AHTC

Outstanding Middle Level Social Studies Teacher of the Year!

2011-12-09T11:02:00.000-08:00

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!

2011-12-09T09:41:00.000-08:00

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 Men dez, 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

2011-10-04T13:33:00.001-07:00

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

2011-09-29T08:40:00.001-07:00

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

2011-06-18T11:21:00.000-07:00

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

2011-06-13T11:48:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-28T07:49:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-20T09:56:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-11T12:59:00.000-07:00

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

2011-03-29T07:16:00.001-07:00

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.

Remembering the Triangle Factory Fire

2011-02-22T07:55:00.000-08:00

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

2011-02-17T07:36:00.000-08:00

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

2011-02-09T07:22:00.001-08:00

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

2011-02-05T08:38:00.000-08:00

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

2011-01-21T07:12:00.000-08:00

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,

2011-01-11T08:37:00.000-08:00

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

2011-01-06T09:36:00.000-08:00

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

2011-01-03T14:27:00.000-08:00

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.

The 69th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor

2010-12-07T08:28:00.000-08:00

Hello AHTC teachers,
Today, on the 69th anniversary of the attacks on Pearl Harbor, I'd like to direct you to a few websites to learn more about the day. To follow up on Saturday's theme of oral histories and personal narratives, I would suggest that you head to the History and Culture section of the National Park Service website which tells the story of the event, but it also contains testimony from survivors and copies of the newsletter circulated on the USS Arizona. The "For Teachers" section contains, at the very bottom of the page, a link to an 195 page .pdf Teacher Tool Kit which contains selected primary and secondary sources to supplement your curriculum.
National Geographic's archive of survivor stories has been taken down, but the "Multimedia Map and Interactive Timeline" is an excellent way to get a feel for the events of December 7th. Adidtionally, searches on YouTube or the Internet archive can net you news footage and radio announcements from 1941, as well as footage of FDR's famous response. Pearl Harbor History contains some unsupported claims that should be read carefully, but also has an excellent collection of news clips, songs and speeches relating to the attack. In the craziness of the end of the semester, it is easy to overlook the anniversary of Pearl Harbor, but I hope you all take a moment or two in class today to mention this important date.

The AHTC Honors Our Country's Veterans

2010-11-10T13:10:00.000-08:00

At 11:00 of the the eleventh day of the eleventh month or 1918, an armistice was signed between the Allied Forces and Germany. Celebrated as Armistice Day for many years, the holiday was expanded to include the veterans of all wars in 1954. Unlike Memorial Day, Veterans day honors all who have served their country through military service in wartime or in peacetime.

Please take a moment to read more about Veterans Day here and explore History.com's slideshows and videos here. Additionally, the Library of Congress has collected pictures and personal testimony that speak to the wartime experiences of veterans and people on the homefront during World War I. Explore those here.

eBlackCU Symposium- Next Weekend

2010-11-01T13:05:00.000-07:00

Hello All,
I know that you have been interested in eBlackCU.net and that many of you enjoyed learning more about it from Noah Lenstra and his interns at the Summer Institute last July. For those of you who are unfmailiar with the project, eBlackCU is developing a comprehensive online database about African-American history in Champaign-Urbana. For more information, please hear over to the website. You can also read more in our May 24th, 2010 blog post.

eBlackCU is hosting a campus- community symposium next weekend, November 5th and 6th, from 9:00am to 5:00pm and will feature discussion and information on digital technology and campus-community interactions. November 6th will feature round table discussions on the uses of digital technology for community groups, social service agencies, community centers and educators and will be attended by more than 40 local organizations, including both the Champaign and Urbana Libraries, WILL, the Early American Museum, the NAACP and the Ministerial Alliance. Additionally, Urbana High School Librarian Matthew Murrey and David Adcock,Director of Urbana Adult Education will be speaking.

To learn more about the event, see a schedule, and to register, head to: http://eblackcu.net/portal/symposium

A flyer for the event is located here.

Time Magazine Online Archives

2010-10-18T08:50:00.000-07:00

Hello AHTC teachers!
I'd like to direct your attention to a really neat online tool. Time magazine has digitized their archives from their founding in 1923 to the present. Beyond viewing all of the covers for the last 87 years, you can keyword search for articles or covers. Additionally, the website has covers sorted by categories such as 'Religion' or 'Presidents." You can also sort through the collections, which are selected covers and article excerpts on a specific topic. They provide an excellent overview of Time's coverage of a topic chronologically. The website has some great features, including browsing tips and a section highlighting the first mention of people who went on to be quite famous.

The archive is fun to idly browse but it can also be a great tool for finding primary sources, examining news coverage of a specific event, looking at how coverage changed over time. There are tons of different ways to use this resource, and we'd love to hear what fun things you find or what great ways you find to use this in your classrooms!

Time Archive

Teachers' Workshop: The Invention of African Traditions

2010-10-05T09:59:00.000-07:00

Organized and supported by the University of Illinois' Center for African Studies, Department of History, the Center for Historical Interpretation

Monday, October 11, 2010
6:00-8:30 pm
Venue: Champaign Curriculum Center, 405 N. Randolph, Champaign, IL
2.5 CPDUS, curriculum resources, and lesson ideas will be provided.
Food will be provided as well.

American students have little opportunity to learn African societies, history and art. The focus of this workshop is to examine how teachers can bring the idea that African cultures are dynamic into their classrooms.

