Primarily Teaching Workshops 2009
Dear Colleague:
Thank you for your request for an application to the National Archives summer workshop for educators, Primarily Teaching 2009.
The workshops will be held at:
| Workshop Locations: | Workshop Dates: |
|---|---|
NARA's Southwest Region (Fort Worth) |
June 22 - 26, 2009 |
National Archives & Records Administration |
June 23 - July 2, 2009 |
NARA's Great Lakes Region (Chicago) |
July 13 - 17, 2009 |
NARA’s Central Plains Region |
July 13 - 17, 2009 |
Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum |
July 16 - 24, 2009 |
NARA's Rocky Mountain Region
(Denver) |
July 20 - 24, 2009 |
Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library and Museum |
July 27 – July 31, 2009 |
NARA's Northeast Region (Boston) |
July 27 – July 31, 2009 |
NARA's Pacific Alaska Region (Seattle) |
August 3 - 7, 2009 |
The daily programs begin at 9:00 a.m. and usually adjourn by 4:00 p.m.
At the start of the workshop, we will orient you to the resources of the National Archives and to using them in the classroom. The focus will be the research and development of teaching materials around a subject of interest to you and the design of a professional workshop for classroom teachers.
Upon receipt of your Application and Topic Selection Sheet, and $100.00 registration fee, we will contact you with further information. Participants are responsible for their own food, housing, and travel arrangements. At the close of the workshop, each participant will describe his or her workshop plans.
The National Archives preserves and makes available to the public the permanently valuable records of the U.S. Government. Although the best known of these are the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights, there are millions of documents, maps, drawings, photographs, films, sound recordings and computer tapes in the Archives holdings 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.
As this workshop is designed to assist you in developing teaching materials from the resources of the National Archives, you need to select a specific topic in American history. The following facts about the organization of the National Archives and its holdings may help you select your topic.
- The National Archives holds records relating primarily to the operations
of the Federal government, its employees, litigants, and petitioners. In considering
a topic, you must ask yourself what the involvement was of the Federal government.
If there is none, we will not hold records on it. For example, we will not have
records on the French and Indian wars since they predate the Federal government.
We will not have John T. Scopes' personal papers, nor transcripts of the "Monkey
Trial" since he violated Tennessee law, not federal law.
- These records are organized by the agency that created them, not under subject/author categories. For example, the single richest source for American Indian history
is the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Record Group 75, but at least 50 other agencies
created or received records pertaining to Indian history. You will find this
material in the records of each agency, not in a composite collection labeled
"Indians" or "Native Americans."
- The records created by these federal agencies are frequently large - thousands of cubic feet - and were not originally created for research purposes. It is, therefore, important that a topic be as specific as possible. "Indian removal" is not very helpful; "records of the commission appointed to investigate reports of frauds in the sale of Creek lands in the 1830s" would help an archivist locate what you want in the 16,329 feet of records contained in RG 75 alone.
Thorough preliminary research in Archives finding aids combined with careful examination of secondary sources is essential preparation for this course. The Guide to the National Archives of the United States and other topical finding aids are the most useful references to the full range of materials held by this institution as well as to the specific citations needed by archivists to expeditiously handle your requests. They are available at most university libraries or ERIC centers and online from the National Archives Web site. Close reading of secondary sources for specific names, dates, and references to correspondence or reports will also help immeasurably. You may wish to do some advance research in National Archives materials by exploring the ARC database. Every bit of advanced research you can manage will free workshop time for the time-consuming process of searching the records and will enable you to use your time most effectively and enjoyably.
Should you have further questions about the workshop or topic selection, please e-mail us at education@nara.gov.
Sincerely yours,
Lee Ann Potter, Head of Education and Volunteer Programs
NARA, DC
Download the Primarily Teaching Workshop Application and Topic Selection Sheet
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