Gilder Lehrman Institute has Amazing FREE Resources

The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History has received a challenge grant from the NEH to substantially increase the affiliate program over the next five years. It is essentially a special relationship to Gilder Lehrman . The Gilder Lehrman resources are FREE and will be available in perpetuity.


Gilder Lehrman has contracted with over fifty historians to write original essays for the affiliate school site. The essays will cover ten major and forty sub eras in US history. Many of the essays will also explore interdisciplinary aspects of American culture. An extensive and current bibliography, new podcasts, primary sources, teaching strategies, and lesson plans will complete the package of resources. We have also been contracted by David Coleman and the Common Core to produce specific lessons on essential texts in American history.

 

In addition GLI will continue to expand its summer seminar program with preferential consideration provided to affiliate members. This year about 50 per cent of the 1200 positions are allocated to current affiliate school applicants. GLI will also continue to sponsor the History Teacher of the Year award (HTOY).This year’s winner will receive their recognition at the 9/11 Museum in New York City (a new partner with GLI). Bill Clinton will present the award.

 

Similarly, GLI will continue to provide school districts the opportunity to connect to history through travelling exhibits (a new major initiative is well underway related to the immigration) and several new projects in the history box series. As you reach out to schools, you might remind teachers that the affiliate relationship is like a toolbox. You never know when you need that one item but at least it is there when the time arises.. Just ensure that the building principal is onboard (I’m not sure that anyone will pass on no cost professional development). Moreover, GLI will conduct quarterly Regional Forums for affiliate school partners. These by invitation events will provide all day professional development programs related to significant historical themes or events.

 

Just a reminder that a classroom teacher or a librarian has to make the application. You should go to the Gilder Lehrman Institute and go to the affiliates dropdown on the site. This allows you to create an account and submit an application. The last page asks for some demographic information and that should be available from the school’s guidance office. The final question is just a short explanation of why you want to be an affiliate. You can visit their website for more information.

Gilder Lehrman and 9/11 Memorial Resources

I attended the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History on 9/11 and American Memory.  The seminar was absolutely amazing! We learned from experts  about how the United States and the world have dealt with tragedy and loss with events such as the Civil War, Pearl Harbor, the Holocaust, Vietnam, and 9/11. We worked with the amazing team of 9/11 memorial experts who are involved in the planning of the 9/11 Memorial Museum, Fire Chief and 9/11 survivor Jay Jonas, and experts in the field of memory such as  the seminar leader David Blight.

 

Our seminar took a personal tour of the 9/11 museum that is NOT open to the public. Even though it is still under construction, we could instantly observe the beauty, sacredness, and careful planning involved in creating the museum.  I am so impressed with the planning and extensive collection the 9/11 historic site, website, and museum will offer to visitors and generations to honor the victims of September 11th, 2001.

 

9/11/01 Online Resources 

The 9/11 memorial has a wonderful collection of online resources for teachers to educate our students about September 11th, 2001. The website has an extensive collection of multimedia orientated resources such as an interactive timeline, audio, webcasts, video, images, primary documents, and essential artifacts and collections.  Each lesson is tied to the Common Core Standards and based on the 9/11 collections that can be used throughout the school year and across all subjects and divided into different themes. 

 

 

 

 

 

Gilder Lehrman K–12 EDUCATOR PROGRAMS 

Gilder Lehrman ONLINE RESOURCES 

For more information visit: Gilder Lehrman Institute  and 9/11 Memorial 

 

 

US History Websites with the Common Core

Forty-five states have implemented the Common Core State Standards in ELA and Mathematics for every subject. These standards are not intended to drive history and other subjects away from the curriculum, but they are designed to encourage our students to be critical readers who can apply the knowledge they learned.  These standards are intended to engage students in the history curriculum and teach them skills needed to be successful. The websites listed below are useful  to supplement the curriculum and teach students the skills needed to be successful  21st century learners.

Under Common Core Student’s will be encouraged to: 

  1. Examine and analyze primary sources
  2. Use evidence to support an argument
  3. Understand historical context
  4. Read multiple accounts and perspectives
  5. Question: Who? What? Why? When? How? Where?
  6. Take a postion and defend it with evidence

Websites:

  • Docs Teach: This website is a wonderful resource that has over Four Thousand primary documents from the National Archives. The website also has tons of resources and ready to use tools to enhance your instruction.
  • Gilder Lehrman Institute: This website offers a massive variety of resources to assist teachers and students. It offers professional development opportunities for educators, provides documents and exercises for classroom use, and encourages excellence in student writing with essay prizes.
  • Digital History: This website is another great resource that has tons of useful materials such as an alternative textbook, teaching ideas, primary documents, learning modules, and media rich lessons.
  • NROC: This is the website from the National Repository of Online courses that provides teachers with video clips on every unit, key readings, and so much more.
  • Teaching History: Teaching history is a website designed by the National History Education Clearinghouse. This website offers tons of history materials from “Ask a historian,” teaching materials, and best practices.
  • EDSITEment: EDSITEment is another wonderful website from the National Endowment from the Humanities. The website offers free resources and over 393 history lessons for teachers. These lessons stress primary source documents, critical thinking, and other common core skills.  The website is extremely easy to navigate and it has a plethora of valuable and easy to implement lessons.
  • Pearson Hall: This website has online educational materials FREE for educators such as vocabulary building activities, review games, interactive links, and assessments.
  • DBQ and Thematic Essay: Greece Public Schools in Greece, NY has a wonderful collections of Document Based Questions and Thematic Essays that have appeared on the New York State Assessment.
  • Eye Witness to History is a wonderful website to incorporate primary sources such as first-hand accounts, vintage photographs, and radio broadcasts into your classroom.
  •  Reading Like a Historian is a wonderful  curriculum to engage students in historial inquiry.  The Standford History Education Group produced over 75 Lesson Plans based on primary documents and activities to engage your students in the study of United States History.These lessons seems to align perfectly with the Common Core Standards of reading, analyzing, forming an opinion, and debating primary source materials. Students are not learning the material from a textbook or a teacher but engaging in real and meaningful historical inquiry.