The prominent and path-breaking scholar, Prof. Terence Ranger, Rhodes Professor of Race Relations, Oxford University, and co-author of The Invention of Tradition will be participating inthe workshop. Dr. Jonathan Zilberg, an anthropologist trained at the U of I and creator of "Power and Beauty: A Learning Module on African Art and Culture," will present curricular and pedagogical approaches to teaching the dynamism of African culture, art and history. A locally-produced film aimed at young people on the topic of African masquerades will be shown.

REGISTER by emailing: jmcgowan@illinois.edu

Please indicate
Your Name:
School:
Subjects taught:
Grade Levels taught:

History of Illinois Workshop

2010-09-28T07:03:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, September 25th, the AHTC gathered to spend some time with the history of our state. Based on a recommendation from AHTC teachers Matt Buckles and James Garcia, we started the day with a keynote speech and breakout sessions from Michael Rosenow, assistant professor of history at Central Arkansas University. Professor Rosenow spoke about the ideas brought up by living in the "Land of Lincoln" and spoke of the conflicting experiences of women, organized labor and minorities in Illinois during the "Age of Lincoln"(1864-1909.)

While half their colleagues were in breakout sessions with Professor Rosenow, the other half of the group were participating in map activities in Don Barbour. Putting the maps of Chicago in chronological order and using plat maps to decide where in Champaign county to lay railroad tracks was harder than our participants first expected, and required a lot of collaboration!

After lunch, we were joined by Dr. Roger Biles, professor of history at Illinois State University for a keynote and breakout sessions. After an excellent introduction by AHTC teacher Matt Goerss, Dr. Biles used maps to talk about changes in population and demography over time.

After the breakout session, we watched a clip from the documentary 500 Nations on Cahokia and then the documentary Springfield Had No Shame on the 1908 race riot in Springfield. We received a few evaluation comments asking where to purchase a copy of Springfield Had No Shame. The documentary was published by the University of Illinois at Springfield Center for State Policy and Leadership's Office of Electronic Media. If you call their office, you can purchase a copy of the documentary for $12.00.

Overall, it was a very fun day, with a lot of information and activities that can be brought directly into the classroom. Thank you all for your enthusiastic participation in discussion and the activities; you all really brought the day to life. Additionally, the AHTC thanks Elaine Evans at the Illinois State Archives for providing us with such amazing resources and a poster for distribution at that workshop and Tom Huber at the Illinois State Library for his help getting copies of maps for Don Barbour's activity.

Celebrating Constitution Day

2010-08-31T13:24:00.000-07:00

Hello AHTC teachers!

Constitution Day is September 17th, and while that seems like that should be a far off date, it is actually rapidly approaching! Constitution Day, also known as Citizenship Day, is observed nationally to commemorate the principles and practices protected and provided for in the Constitution. It commemorates the day the delegates to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 met for the last time to sign the document they had created.

The theme of Constitution Day 2010 is jury service, something in which every American citizen has both the duty and privilege of participating.

If you are still looking for Constitution Day activities for your classrooms, look no further! The five websites highlighted below have numerous resources and activities intended for use in the classroom.

Your first stop is the National Constitution Center's Constitution Day Website. In the resources section, the website has games and lesson plan ideas broken out into elementary, middle school and high school sections. In the elementary section, there are short biographies of 55 Founding Fathers and an interactive Bill of Rights game. The middle school section features ideas on turning your classroom into a town hall debate on the Constitution and Constitution Newswire, which provides daily news about our founding document, demonstrating the Constitution's relevance to what's happening today. The high school level lessons features lesson plans designed to highlight civic knowledge, active citizenship, and democratic deliberation. In addition, the National Constitution contains a downloadable text of the Constitution, video of a naturalization ceremony and an opportunity to take the naturalization test for yourself, as well as full texts of all of the founding documents of the United States, starting with the Magna Carta and continuing through the Reconstruction Amendments.

Next, I recommend that you head to ConstitutionFacts.com . Constitution Facts also has the full text of the Constitution available (as well as the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence.) Constitution Facts has a section about Constitution Day 2010, which contains a Tool Kit full of crossword puzzles, interactive quizzes, dates to remember and a glossary of terms. However, the entire website is a useful tool, with biographies, articles, overviews and important dates for America's founding documents and the Supreme Court. In addition, it has collections of interesting facts about the Constitution and fun quizzes about which Founding Father you would vote for or about the Articles of Confederation.

Thirdly, head to the National Archives's website about Observing Constitution Day. As part of their "Teaching With Documents" series, the archives has put together a series of activities using primary sources. Although most of the activities are aimed at the secondary level, the last link on the page takes you to a U.S. Constitution Workshop which is suitable for grades 4-12. The other lessons include a simulation of the experiences of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention and a lesson about the ratification of the Constitution.

The American Bar Association Division for Public Education has put together a very impressive website of resources for Constitution Day. The lesson plans are broken into categories, including "Constitutional Rights," "Representation, Voting and Elections," and "Introduction to Rules, Laws and Government." There are lesson plans available for all grade levels. In addition, the website has a section on interactive games and quizzes and a section of Conversation Starters, which are short, easily read text or images that are meant to illuminate issues, explore areas of conflict and encourage dialogue. Accompanying each starter is a set of focus questions designed to open discussion about the topic and related issues. These Conversation Starters deal with issues such as "The Advice and Consent of the Senate," "War Powers" and "Separation of Powers."

The Federal Courts also have a website of resources for Constitution Day, and these are the resources that best fit the Constitution Day 2010 theme of jury service. Containing videos of the Supreme Court discussing jury duty, a student podcast on jury duty and a variety of other resources, this website is an excellent way of introducing the 2010 theme to your Constitution Day activities.

