Outstanding Middle Level Social Studies Teacher of the Year!

Congratulations to the 2011 NCSS Outstanding Middle Level Social Studies Teacher of the Year, Chris Adrian!

One of our AHTC teachers, Christine Adrian, a teacher at Jefferson Middle School in Champaign, has been honored by the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) as the Outstanding Middle Level Social Studies Teacher of the Year!

The annual NCSS Outstanding Teacher of the Year awards recognize exceptional classroom social studies teachers for grades K-6, 5-8, and 7-12 who teach social studies regularly and systematically in elementary school settings, and at least half-time in middle or junior high and high school settings.

Chris received her award at the NCSS Annual Conference, Dimensions of Diversity, in Washington DC on December 2nd.

Thanks to her good friends, Jen and Karen, for taking this picture of Chris receiving her award!

Spies and The Intelligence Community

On Saturday, November 19th, AHTC teachers gathered at Urbana Middle School to learn about Spies and The Intelligence Community from 3 former spies!

Tony and Jonna Mendez, former CIA Chiefs of Disguise, began the day with a keynote titled, Espionage 101. Not only did they share personal stories and tricks of the trade, but they also brought in gadgets and artifacts used during their past CIA experiences. Some of my favorites were a lipstick camera, a fake nose, and a dead rat with a hidden compartment (okay, they didn't actually bring the rat to the workshop, but it was something they once used to relay messages to other spies)! Tony also shared the story of how he orchestrated a plan that resulted in the rescuing of six US diplomats from Tehran during the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis. Ben Affleck is staring as Tony Mendez in the upcoming 2012 film about this event titled, Argo. Very cool!

During breakout sessions, Tony and Jonna were able to show AHTC teachers how to wear disguises (and even dressed up some participants), as well as describe how illusion and magic influenced their careers.

Dr. H. Keith Melton, an intelligence historian and specialist in clandestine technology and espionage technology, began our afternoon with a keynote titled, Covert Technology and the Attack on Mumbai, which provided our teachers with an in-depth look at how the events of November 26, 2008 unfolded. Dr. Melton described how the terrorists used integrated tactics, superior weaponry, covert communications, and everyday technologies to carry out their attack. One of our AHTC teachers commented, "I felt like I was at a real CIA briefing!"

During breakout sessions, Dr. Melton discussed the 12 most recent US spy cases of American traitors and revealed how they were caught by the CIA, as well as presented a history of espionage over the past 100 years.

What an awesome workshop!

For more information related to this topic, visit the Web Resources page on the AHTC website.

Fall 2011 Lecture Series at the Museum of the Grand Prarie

Hello AHTC Teachers!

The Museum of the Grand Prairie (formerly Early American Museum) is offering a Fall 2011 Lecture Series on Lincoln. There are only two remaining events; Sunday, October 9th and Sunday, November 6th. Don't miss out on this great opportunity!

Sunday, October 9, 2011, Abraham Lincoln as a Lifelong Learner
Hear Myron Marty, Professor Emeritus at Drake University, explain how Lincoln's self-education and his ability to learn throughout his life, created the remarkable individual he became.

Sunday, November 6, 2011, What Would Lincoln Read?
Hear Robert Bray, author and Professor at Illinois Wesleyan, speak about the types of things Lincoln read and how that shaped his opinions and policies.

Both events are FREE and begin at 2:00 pm at the Museum of the Grand Prairie.
Lake of the Woods Forest Preserve
600 North Lombard
Mahomet, IL

For more information, please click on the flyer below.

Carnegie, Rockefeller, Morgan, & Ford: Shaping a Nation through Capitalism

On Saturday, September 17^th, the AHTC gathered at the Hilton Garden Inn in Champaign to spend some time with the history of American capitalism. H.W. Brands started the day with an amazing keynote about Carnegie, Rockefeller, Morgan, and Ford and had wonderful discussions in both of his breakout sessions. He was also extremely gracious to sign everyone’s copy of American Colossus. Not only is Dr. Brands an incredibly intelligent and engaging speaker, but he is also one of the kindest & down-to-earth person I have ever met. Everyone had nothing but nice and positive words to say about him. In fact, one of my favorite expressions was, “He’s like a Rock Star for teachers!"

Dr. Mark Leff from the University of Illlinois, and Dr. Andrew Hartman from Illinois State University, ended the day sharing ways to incorporate classic films such as The Wizard of Oz and Modern Times into our instruction of this topic.

