Encounters and Exchanges in U.S. History is a content-based professional development program open to teachers of American history of grades 3 – 5 and 8 – 11 in the Danvers, Lowell, North Reading and Reading public schools. In partnership with Primary Source and the University of Massachusetts Lowell Graduate School of Education, the program aims to appreciably strengthen the district programs to teach traditional American history as a separate academic subject in grades three to five and eight to eleven. Encounters and Exchanges in U.S. History is made possible by a three-year Teaching American History Grant from the United States Department of Education
The program content spirals around the overarching theme “Encounters and Exchanges in U.S. History” as participants study the country’s founding to the twentieth century. Activities include content-based summer institutes, school year content-based institutes and seminars, history book discussion study groups, history research and information management training workshops and institutes, mini-sabbaticals for research projects, an annual conference, continuation activities and a website. All activities culminate in classroom refining of the products created and evaluation of classroom implementation to ensure student learning of American history content, historical thinking and research skills using primary sources.
Yearly Themes
Year One: Exploring Conflict and Consensus Among Peoples from the American colonies to the New Republic (17th & 18th Centuries)
Year Two: U.S. Expansion and Connections to the World in Antebellum America (19th Century)
Year Three: The Cold War and Post-Cold War: The U.S. on the World Stage & U.S. Immigration, Migration, and Race Relations
This grant is made possible by the United States Department of Education
Award #: U215X060073