Lastly, don't forget to check out the AHTC website for lesson plans by your fellow AHTC teachers! In the Lesson Plans section, under Founding Era Lesson Plans, you can find lesson plans on the Constitution, Citizenship and on the Articles of Confederation, so make sure to check those out!

Please enjoy these resources and if you have any other suggestions or want to highlight what you did in your classrooms, please feel free to leave a comment here or on the AHTC Facebook page.

Enjoy Constitution Day 2010!

The Disability Rights Movement

2010-08-19T10:12:00.000-07:00

As a follow up to this Summer's exploration of the Civil Rights movement, the National Museum of American History has an online exhibit that explores the Disability Rights Movement. Although it is not heavy on background information, the website has a great collections of photographs and photographs of artifacts with some audio and video supplements. It's an interesting way to spend some time!

NMAH: The Disability Rights Movement

2010 Civil Rights Summer Institute

2010-08-11T12:45:00.000-07:00

One of the most fun parts about planning for the Civil Rights Summer Institute was the incredible amount of resources out there. When we were choosing books, videos, websites, and even presenters, we had a wide enough selection that we were really able to tailor our choices to what we thought was best suited to the week. We had the amazing luck to find teachers, community members and members of our own team who could contribute fantastic information, background and personal perspective to the week.

The AHTC is fortunate enough to have such a large group of smart, willing teachers to draw from when we're looking for presenters, as evidenced by the lesson plans page of our website (www.americanhistoryteachers.org,) and during the Summer Institute four of them joined us to present. On Wednesday, Izona Burgess led a session about the milestones of the Civil Rights movement and its legacy, using the lens of her own childhood experiences. Renayee Westfield presented her lesson "An Introduction to African American Efforts in World War II" which unpacks the significance of African American war efforts and explores the racism they faced at home and overseas. On Friday, Amos Lee presented his lesson "Race Riots and Reality." Amos's lesson looks at Jim Crow laws and race riots in Illinois, and then involves the students in primary source analysis, using interviews taken by the State Commission to Investigate Living Conditions of the Urban Colored Population, which looked into the economic, cultural, health and living conditions of the "urban colored" population in Illinois in the early 1940s.

In addition, Friday saw Mary Anne Jusko presenting her lesson "From Barbershops in Champaign, IL to Bus Boycotts in Montgomery, AL: All's Not Fair in 1954-1955 America." Mary Anne's lesson focused on bringing the general term Civil Rights home to her students by focusing on events here in Champaign Urbana.Using an amazing set of primary sources, Mary Anne's lesson looks at the local efforts to de-segregate campus barbershops.

On Wednesday, we were also joined by Terry Townsend, a community member who spoke about his experiences with the Civil Rights movement. His session " An Overview of the Civil Rights and Opportunity Movement and its Relationship to the National Movement" drew from his decades of experience working locally to improve race relations. He brought the Community Reinvestment Act to the attention of community leaders, which resulted in banks increasing their efforts to make loans to African Americans. He also served as a Housing Commissioner for 10 years.

The week was further enhanced by sessions led by Superintendent of the Urbana School District Dr. Preston Williams Jr, Ed.D and AHTC Activities Coordinator Jennifer Bredemeier. Dr. Williams presented on the process of desegregation in Urbana schools and its legacy for the district today.

Jennifer Bredemeier drew upon her masters degree in Human Resources for her Friday session "Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964: Discrimination in Employment." Title VII outlaws discrimination in employment based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin, and her presentation discussed law cases that were key in interpreting that law and determining the different types of employment discrimination covered under that section.

Our last presenter of the week was Urbana Free Library Librarian Carol Inskeep. Carol is a frequent AHTC presenter and a crowd favorite. Her book lists cover a large range of ages and are an amazing resource for teachers as they are lesson planning. Carol presented both on Wednesday and Friday, providing the group with a very extensive list of children's books, graphic novels, young adult books and documentaries that covered the Civil Rights movement. As always, the teachers were captivated by the sections of the books that Carol read out-loud.

Thanks to all of you for presenting! You were a huge part of what made this week a success.

2010 Civil Rights Summer Institute Overview

2010-08-09T08:59:00.000-07:00

Last week the AHTC Summer Institute on the Civil Rights movement brought together ninety teachers and twenty members of the community with professors, speakers, local presenters to remember, analyze, and discuss the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s and its legacy.The AHTC was very honored to be joined by members of the community, including members of the local NAACP, president of local NAACP, Rev. Jerome Chambers, president of the Ministerial Alliance of Champaign-Urbana & Vicinity, Reverend Doctor Evelyn Underwood and former Dean of Minority Student Affairs, Michael Jeffries. In addition, several members of the Urbana School District administration, Superintendent Preston Williams, Assistant Superintendent Don Owen, Assistant Superintendent Gayle Jeffries and Director of Curriculum and Instruction Jean Korder, attended many of the days of the institute.

Starting off the week, eminent scholar, Patricia Sullivan gave a keynote speech on the history of the NAACP. She was followed by Ilyasah Shabazz, the daughter of Malcolm X, Barry Bradford, a Chicago high school teacher who helped to reopen and successfully prosecute the forty-year old murder of three civil rights workers, Bobby Seale and Julian Bond. This amazing roster was supplemented by a presentation by Dr. Preston Williams, teacher presentations, presentations by local activists and a resource presentation by local librarian Carol Inskeep. Three movies and two documentaries were screened for the teaches and they were given over 20 books and magazines for their collections of Civil Rights resources. Overall, it was an amazing week, and we thank all of your for your participation and support.

Patricia Sullivan lectures in UMS 1520.

Ilyasah Shabazz with Jamila Appleby.

Teachers enjoy the displays provided by community organizations.

