A Teaching American History Project of the Pender County School District and the Univeristy of North Carolina Wilmington
Teaching American History Grant funded by the US Department of Education in partnership with the University of North Carolina Wilmington, Pender County School District, The History Teaching Alliance, and The North Carolina Humanities Council Teachers Institute

 

Resources

 

 

History Seminars

The seminars will expose teachers to the latest in historical scholarship and relevant primary documents, along with regional history that exemplifies national trends. The seminars will include a mix of lectures and discussions led by professional historians along with hands-on activities with primary and archival resources. Teachers will read the latest scholarship, appropriate to their classroom needs, and explore the historical controversies of each time period.

 

Content-Driven Pedagogy

Complementing the primary focus on context, teachers will learn history-specific teaching strategies based on analysis and synthesis of primary and secondary materials in the classroom and aligned with state history standards. Participating teachers will develop lesson plans and resource packets based in the year’s content with the help and advice of the project staff. The HTA and partner institutions will use the new lesson plans as they work with history teachers throughout the region. Project rubrics have been developed to ensure that the projects are historically accurate and actively engage students in the process of historical inquiry.

 

Professional Learning Communities (PLCs)

Professional learning communities are where the history content gained in project activities is adapted to classroom use. PLCs will be structured along the guidelines of the National Staff Development Council (NSDC). PLCs focus on learning rather than teaching and are characterized by an environment fostering mutual cooperation, support, professional growth and a synergy of efforts. DuFour and Eaker, experts in the field of school improvement insist that PLCs are “the most promising strategy for sustained, substantive school improvement.” As teachers work and learn together they will ensure success for their students more so than they can in isolation.

 

TAH Lecture Series

A history lecture series will take place once a year at UNCW to coincide with the weekend content seminars. Speakers will be chosen for the relevance of their expertise to the classroom needs of that cohort of teachers. The lectures also will be open to the public and as another in-service professional development activity for other area teachers.