Teaching with Primary Sources Midwest Region
Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS) is the premier educational program by the Library of Congress, focused on helping educators enhance students’ critical thinking and analysis skills and content knowledge using the Library’s collections of millions of digitized primary sources. The TPS Midwest Region at Illinois State University covers 17 states situated in the center of the United States, from Minnesota to Louisiana.
Announcements
Fall 2020 Online Professional Development
- Fundamentals of Primary Source Instruction – Online meetings on Tuesday, September 22, 2020 (4–5:30 CDT) and Tuesday, December 1, 2020 (4–5:30 CDT)
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Advanced Primary Source Instruction (prerequisite: Fundamentals of Primary Source Instruction) meetings on Thursday, September 24, 2020 (4–5:30 CDT) and Thursday, December 3, 2020 (4-5:30 CDT). All times are CDT.
Gain knowledge and skills needed to utilize digital primary sources from the Library of Congress website, create activities and lessons that facilitate the Common Core Standards, and engage students in active learning while developing critical thinking skills and constructing knowledge. This course is self-paced and can be taken for 25 PD hours. For more information, email Judy Bee or call ( 309) 438-3441 . Register for Courses
Teaching History's Mysteries
- July 16 and 23, 2020
In this online professional development, participants will be introduced to six History's Mysteries units, one per grade level, each containing 4–5 lessons that fully address a topic in the new standards for each grade. Please see the Emerging America website for information about the curriculum and the cost of training.
TPS Teachers Network Mentor Compiles Anti-Racist TPS Resources
TPS Teachers Network Mentor Margaret (Gigi) Lincoln has compiled and curated an extensive list of resources in a post titled "Ending Racism: Teaching Difficult Topics in 2020." If you have been seeking TPS resources that relate to racism, feel free to take and add. Contact Mary Johnson at johnsonmj@mac.com.
NCHE to Convene Conversation about Race, Ethnicity, and History in July
NCHE is committed to making sure that educators still receive excellent programming, even though all events are currently online. We look forward to an online colloquium with the Army Heritage and Education Center. In addition, NCHE will host "Critical Conversations on Race, Ethnicity, and History" throughout the month of July. This professional learning series will feature webinars, document talks, virtual field trips, and more. It will culminate in an online Equity Summit on August 4th–6th. Registration will open next week. If you are interested in presenting your TPS work as part of this series or summit, please contact Grace Leatherman at grace@nche.net.
National Council of Teachers of English Invites Educators to Join in Two Online Events
The NCTE announces a new learning opportunity, a proverbial Summer Sandbox. Led by stalwart NCTE members and leaders in the field, the organization has co-created a space to further explore culturally sustaining and anti-racist English language arts education, paired with a variety of digital learning contexts. This online sustained professional learning experience will begin in July and last four weeks. If you are an NCTE member, learn more and sign up at NCTE Presents: The Summer Sandbox.
Join your NCTE colleagues to discuss "In the Pursuit of Justice: Students’ Rights to Read and Write in Elementary School" this summer during #NCTEreads. Learn more and sign up at NCTE Reads. Contact Lisa Fink at lfink@ncte.org.
National History Day Invites Teachers to Apply for a Student Research Webinar Series
National History Day will conduct a student research webinar series for 58 teachers. The series will run from August 17–December 14. Teachers, librarians, and preservice teachers who instruct students in grades 4–12 are encouraged to apply. This program will feature four live webinars with a historian and a curriculum specialist, scheduled at 6:00 p.m. CDT on September 14, October 14, November 11, and December 9. We strongly will strongly urge all participants to plan to attend the events live but will make recordings available for those who are unable to do so. To learn more or apply, go to National Health Day: Professional Development. Applications are due by July 31. Questions? Email lynne@nhd.org.