For more information on Dr. Leff’s presentation of The Wizard of Oz as an allegory for the political and economic events of the Gilded Age, please check out the following links:

http://www.usagold.com/gildedopinion/oz.html, http://en.wikipedia.org

/wiki/Political_interpretations_of_The_Wonderful_Wizard_of_Oz

To view the factory scene from Modern Times that Dr. Hartman shared with us, check out this YouTube clip.

Overall, the day was a great success!

Headlines, History, and Hats: American Historical Newspapers and Chronicling America

Hello AHTC Teachers!

The Illinois Newspaper Project is bringing Deborah

Thomas from the Library of Congress to the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign. You are all invited you to attend her presentation, "Headlines,
History, and Hats: American Historical Newspapers and Chronicling
America," at 10:00 a.m. in 126 GSLIS on Thursday, June 30.

Deborah Thomas, Program Coordinator for the National Digital Newspaper
Program at the Library of Congress, will talk about the effort to
digitize historically significant newspapers from all over the United
States and make them freely available through Chronicling America:
Historic American Newspapers, a web site hosted by the Library of
Congress.

In June 2009, the University of Illinois Library received funding from
the National Endowment for the Humanities to participate in the National
Digital Newspaper Program. Four Illinois newspapers-The Chicago Eagle,
The Broad Ax, The Day Book, and The Cairo Bulletin-totaling 100,000 pages
of content have already been added to the Chronicling America repository.

Staff from the Illinois Newspaper Project, Mary Stuart (Principal
Investigator), Amy Sullivan (Preservationist and Project Coordinator),
and Tracy Nectoux (Cataloger and Metadata and Quality Review Specialist),
will be available to answer questions about the Illinois Newspaper
Project following the presentation.

Thursday, June 30, 2011
10:00 a.m.-noon
126 GSLIS
501 East Daniel Street
Champaign, IL 61820
Presentation free and open to the public

Krannert Center Prepares a Piece on the Great Migration

Teachers who attended the AHTC Immigration mini-Summer Institute will remember John Skrentny discussing the differences between immigration, emigration and migration. One of the most famous migrations in United States history is The Great Migration in the late 1920s. After the 1927 Mississippi River flood, thousands of Southern sharecroppers were displaced. The mass exodus of rural southern blacks to Northern cities promoted the spread of Delta blues music, which was reinterpreted in the North in various forms.

The Krannert Center has commissioned a piece inspired by this experience to premiere at ELLNORA on September 10, 2011. Grammy-award winning guitarist and composer Bill Frisell has worked with filmmaker Bill Morrison to create a 75 minute work entitled The Great Flood. If you are interested in attending this show of bringing a group of students, please contact the Krannert Center's Engagement Director Sam Smith at smsmith3@illinois.edu, as he may be able to obtain reduced price or complimentary tickets for educators.

Additionally, Mr. Smith has worked with many local educators to collaborate with them on unit plans that utilize Krannert's resources or that integrate music into the unit. If you have ideas for lesson plans or units that would benefit from his expertise, please email him with your ideas.

1787 the Musical Constitution Contest for Students

Hello AHTC teachers!
You may remember the call for auditions for the musical based on the Constitutional Convention that was posted Tursday, February 17th. Production for 1787: We the People the musical has gone forward, and performances are June 30th-July 3rd. To publicize this production, the team behind the musical is holding a contest for students to win a family pack of tickets to the show.
Simply have your students submit a paragraph or two naming their favorite section of the Constitution and explaining why that section is their favorite to: 1787wethepeople@creativedramaticsworkshop.org by the end of may. Winners will have their entries posted on the production website and five family packs (up to 5 tickets each, including 1 to 2 adults) will be awarded.

If you have any questions, please contact the creativedramaticsworkshop.org. at
217-688-2395, or Robert Picklesimer, at PicklesimerRobrt@aol.com or 217-493-
6175.

Freedom Riders Event Featuring Chris Adrian

Those of you who were inspired to learn more about the Freedom Rides after last summer's Summer Institute, those who remember the round table with a few of the Freedom Riders a few years back, and those who are interested in this fascinating aspect of the Civil Rights movement will be exited to hear that PBS is releasing a new documentary "Freedom Riders" this spring. The program will air on WILL-TV on May 16th

To celebrate the release of the documentary, WILL is hosting a preview event on Thursday April 28th at 7pm at the NCSA Auditorium. This event will feature a screening of the film, and a panel discussion which will feature many distinguished speakers, including AHTC teacher Chris Adrian!

To learn more about this event, click here.

To learn more about the PBS documentary, click here.

