragraph about Victoria’s life.

The Tenement Museum website also includes a variety of other fun and educational activities for students. Students can play the immigration game in which they figure out how to get to America, or complete a virtual tour of a tenement building. They could also mix a folk song or, for older students, explore the webcomics of a modern immigrant.

Topic
Immigration
Time Estimate
1 Class Session
flexibility_scale
4
Rubric_Content_Accurate_Scholarship

Yes

Rubric_Content_Historical_Background

No

Rubric_Content_Read_Write

Yes
Students “read” visual sources that contain minimal text. They write about the life of an immigrant girl using evidence from these sources.

Rubric_Analytical_Construct_Interpretations

Yes

Rubric_Analytical_Close_Reading_Sourcing

Yes
The lesson includes questions to prompt students to look at specific details in the documents, but teachers need to add questions about the origins of the documents.

Rubric_Scaffolding_Appropriate

Yes

Rubric_Scaffolding_Supports_Historical_Thinking

Yes
Suggested questions are provided for each source. The teacher could use the questions to develop a graphic organizer.

Rubric_Structure_Assessment

Yes
Students are asked to write about Victoria’s life using the historical evidence. There are no assessment criteria included and teachers will need to develop their own.

Rubric_Structure_Realistic

Yes

Rubric_Structure_Learning_Goals

Yes