Barry Bradford addresses the crowd.

Bobby Seale signs a copy of his book for Priscilla Kron.

Bobby Seale warns elementary teacher Laura Martin that his book contains cursing and is not suitable for her classroom.

Julian Bond and Greg Chew discuss the 1968 Democratic Convention.

Stay tuned for more posts describing the Summer Institute and the wonderful presentations that rounded out our week.

And I Remember....

2010-07-28T10:46:00.001-07:00

Karen Vaccaro transforms herself into three radically different real women—a poet, a pianist and an actress—in this hilarious and poignant one-woman play about the lives of artists and the art of living as a woman in America. The project was developed with funding from the Urbana Public Arts Commission and mixes verbatim oral histories from Urbana senior citizens with lively big band music of the 40s and 50s to weave a delightful and entertaining life tapestry. Directed by Robert Quinlan.

New York filmmaker Mark P. Ring (formerly of the Sundance Channel) will be present to document all Urbana performances as part of a film he is creating about “And I Remember” and the women it immortalizes.

Performances will take place at the Independent Media Center, 202 South Broadway in Urbana on Friday August 6 (8PM), Saturday August 7 (8PM), and Sunday August 8 (7PM). Tickets are $10 (Cash only). Advanced tickets can be purchased at Heartland Gallery, 112 West Main Street in Downtown Urbana between 10AM and 5PM Wednesday through Saturday. For more information, please call (217) 954-0231.

The AHTC Goes to Memphis! Part II

2010-06-30T12:58:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, June 23^rd was a very full day for AHTC teachers in Memphis. The morning started with a self-guided audio tour of the National Civil Rights Museum. The museum begins with a timeline that started in 1619 and continues to present day. Teachers could board a bus and sit next to a replica of Rosa Parks, experiencing firsthand what it might feel like to be yelled at by the driver to move back. The tour also included walking through the room of the Lorraine Motel where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spent his last day, as well as a trip through the boarding house where James Earl Ray stayed during his time in Memphis. The National Civil Rights Museum was an especially powerful part of our time in Memphis. During the long lunch break at the Arcade Restaurant, many teachers opted to return to the museum for further discovery.

Following lunch, the group boarded the motor coach and headed to the corner of McLemore and College – the home of Stax Museum of American Soul Music. The museum represents the Memphis sound in the 1960s when rock and roll was starting. Stax Records launched the careers of dozens of famous soul and rock artists, notably Otis Redding, Booker T. & the MG’s, and Sam & Dave, among others. Teachers were able to watch videos of performances and interviews by the Stax artists and see everything from Tina Turner’s gold sequined stage costume to Isaac Hayes’ peacock-blue 1972 Superfly Cadillac El Dorado.

About 2 miles away from Stax is the recording home of Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and, of course, Elvis Presley: Sun Studios. The room above the gift shop shares a visual history of the most active years at Sun Studios. Our tour guide, Cora, gave a great overview of the history of Sun Studios and the Memphis Recording Service, sharing stories of Elvis lying to get his first record made and the night the “Million Dollar Quartet” jammed in the studio. Down in the still-active recording studio, we were surrounded by instruments and pictures of artists who have recorded in Sun Studios over the years. Not only were photographs of the studio allowed, they were encouraged by our tour guide. Our teachers got to ham it up for the cameras, and AHTC Travel Coordinator Cynthia Logsdon even got in on the action!

Wednesday was an exhausting day, but many of us still took the time to watch the afternoon Peabody Hotel Duck March.

After spending most of Tuesday and Wednesday on a motor coach or in air-conditioned museums, Thursday was the first time we felt like true Memphians – hot and sweaty. According to the National Weather Service, our tough teachers endured a morning of weather that was sunny, 97 degrees, and 79% humid. We began the morning with a tour of the historic Peabody Hotel, led by Peabody Duckmaster Jason Sensat. He showed us the Memorabilia Room, the Francis Scott Key Piano, and of course, the Duck Palace.

Our trip to Mud Island River Park and Mississippi River Museum included a trip on the monorail made famous by Tom Cruise in the movie The Firm and a guided tour of key places along the lower portion of the river during the Civil War, as well as trip through the Mississippi River Museum. A welcome activity for many of our teachers was the opportunity to splash around in the replica of the Gulf of Mexico at the end of the tour.

Thursday afternoon, teachers were given the chance to explore Memphis on their own. Teachers visited places like the Memphis Zoo, the Gibson Guitar Factory, the Memphis Rock n Soul Museum. After the various adventures around the city, we all sat down to one last meal together at Charles Vergos’ Rendezvous where teachers enjoyed chicken or Memphis-style ribs.

The AHTC would like to thank our wonderful teachers who made the trip such a fun and educational event. Thank you especially to AHTC Travel Coordinator Cynthia Logsdon for planning such an incredible trip for everyone!

The AHTC Goes to Memphis! Part I

2010-06-30T11:23:00.000-07:00

From June 21^st through June 25^th, sixteen teachers had the chance to explore Memphis during an AHTC Experiential Learning Trip. To prepare for the trip, teachers read books on Memphis and provided detailed descriptions of the books. They also attended a morning workshop featuring Jimmy “Mr. Memphis” Ogle. Mr. Ogle is a lifelong Memphian who has read over 300 books about the city he calls home!

Monday, June 21^st was a travel day for the teachers, and no group activities were planned. Many teachers chose to arrive at our hotel, The Peabody, early in the day in order to explore the city and its nightlife.

Tuesday began with a motor coach tour around Memphis as Jimmy Ogle shared more the city’s rich history. Teachers were able to see the places the group would soon visit, as well as the parks and neighborhoods of Memphis.