FREE Civil War Stories Webinar

Hello, AHTC Teachers!

Thinkfinity has joined with the National Museum of American History to produce a 30 minute webinar on the "museum’s interactives, videos, artifacts and lesson plans on the Civil War, available through Thinkfinity and Smithsonian’s History Explorer." Intended for teachers of grades 5-8, this webinar takes place on April 20th and again on the 23rd. Anyone interested in registering should head here:

Thinkfinity Community

Global Studies Forum: Exploring International Humanitarian Law

Hello AHTC teachers,

The American Red Cross will be hosting another workshop in town building off the Humanitarian Law workshop that we hosted last October. This workshop, on April 16th, will look at teaching humanitarian issues in a way to motivate students to think about themselves as part of a global community. If you are interested, the link to register is at the bottom of the page.

Global Studies Forum: Exploring International Humanitarian Law

Saturday, 16 April 2011

I-Hotel Conference Center at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

This forum will introduce American Red Cross modules used to explore humanitarian issues in the classroom and is applicable to teachers of World Literature, Current Events, World History, and US History.

Educators will examine "Responsibility to Protect" by using real examples from historical and present-day conflicts. Through hands-on exercises, participants will learn to motivate students to think like global citizens. The workshop also includes a keynote speaker and guided review of online resources.

This training is provided free of charge and teachers can earn CDPUs.

Organized by the Center for Global Studies at the University of Illinois with the Central Illinois American Red Cross.

Register today at: http://go.cgs.illinois.edu/GSForum2011

Remembering the Triangle Factory Fire

Those of you who attended the Children and Teenagers focus workshop may remember our keynote speaker recommending the Cornell University resources on the Triangle Factory Fire. The 100th anniversary of the tragedy is March 25th, 2011, and the website put together by Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations is a great place to start looking for ideas and resources.

The website is designed specifically to answer the questions of middle and high school students who are learning about the fire for the first time. It is designed to support students who are writing papers on the subject, but the easily accessible primary sources and the neatly packaged information provides excellent support for any students. The website also features a timeline of the fire and the laws that resulted from it, a model of the 9th floor and an explanation of how its features contributed to the fire, oral history transcripts, many primary source document and an excellent bibliography that contains both fiction and non-fiction sources. I strongly encourage any of you who teach about this incident or about labor reform to spend some time exploring this website.

The Cornell resources can be found here : http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/trianglefire/index.html

1787: The Musical

The world premiere musical 1787: We the People will be produced for performances in Champaign, IL in July of 2011. Music Director is Aaron Kaplan, Stage Director Leonard Rumery and Producer Jeff Goldberg will be holding open auditions on Saturday, February 19, 2011 at the Virginia Theater in downtown Champaign.

Based on the events of the Constitutional Convention, this musical brings to life both the famous and under-recognized forgers of our Constitution. It highlights the personal convictions of the delegates, and the sacrifices and compromises that went into the crafting of a new government for the newly founded nation. Please visit the web site announcement for additional information and details, entire cast list (40+ players), scene-by-scene synopsis, vocal ranges, and more!

http://www.creativedramaticsworkshop.org/

http://www.creativedramaticsworkshop.org/auditions/index.html

Rehearsals for this production will start in early May. For more information about this historical musical, please email: info@creativedramaticsworkshops.org. Consider auditioning, pass this information on to your more theatrically minded friends, and keep this production in mind for some great summer entertainment!

City of Urbana and Museum of the Grand Prairie Attempt to Set New Guinness World Record

City of Urbana and Museum of the Grand Prairie to Participate In Attempt to Set New Guinness World Record with Reading of Historic Lincoln Speech

Champaign, IL – On Friday, February 11th at 11 a.m. CST, the City of Urbana and the Museum of the Grand Prairie will hold public speaking engagements in effort to set a new Guinness World Record for most simultaneous readings from the same document. As part of the national kickoff of the Civil War Sesquicentennial, readings of Abraham Lincoln’s 1861 “Farewell Address” from the Great Western Depot in Springfield, Illinois, will be staged nationwide in attempt to beat the record of 223,363 participants.

The City of Urbana will host a reading in the lobby of the City Building located at 400 S. Vine Street and Mayor Laurel Prussing will participate in the event. The lobby will be decorated with a Lincoln/Civil War display including a large photo of Lincoln, a copy of the speech printed in the newspaper of the time and photos of soldiers. Attendees will also get a sneak peak of the Historic Past Casts that the city is producing – an audio visual look back at our Lincoln heritage. The Museum of the Grand Prairie (formerly the Early American Museum), located on Route 47 in Mahomet, will host a reading at the entrance to the “Champaign County’s Lincoln” exhibit within the museum. Following the museum reading there will be a showing of the video “Champaign County During the Civil War.” Both events are free and open to the public.

