Primarily Teaching
A Summer Workshop for Educators on
Using Historical Documents in the
Classroom
Presented by staff of the National Archives and Records Administration:
- The National Archives in Washington, DC, June 24 - July 3, 2008 *
- The National Archives Regional Facility, Denver, CO, July 14 - 18, 2008
- The National Archives Regional Facility, Chicago, IL, July 14 - 18, 2008 *
- The Lyndon B. Johnson Library, Austin, TX, July 28 - August 1, 2008
- The National Archives Regional Facility, Waltham, MA, July 28 - August 1, 2008
- The National Archives Regional Facility, Laguna Niguel, CA, July 29 - August 5, 2008
- The National Archives Regional Facility, Fort Worth, TX August 4 - 8, 2008
- The National Archives Regional Facility, New York, NY, August 11 - 15, 2008
- The George Bush Presidential Library and Museum, College Station, TX, August 11 - 15, 2008
- The National Archives Regional Facility, Seattle, WA, August 18 - 22, 2008
What is the National Archives and Records Administration?
The
National Archives and Records Administration preserves and makes available to
the public the permanently valuable records of the U.S. Government. In addition
to the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights,
the National Archives of the United States holds millions of documents, maps,
drawings, photographs, films, sound recordings, and computer tapes that document
the American experience of government from 1774 to the present. The National
Archives comprises the richest record of America's past in the nation. And all
of this material is available to teachers.
What will Primarily Teaching offer teachers?
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.
Who should attend?
Teachers of history, geography, government,
civics, sociology, psychology, economics, American studies, literature, and the
humanities from upper elementary through college levels take Primarily
Teaching. Librarians, media specialists, archivists, and museum educators
also find it useful to their work. Primarily Teaching demonstrates
secondary strategies, but educators at all levels can easily adapt them to their
particular needs.
What does the workshop cost?
The fee for each of the workshops is $100,
which includes all materials.
Some comments from past participants:
"I am a critical audience who
is always second-guessing the instructor in courses I take, but if each teacher
of social studies took this . . . , the teaching and learning of history in this
country would be utterly transformed."
"This is the BEST, most VALUABLE class I have ever taken. My vocabulary is insufficient to describe it properly. Thank you!"
"I would highly recommend this workshop to anyone with an interest in research and/or the social studies. There is no better way to earn 3 graduate hours! I hope to come back and do much more work here."
"I gained the confidence and knowledge and information to do my own research in the future."
"An energizing academic experience."
"I thoroughly enjoyed the excitement of discovery. Many thanks to all those who supported us in many ways."
"A wealth of information and documents that will be incorporated in my teaching units."
"I have a renewed sense of enthusiasm for beginning yet another school year."
How do I apply?
Please see the Workshop Overview for an application and more information.
Enrollment is limited to 20 persons at the DC session, and 10 persons at the Abilene and Chicago sessions.
Completed applications are due no later than 6 weeks before the workshop.
* The institute in Washington, DC, is longer than the regional sessions due to the size and variety of the holdings. Participants in the DC program will be oriented to the holdings in cartographic materials, still photographs, and motion picture and sound recordings, in addition to the textual holdings in both the National Archives Building in downtown Washington, DC, and the National Archives at College Park, MD. (Shuttle service between the buildings is available.)