Following the motor coach tour, AHTC teachers received a brief lecture from Director of Operations, Carol Perel, at The Cotton Museum at the Memphis Cotton Exchange. Teachers then explored the museum, including a life-size replica of the trading board with actual figures from December 1939

as well as a historical timeline of cotton, and a hands-on exhibit where teachers could find out first-hand what it would feel like to drag a bag of cotton through the fields.

We had lunch at the Kooky Canuck on Tuesday before heading to the home of The King: Graceland. Teachers took a self-guided audio tour of the home of Elvis in small groups, including Graceland Mansion and grounds, Lisa Marie (the airplane), the Automobile Museum, and Elvis Presley: Fashion King. Included in the Graceland Mansion tour are the infamous Jungle Room, and the grave of Elvis and his parents. Following the tour of Graceland, teachers were given the night to discover Memphis’ dinner fare and nightlife.

West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd passes away at 92

2010-06-28T16:19:00.000-07:00

Senator Robert Byrd, West Virginia, passed away Monday morning at 92. Mr. Byrd served West Virginia as a Senator for 51 years, a longer term than anyone in American history. He held many Senate offices, including president pro tem, majority and minority leader and chairman of the appropriations committee. Senator Byrd was known and respected for his fierce protectiveness of the legislative branch, his devotion to West Virginia, and his passionate, poetic rhetoric. A lover of history, Byrd was the author of a four-volume history of the senate and a fierce devotee of Senate traditions, always taking his seat to cast a vote. Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, said Byrd “combined a devotion to the U.S. Constitution with a deep learning of history to defend the interests of his state and the traditions of the Senate.”

One result of Senator Byrd's devotion to American history, was the Teaching American History Grant programs, which have been so beneficial to the Urbana School District and the American History Teachers' Collaborative. We thank him for his years of service.

If you would like to read more about Senator Robert Byrd, please click here or here.

70s and 80s Mini-Summer Institute

2010-06-17T09:59:00.000-07:00

In addition to the super-fun Pop Culture night on Tuesday, AHTC teachers spent a day and a half on Wednesday and Thursday studying pop culture and foreign policy in the 70s and 80s and the ways in which the two interact. On Wednesday morning, Melani McAlister, professor at George Washington University, addressed the group about the Iran hostage crisis and the ways that it was covered in news broadcasts and manifested itself in popular culture, such as the Delta Force movies.

Urbana Free Library's Carol Inskeep out together an amazing presentation covering video and documentary resources for the 70s and 80s. She even opened with historical pictures of Champaign-Urbana from the time period.

We finished up the day with presentations by two of our AHTC teachers. Danville High School teacher Jacob Bretz presented a lesson he designed after his 2009 Fellowship at the Champaign County Historical Archives. Jacob's lesson explored the OPEC oil embargo in the 1970s and how it affected local schools. During this session, Jacob discussed the importance of President Nixon’s speech during the crisis. The following are links to additional presidential speeches, including every State of the Union Address:

http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/sou.php

http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/

Urbana High School teacher Michael Pollock drew upon his personal experiences to present about the student protests at the University of Illinois in the 1970s. Complete with pictures and newspaper articles, Michael's presentation was a great way of looking at national events through the lens of local history.

On Thursday morning, Dr. Andrew Hartman, professor of History and Social Science Education at Illinois State University, spoke about "culture wars" and what we could learn from a historical examination of them.

Overall, these were a great few days and a wonderful opportunity to turn a critical eye to the not-so-distant past. Thanks to everyone who participated for your enthusiasm and curiosity, which let to some wonderful discussions.

70s and 80s Pop Culture Special Evening event

2010-06-17T08:04:00.000-07:00

To preface the 70s and 80s Pop Culture and Foreign Policy mini-summer institute, the AHTC hosted a special evening event of movies, trivia and music for a lighthearted look at the 70s and 80s. On Tuesday June 8th, our mini-summer institute attendees gathered to celebrate the culture of those bygone decades. Kim Lareau created an excellent playlist to carry us through the evening and Chuck Koplinski led the group through the top five movies of every year from 1970-1989. Everyone enjoyed guessing who was who (and laughing at the fashion choices!) in the old pictures that we gathered together.

People were pretty competitive during the trivia rounds:

and who can blame them, when we had such excellent prizes?

Thanks to everyone for your enthusiasm! You made the night a blast.

eBlackChampaign-Urbana

2010-05-24T12:53:00.001-07:00

eBlackChampaign-Urbana Announcement for American History Teachers Collaborative

The eBlackChampaign-Urbana (eBlackCU) project is a University of Illinois-led project that seeks to 1) Centralize information on local African-American history and culture and create new knowledge through this centralization; 2) Involve past and present community residents in the production of knowledge by soliciting their contributions, both in the form of personal memories and in the form of digitized personal archives; 3) Create a community of scholars, activists, educators, students and citizens interested in learning more about various aspects of local African-American history and culture and using that knowledge in the present; and 4) Develop the best-practices to scale this project up to the state-level in the implementation of
eBlackIllinois: A Comprehensive Database on the Black Experience in Illinois.

The project's web address is http://www.eBlackCU.net.

The project started in November 2009 and will continue at least through the end of December 2010, with our hopes being to find a way to continue the project, or aspects of the project.

Our products have thus far included:
a) A bibliography of information sources on local African-American issues, http://eblackcu.net/portal/items/show/2
b) A digital library of newly digitized information sources and websites on local African-American issues, http://eblackcu.net/portal/
c) Two digital exhibits that bring together these information sources in a narrative frame-work on Salem Baptist Church and the North First Street Business Community, http://eblackcu.net/portal/exhibits

We intend to add more items to the bibliography, more digitized texts to the digital library and more digital exhibits throughout the year.