Lincoln’s “Farewell Address,” delivered when the president-elect departed for Washington, D.C., will be re-enacted on its 150th anniversary at the Great Western Depot in Springfield and a live webcast has been set up to allow anyone in the nation to participate in the reading. Guinness World Records requires that the readings last at least five minutes so participants will read the “Farewell Address” several times to meet the threshold for the record.

Champaign County has the rare opportunity to celebrate its Lincoln heritage while playing part in this nationwide commemoration and event. The Champaign County Convention and Visitors Bureau has been and will continue to work with local organizers to increase the county’s impact in the world record attempt and to gain maximum exposure for our participants. To arrange your own reading or for more information, contact Libby Kacich at (217)351-4133.

Black History Month Resources on the AHTC

February is Black History Month. As you plan your activities, please keep the AHTC website in mind.

In the past year , the AHTC has put on workshops about The Civil Rights Movement, African-American Education, Sojourner Truth and Frederick Douglass. There are website lists online that contain dozens of websites with information, student activities and lesson plans. There are also website lists from our Middle Passage workshop in 2008, the Brown vs the Board of Education workshop in 2006, Resistance to Slavery in 2007 as well as many more!

If you're looking for something more specific than the web resources, head over to the lesson plans section. Our teachers have put together some really amazing lesson plans over the years, and many of them have been posted the website. The lesson plans are sorted by topic and many have the suggested grade level under the title. There is also a separate page highlighting the elementary level lesson plans.

For example, take a look at Kyle Sondgeroth's lesson "What was Martin Luther King Jr doing in Memphis on April 4, 1968" intended for grades 3-5 for a great introductory lesson to Martin Luther King Js's life and work. Todd Searing's Fellowship lesson plan on the Crosswhite Fugitive Slave case is intended to introduce middle schoolers the the effects of the Fugitive Slave Act passed in 1793. Mary Ann Jusko's lesson on The Barbershop Project on the University of Illinois Campus helps her upper elementary kids tie the civil rights movement to local issues. In order to teach his students in grades 7-12 that Jim Crow and segregation was not just a problem in the South, Amos Lee has an excellent lesson plan entitled "Discrimination against African Americans in Illinois." These are only a few examples of the great lesson plans on African-American history that are available on the website.

If you already have an activity in mind, but you are looking for primary sources to ground your activities in local history, head over to the Local Primary Sources section of the website. This section contains scans of local documents. The sources are organized into spreadsheet by topic, and the spreadsheets can be sorted by name or date. The sources about World Wars I and II are especially rich.

New Classroom Programs at the Early American Museum

Do you need hands-on objects to help present exciting and effective
programs about history? If you are finding it difficult to schedule a
field trip to the Early American Museum, consider bringing a part of us to
you! Our outreach programs aim to bring the museum into your classroom
through both Traveling Discovery Kits and Museum Educator presentations.
Our education programs are available in a variety of disciplines and
topics. All are linked to Illinois Learning Standards and reinforce
curricula at a variety of grade levels. See a list below of our
historical education program topics.
Our traveling trunks are a great way to facilitate hands-on learning and a
great way to enrich the classroom experience with original and
reproduction artifacts, lesson plans, and resource materials. A historical
educator will tailor a visit to meet your needs. See a list below of out
Traveling Discovery Kits.
Call Katie Hicks or Sandy Osborne at (217) 586-2612 to discuss any idea
you have for your classroom. This experience could be for one class or
multiple classes.

Traveling Discovery Kits
All kits are free with a refundable deposit of $50.

Gone for a Soldier
This kit includes some of the personal belongings of a Union soldier in
the Civil War, excerpts from letter of Champaign County Soldiers, and out
Champaign County during the Civil War video.

The Illinois Country
Actual furs and reproductions of trade goods, along with literature about
the interaction between the French and Native Americans in 18th-century
Illinois, are included in this kit.

History from the Heart
This outreach kit is based on the publication of the Illinois Quilt
Research Project, History from the Heart: Quilt Paths Across Illinois. It
includes a copy of the book, study questions, suggested activities, quilt
blocks and storybooks.

