2010 SUMMER INSTITUTES FOR OUACHITA, MOREHOUSE, RICHLAND AND EAST CARROLL PARISHES AND MONROE CITY PUBLIC SCHOOL AMERICAN HISTORY TEACHERS

Do you love to learn? Are you looking for new and engaging ways to teach American history? Do you need credit to meet the Continuing Learning Units? Participate in a Teaching American History Summer Institute and enrich your knowledge of the subject you teach, plus receive a $1,000 stipend, 3 college credits in history, and classroom materials.

Through a Teaching American History grant from the U.S. Department of Education, the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, in partnership with the University of Louisiana at Monroe, and the Ouachita, Morehouse, Richland, East Carroll, Monroe City Schools districts, will provide advanced study opportunities for public school American history teachers in northeastern Louisiana. These institutes are designed to assist teachers and their students in meeting state and national standards, including the Grade Level Expectations, Graduation Exit Examination and LEAP tests.

These are graduate-school level institutes in which participants will immerse themselves in intellectually challenging seminars and readings led by respected university history professors and nationally prominent guest scholars. Teachers will explore key documents, debates, philosophies and personalities that shaped American history, as well as the origins and evolution of American democracy, the Constitution, civic rights and responsibilities. The Institutes will make use of the most current resources (both text and electronic), as well as introduce participants to local cultural resources and archives. Teachers should leave the Institutes armed with renewed proficiency in American history, and with new strategies, materials and technology to help students better understand the central issues that shaped our nation and its people.

Through classroom discussions, readings, field trips and writing essays, each teacher institute will provide elementary, middle and high school teachers with intellectual stimulation and advanced knowledge of American or Louisiana history. While the careful study of American history is the main focus, the Institutes also will focus on how original and primary documents may be integrated into your classroom lesson plan.

Term: Four weeks, Monday-Thursday, 3 classroom hours per day, institute syllabus may require fieldtrips on Fridays or days other than scheduled classroom hours.

Dates: 9 a.m. to Noon, Monday through Thursday, June 7 to July 1, 2010

Stipend: $1,000 stipend, institute books and teaching materials to take back to the classroom

Eligibility: Public school teachers who teach U.S. or Louisiana history at the elementary, middle, or high school levels in Ouachita, Morehouse, Richland and East Carroll parishes and Monroe City Schools. Applicants must be eligible to be admitted in good standing at ULM.

Academic Credit: Teachers will receive 3 credit hours in history from ULM upon successful completion of the institute.

Tuition & Other Benefits: Teachers will not pay tuition or fees. ULM has waived tuition for participating teachers. In addition, the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities will pay for the remaining mandatory university fees, textbooks and teaching materials for teachers to take back to their classrooms.

Successful Completion: To receive the stipend and academic credit, teachers must successfully complete the Institute, which means they must receive a passing grade from the university and complete all institute requirements.

Enrollment: Limited to 23 teachers per Institute

Where: University of Louisiana at Monroe

Registration: See application and requirements.
Download the Application Form PDF

Requirements: Completed application form, two references identified (one should be a principal and an assistant principal or department head).

Deadline: April 15, 2010

Contact: John R. Kemp
Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities
938 Lafayette Street, Suite 300
New Orleans, LA 70113
504-620-2481 • Fax: 504-529-2358

From June 7 to July 1, 2010, three institutes will be offered. All Institutes will run Monday through Thursday (some Friday and afternoon field trips may be scheduled).

For Elementary School Teachers
EARLY EXPLORATION TO COLONY: 1492-1607
9 a.m. to Noon
Roger Carpenter, Ph.D.,
Department of History,
University of Louisiana at Monroe

Utilizing primary and secondary source documents, teachers will examine key events from early European explorations of the Americas up to the establishment of Jamestown, the first permanent English colony. They will identify the indigenous cultures and groups that existed in the Americas at the beginning of European exploration. Teachers will explore economic activities within and among Native American cultures prior to contact with Europeans. The Institute will focus on major early Spanish, French and English explorations and explorers, and their interactions with native peoples.

For Middle School Teachers
THE FOUNDING OF A NATION
9 a.m. to Noon
V. Elaine Thompson, Ph.D., Department of History, Louisiana Tech University

Teachers will address the rise of American consciousness during the 20 years leading up to the American Revolution. They will explore: How did 13 disparate colonies become a nation? What British imperial policies mobilized the colonies against their mother country? What were the contemporary political theories? Why did the Articles of Confederation fail? What debates and issues fueled the writing of the U. S. Constitution? How did the framers of the Constitution resolve the slavery question? How did that document finally create a strong and independent nation? Participants will read and discuss the Federalist Papers, Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and other key documents and writings of the era.

For High School Teachers
U.S. HISTORY FROM THE GILDED AGE TO WORLD WAR I
9 a.m. to Noon
David Anderson, Ph.D., Department of History, Louisiana Tech University

Teachers will examine U.S. history from the end of Reconstruction to the end of World War I, a period when the U.S. underwent a profound transformation from a relatively isolated and predominantly agricultural nation to a modern industrial society and world power. Teachers will analyze key Gilded Age themes: pacification of Native Americans and conquest of the West; emergence of the modern corporation; the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark “separate-but-equal” Plessy v. Ferguson decision and the making of the Jim Crow “New South”; and the rise and fall of the agrarian Populist movement. Teachers will also examine Progressive Era themes: urbanization and rise of the modern city; the making of multicultural America; reform efforts of progressive intellectuals, politicians, and “muckraking” journalists; the triumph of women’s suffrage; the World War I home front; and the disorder and disillusionment of the post-war years.