Our goal in all of this is to make the project as collaborative as possible. ANYONE can submit information of ANY type to the website using our contribute form: http://eblackcu.net/portal/contribution.
All submissions are vetted by the project team before appearing online and e-mails are required in case follow-up contact with submitters are required.

In addition to the website we will have three other main outputs from this project: 1) A print/digital publication of University of Illinois research relating to local African-American issues written at a level accessible to a high school audience which will be distributed to area high school and public libraries, as well as to community groups, and will also be available online; 2) A campus-community symposium slated for November 5-6 (location TBA) that will focus on the documentation of African-American history in Champaign-Urbana, research on local African-American issues, digital technology and African-American culture, and broadband and the future of the African-American Community in Champaign-Urbana. All are welcome to attend and more information will be distributed as it is announced; and 3) We are hiring six high school and Parkland age African-American interns to learn how the eBlackCU website works, become proficient in digital libraries/digital exhibits, and serve as spiders to get the project spread throughout the community. Our second goal in hiring interns is to help them and their peers get into the University of Illinois.

All are welcome to contribute to and become a part of this project.
For volunteer opportunities and to stay up-to-date with news on the project as it happens visit our blog http://eblackcu.net/blog/ and Facebook page: http://tinyurl.com/2clbrta.

The project director for eBlackCU is Noah Lenstra (nlenstr2@illinois.edu), a Certificate of Advanced Study student in the Graduate School of Library and Information Science
(http://www.lis.illinois.edu/) at UIUC and the supervising investigator is Abdul Alkalimat (mcworter@illinois.edu), Professor of African-American Studies (http://www.afro.illinois.edu/) and Library and Information Science. This project is funded by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Public Engagement (http://engagement.illinois.edu/) and the Community Informatics Initiative (http://cii.illinois.edu/). Public partners include the Champaign County Historical Archives (http://www.urbanafreelibrary.org/archives/), Urbana Free Library; and the Early American Museum (http://www.earlyamericanmuseum.org/): The Heritage Center of Champaign County, Champaign County Forest Preserve.

Civil War Mini-Summer Institute

2010-05-18T08:56:00.000-07:00

On May 14th and 15th, fifty teachers joined us in the Urbana Middle School and Fishers, Indiana for a day and a half workshop about the Civil War. Professor Bruce Levine, J.G. Randall professor of History at the University of Illinois, joined us on Friday night for a lecture on Abraham Lincoln and his role in the Civil War. Professor Levine argued that the Civil War was an unprecedentedly transformative event in American history and guided us through an exploration on Lincoln's writings and behaviors of that period. Holding up the binary of "actor" or "acted upon," Professor Levine found that Lincoln fell somewhere in the middle, arguing that while Lincoln frequently reacted to events rather than reaching out to shape them, his reactions were guided by consistent, firmly held beliefs and principles.

After Professor Levine's keynote, the group had an hour of question and answer which led to some really great discussions about Lincoln and the Civil War generally.

Saturday morning, we reconvened for the bus trip to Conner Prairie. Conner Prairie is a living history museum in Fishers, Indiana, that preserves the William Conner home, and recreates part of life in Indiana in the 19th century. On Saturday, May 15th, they were celebrating "Civil War Days," an exploration of life during the Civil War, complete with a reenacted skirmish between Union and Confederate troops.

This is the army encampment. It was just about lunchtime when we arrived.

A few of our Robeson teachers enjoyed watching a Civil War surgeon explain his craft,
and then the armies began to move.

The soldiers, men and boys, marched grimly to the battlefield.

Smoke billowed from artillery fire, as spectators, modern and otherwise, looked on.

Conner Prairie put together a great program of events, including lectures from the Union 28th Colored Unit, a tomahawk throwing competition in the Lenape village and reenactments of Civil War dress, cooking, medicine and photography. Overall, it was a very fun day and a new way to learn about life in 19th century America.

Resources Available from Some of Our Partners

2010-05-07T08:35:00.000-07:00

Anyone who has done a Summer Fellowship is aware that our partner museums and archives have an amazing collection of primary sources available to work with, but outside the context of a fellowship, it is easy to forget to utilize them. Two of our partners are making it easier for you to access these sources to use in your classrooms.

The Champaign County Historical Archives has a new digital collection of photographs from the archives. Historic Champaign County: Neighborhoods and Homes includes photographs of homes, public buildings and neighborhoods that represent the architectural history of the area. You can access this collection at urbanafreelibrary.org/archives/collections/.

The Illinois State Archives has pulled together six teaching packets to encourage the use of primary sources in the classroom. These packets, which contain a teacher's manual and a set of document reproductions, are free for Illinois teachers and educational institutions. The packets available are:

"Abraham Lincoln in Illinois"
"Hard Times in Illinois, 1930-1940"
"The Illinois and Michigan Canal, 1827-1911"
"Illinois at War, 1941-1945"
"Early Chicago 1833-1871"
"From the Ashes, 1872-1900" (Chicago's development after the Great Fire to the turn of the century.)

To request a free packet, write a request on your school's letterhead and mail the request to Illinois State Archives, Publications Unit, Norton Building, Springfield, IL 62756 or call 217-782-2226.

Money, Materialism, Monopolies and Millionaires

2010-04-29T11:49:00.000-07:00

April has been a busy month, bringing our two part workshop series on economics and industrialization. Seventy teachers joined us in Urbana Middle School on April 17th and 24th for an in-depth look at how economics could be brought into the classroom. We opened the series with a keynote from Dr. Mark Leff, who used charts and graphs to root his discussion of finance between the Gilded Ages in concrete examples.