Dressed For Work and Play
This kit contains accurate reproduction of everyday clothing worn by boys
and girls in the 1840s. It includes background information for teachers.
Color slides of painting and photographs illustrating 19th—century
children accompany the kit. A complete set of boys and girls clothing is
included. Good for grades K though 5.

Illiniwek Discovery Kit
Touch a brain tanned hide and a bison bone, learn what wampum is and more!
This Discovery Kit focuses on the history and culture of Native Americans
who once lived throughout East Central Illinois. Information on the
Kaskaskia, Peoria, Cahokia, Mascouten, and other members of the Illiniwek
Confederation from 1650 to 1800 is included. This kit was put together by
Dan Hechenberger of the educational nonprofit group Nipundikan and uses
the Goals and Standards for Social Science, Science, Arts and Music,
Language Arts, and Math. Funding for this kit was provided by the Ida
Haack Trust Fund established by Otto Haack.

Lights, Camera, Action!
Use a stereoscope! Make a phantasm scope! Learn to distinguish between a
daguerreotype and a cabinet card. Hands-on reproductions of different
types of photographs as well as persistence of motion devices are
included. Teach science and social studies at the same time!

In-Class Programs
In-class programs can include any of the topics listed above. A few
popular topics have included Life on the prairie, Growing up in the 19th
Century, and First Illinoisans.

Fees for In-Class Programs
Champaign County Schools
Pre-K $20.00 for up to 20 students…$1.00 fee per each additional student
K-12 $25.00 for up to 25 students…$1.50 fee per each additional student

Out of County Schools
Pre-K $25.00 for up to 20 students…$1.50 fee per each additional student
K-12 $30.00 for up to 25 students…$2.00 fee per each additional student

Forest Preserve Field Trips
If you rather visit us, we also have school programs at Lake of the
Woods, Middle Fork and Homer Lake. Please call or email
Stacey Clementz
Environmental Education Programs
(217) 896-2455
sclementz@ccfpd.org

Katie Hicks/ Sandy Osborne
Historical Education Programs
(217) 586-2612
khicks@ccfpd.org
sosborne@ccfpd.org

Ralph Bonati
Plant Science Programs
(217) 586-2612
rbonati@ccfpd.org

Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World,

From the Journal Gazette and Times-Courier:

"Eastern Illinois University's Booth Library will host a reception and program for the exhibit "Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World," on Wednesday January 12th, 2011.

The reception begins at 7 p.m. in the Marvin Foyer. Following opening remarks, Fred Krebs will perform in "An Evening with Benjamin Franklin" in the West Reading Room, the university said.

The exhibit, "Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World," tells the story of the man who began his life as a poor printer's apprentice and ended it as a revered elder statesmen known throughout the world for his wisdom, wit, and resourcefulness.

The exhibit will be on display until Feb. 25."

To read the full article, click here.

Horace Mann and Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Fellowship Program

Each summer in Springfield, 50 teachers are given behind-the-scenes access to educational resources and historians at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum as part of a fellowship program. The program is jointly sponsored by the Presidential Library and Museum and the Horace Mann Company. The program covers the cost of round-trip transportation, as well as lodging and meals while in Springfield. Fellows will tour New Salem State Historic Site where Lincoln lived as a young man, the Lincoln Home, the Old Illinois State Capitol where Lincoln made his "house divided speech, the Lincoln-Herndon Law Office, and Lincoln's Tomb. Attendees will broaden their knowledge their knowledge of the Sixteenth President through lectures, workshops and group discussions.

The 2011 program will accept 25 teachers for the June 19-24 session and another 25 for the July 10-15 session. Teachers may select their preferred session date. Note to AHTC teachers: These dates do not conflict with the AHTC Mini-Summer Institute on Immigration or the AHTC Summer Institute on the History of Illinois. The deadline for this fellowship has been extended to February 12, 2011.

Apply online at :
http://alplm.pmailus.com/pmailweb/ct?d=Ouyu7gAWAAEAAAl6AASSFw

January and February Events at the University of Illinois

Hello, AHTC teachers!
Welcome back from Winter Break! The University of Illinois Office of the Vice Chancellor for Public Engagement has released a calendar of events to commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. These events, spanning January and February, include a day of service, a fireside chat and film screenings. Of particular interest is the January 22nd event celebrating the winners of the MLK Writing Contest. The Urbana High School String Alongs and the Franklin Middle School Step Team will perform. Additionally, students from Garden Hills and King Schools will perform "We are the World." Artwork and writing from local students who entered the 2011 Martin Luther King Writing Contest will be displayed at the University of Illinois Main Library for the month of February. To see the complete calendar, please click here.