After small group discussions with Dr. Leff, time in the computer lab and boxed lunches from Za's, everyone reconvened to discuss how they could use the fabulous books, magazines, videos and website lists that they had been given that morning.

Next Project Director Kathy Barbour and Program Coordinator Alexis Jones led us in some great economics lessons. In Kathy's room, teachers studied how the Constitution has shaped the economic system of the United States.
Everyone was working hard...even Activity Coordinator Jen Bredemeier and AHTC Bookkeeper Ambar Rizwan joined in the historical fun!

Meanwhile, Alexis used the children's book Saturday Sancocho to teach us all about bartering. We all had a wonderful time trying to gather chickens, carrots and cumin to make our own sancocho.

After a fun day of economics activities, everyone returned home, where I'm sure they were anxiously awaiting next Saturday, April 24th.

We kicked off our second day with a keynote by Lead Historian Dr. Jim Barrett. Dr. Barrett discussed the way industrialization transformed both the people who experienced it and the way we think about and perform work. As part of his keynote, Dr. Barrett led us in a document analysis exercise using An Exposition of the System of Moral and Mental Labor, established at the Glass Factory of Dyottville in the County of Philadelphia by T.W Dyott (1833) and The Factory Bell from The Factory Girls' Garland (1844).

Next, Urbana High School teacher Matt Buckles led the group in a lesson on the uses of space and land throughout the pre-industrial, industrial and post-industrial periods. Everyone enjoyed the map analysis and playing with the magnifying glasses!

In the computer lab, Alexis led the group through some of the best websites on the economy and the census that we had found in our preparation for these days. As always, website lists can be found on our website under Web resources. One of the favorites was a video from 1904 of women punching in at a Westinghouse company.

To round out our day, William Maury, the Lead Historian of the U.S. Census Bureau came to discuss with us how the census became what it is today.

Thank you all for giving up two spring Saturdays to join us for these workshops, and thanks to all of our presenters for making both days so interesting and informative!

A Great Resource To Explore!

2010-04-21T13:38:00.000-07:00

The National History Education Clearinghouse website is an amazing website to pour through if you haven't already. With lesson plan reviews, teaching guides, and examples of best practices, it is full of great ideas and resources. Make sure to check out the history in multimedia exhibit, as well as the interviews with historians and master teachers. Easily searchable by elementary, middle or high school levels, this site is worth spending some time on. Make sure, in your exploration, that you check out the page featuring AHTC teacher Christine Adrian's Lincoln lesson plan Chic, Virginia, and Mr. Lincoln: Understanding Historical Perspective.

Common Core State Standards Initiative

2010-04-13T10:28:00.000-07:00

I'm sure all of you have heard of the Common Core State Standards Initiative (if you haven't, please read the great article here and peruse the website here.) These college-and career-readiness standards were first released for public comment in September of 2009, and a draft of the K-12 standards were released for comment in March of 2010. The newest version of these standards, including those in Social Studies, have just been released. You can find the PDF of the new Social Studies standards here. [Edit: While we are excited about this newest draft, we did not intend to imply that the work on these standards is finished. So far, these Social Studies standards deal only with literacy. Someday we hope that Social Studies specific standards will be developed, but in the meantime, please do read about these literacy standards. Thank you to our commenter for pointing out that we were not clear on this point.]
The CCSSI has the greatest general support of education reforms currently being developed, and offers one of the most promising opportunities to improve education through better standards and assessments. Ending the differing expectations between the states can only improve the quality of education throughout the nation. These Social Studies standards have been developed through cooperation by organizations in civics, economics, geography and history (You can find a list of participating organizations at the end of the first linked article.) This single set of standards will drive assessment systems, as well as curriculum and instructional practices. We have been following this initiative with interest, and we encourage you to check out the new standards.

The AHTC Google Calendar!

2010-03-12T07:03:00.000-08:00

In yet another technological step forward, the AHTC now has a Google Calendar!

We know many of you already have a Google Account to use Gmail, Google Docs, and hopefully Google Calendar. Subscribing to the AHTC Google Calendar is a snap, just follow these instructions.
1. Open your Google Calendar.
2. In the Other Calendars box, click Add.
3. Click Add by URL.
4. Paste the following URL: http://www.google.com/calendar/ical/6naidujhnndos9o45pjrt675ks%40group.calendar.google.com/public/basic.ics

That's it! You now have access to the American History Teachers' Collaborative Google Calendar! We will update it regularly with event dates and registration deadlines.

No information will be posted on the calendar that has not already been distributed via email, but this is a great way to keep up with the myriad of great events we host.

If you don't already have a Google Account, consider signing up for one. They're free! Signing up for a Google Account gives you access to Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs, and a assortment of other great tools!

AHTC Book Discussion Group

2010-02-19T13:36:00.000-08:00

On Thursday, February 11th, a group of AHTC teachers attended a book discussion facilitated by Izona Burgess, to discuss the book, "The Lord Was Not on Trial," by Dannel McCollum. The group discussed this local case challenging religious education classes held in public school buildings, leading to the Supreme Court's precendent-setting McCollum ruling. The author and former mayor, Dannel McCollum, joined the lively and thought-provoking discussion. Izona provided the group with exceptional discussion questions that can be found on the AHTC website under "Past Activities." Thank you to Izona Burgess and Dannel McCollum for a wonderful evening!

Wartime Innovation Focus Workshop

2009-12-08T17:27:00.000-08:00

On December 5th the American History Teachers' Collaborative hosted a focus workshop on Wartime Innovation at the Hilton Garden Inn in Champaign. Taking a break from our typical format, the workshop was set up as a conference day where teachers chose from 18 different presentations during seven sessions. From the response of our teachers, it seems as if all of the sessions were amazing!

Thanks to WILL, we were able to find some fantastic veterans who were willing to speak to us about their experiences. They included Phil Dzuik, a World War II Navy veteran who served on the USS Ajax (and still fits into his 1944 Navy uniform!) and Jesse Dowell, who served in the U.S. Navy Air Corps during World War II and practiced night bombing with the new, secret technology--radar.

Pictured L to R: Jesse Dowell, Phil Dziuk, and Ralph Dady (UHS)

Our third veteran, Jill Knappenberger, was one of three women serving on the front lines during the Battle of the Bulge. As a "clubmobile" driver for the Red Cross (serving dounuts, coffee, and cigarettes to soldiers), she was trapped for eight days during the battle.
In addition to hearing from veterans, we were also able to have Hal Loebach from Chanute Air Museum speak to us about the black Army Air Corps squadrons that trained at Chanute Air Base during World War II, including the famed Tuskegee Airmen. Mr. Loebach also brought with his colleague, Jim Eldridge, who shared aviation resources available to teachers through the museum.

While we had many presentations about World War II, it was not the only war represented that day. Eugene Bencomo and Russel Foster, reenactors from the Illiana Civil War Historical Society, gave very enthusiastic presentations showcasing weapons, medical gear, and military equipment from the Civil War.

From L to R: Karen Easton (Edison), Peggy Christensen (Edison), Russel Foster, Todd Searing (UMS)

Representatives from the American Red Cross also presented to teachers focusing on the history of the American Red Cross during wartime.

Although we enjoy having speakers from the community, we were delighted to have five AHTC teachers present to their colleagues on units they created during past AHTC summer institutes and fellowships. Matt Buckles and Matt Goerss, both from Urbana High School, spoke to teachers about resources available to teachers through the Champaign County Historical Archives, including primary documents regarding penicillin, radar, walkie talkies, and weather forecasting.
Karen Klebbe of Centennial High School discussed military's technology's impact on civilian life, including how the development of disposable bandages during World War I revolutionized the feminine hygiene industry.
Natalee Steffen from Urbana Middle School presented a series of lessons examining the history of the United States' use of Agent Orange in Southeast Asia during the time of the Vietnam conflict.
Our final AHTC presenter was Jesse Guzman of Edison Middle School who shared with teachers his unit on the dropping of the atomic bombs during World War II.

Throughout the day teachers were able to explore exhibits in the ballroom for information and resources that could be used in their classrooms. Exhibitors included the American Red Cross, Chanute Air Museum, the Champaign County Historical Archives, The Champaign County Historical Museum at the Cattle Bank, the Early American Museum, and the Great Lakes Regional Depositor of the National Archives Records Administration. (Please see the sidebar to the left for links to many of these organizations:)

What a fantastic day! We would love to hear from you, teachers. What was your favorite part of the day? Is there anything that you have used in your classroom from that day or anything that you are thinking about using in the future? Leave us a comment and let us know!

Meet the AHTC Team

2009-12-03T21:07:00.000-08:00

For those of you who are new to the American History Teachers' Collaborative (and for those of you "oldies" who may not know the names of some of our newer faces:), we'd like to take a minute to introduce the team who writes and administers our Teaching American History Grant.

From left to right:

Elizabeth Bologna, Assistant
Jennifer Bredemeier, Activity Coordinator
Cynthia Logsdon, Travel Coordinator
Katherine Barbour, Project Director
Alexis Jones, Program Coordinator
Kim Lareau, USD Assistant to the Director of Staff Development

We don't want to forget the most important members of our team though...

OUR FABULOUS TEACHERS!
AHTC Summer Institute, 2009

Thank you, teachers, for inspiring us to work so hard for all of you! We are very lucky to have such a dedicated group of educators who enthusiastically attend our events. We hope to continue to serve you long into the future:)

What is the American History Teachers' Collaborative?

2009-12-02T21:45:00.000-08:00

The American History Teachers' Collaborative is a project funded by the U.S. Department of Education's Teaching American History Grant Program. In September, Urbana School District #116 received its fifth three-year Teaching American History Grant, which is enabling us to expand the AHTC.

The AHTC provides content-driven professional development to social studies and history teachers (grades K-12) in our area. These teachers work with the Urbana Free Library (home of the Champaign County Historical Archives), the Champaign County Historical Preserve's Early American Museum, the Macon County Historical Society and Museum in Decatur, the McLean County Museum of History, the Illinois State Archives, the Great Lakes Regional Center of the National Archives and Records Administration, the Chicago History Museum, the Boston Museum, the California Historical Society, the Missouri History Museum, the Tennessee State Library and Archives, the National Civil Rights Museum, the Wisconsin Historical Society, and the Atlanta History Center. These partnerships with historical organizations help teachers help teachers view the broad themes of American history through the lens of local, state, and national historical documents, artifacts, and events.

The AHTC works with teachers to develop lesson plans based on primary documents as well as provides a variety of professional development activities including summer institutes, Saturday workshops, book discussion groups, and summer fellowships for teachers to work with local partner organizations.

Welcome to the AHTC Blog!

2009-12-01T20:08:00.000-08:00

We are so excited to get the AHTC blog up and running! Here you will be able to find information about upcoming workshops, recaps of past workshops, and weekly posts with information that we hope you'll find useful. Please make sure to add yourself to our list of "followers". Thanks!