History Connected

Year Two Offerings

Year Two Offerings
2010 – 2011 School Year & Summer

School Day Seminars

War, Society, State, and Citizenship: Introduction & Orientation
(Mandatory for all completers & part-time participants.)
With Christopher Capozzola, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Teachers’ Curriculum Institute
OCTOBER 28, 2010, 7:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. – READING MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL DISTANCE LEARNING LAB

Throughout American history the experience of war has fundamentally shaped the ways that Americans think about themselves, their fellow Americans, and the meanings of national citizenship. This session will explore questions such as: What is the balance between liberty and national security during wartime? How do Americans tell the stories of war (history, literature, film, and pop culture)? How has war changed Americans’ relationship with the state and/or their understanding of citizenship? and How and what have Americans protested about war? This orientation seminar will provide an introduction to the History Connected Teaching American History grant and our Year Two theme of “War, Society, State, and Citizenship.” The latter part of the session will include work with teacher leaders from the Teachers’ Curriculum Institute around active teaching and learning strategies for all learners including visual literacy skills, cultivating rich class discussions, and experiential exercises used to engage student understanding of abstract concepts.

The American Revolution: Print Culture, Persuasion, and Participation
With American Antiquarian Society Fellows and Staff
NOVEMBER 17, 2010, 7:15 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. (includes estimated travel time) – AMERICAN ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY, WORCESTER, MA (bus transportation provided from Reading and Lowell)

Perhaps no single event is more central to the history and culture of the United States than the American Revolution. This workshop covers the main events and trends of the Revolution with a focus on eighteenth century print culture, colonial printers and the spread of colonial unity, and battles of the American Revolution. Teachers will engage in direct work with authentic historical documents and images from the American Antiquarian Society’s extensive collections. Also featured is a tour of the historic buildings and resources of the American Antiquarian Society, the country’s first national historical organization.

War and Protest: Examining Responses to Indian Removal and the Mexican American War
With Owen Stanwood, Boston College and Diana Grady and Kit Dunlap, Buzzards Bay Writing Project, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
DECEMBER 16, 2010, 8:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. – READING MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL

Protests against war and violence have always been a part of the American experience. Often international, interdenominational, and multiracial, the protest movements against Indian Removal and the Mexican American War were representative of broader currents of reform in Antebellum America. This session will examine the circumstances of Indian Removal and the Mexican American War, protestors’ values, strategies, contradictions, and complexities, and the immediate and long term results. The latter part of the workshop will provide teachers with tools and strategies to link history and writing in the U.S. history classroom. A copy of Content-Area Writing: Every Teacher's Guide will be provided to all participants.

“Touched with Fire:” Examining Wartime Participation of Men and Women in the American Civil War
With Nina Silber, Boston University and Museum Educators from the Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy
JANUARY 6, 2011, 8:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. - READING MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL DISTANCE LEARNING LAB and ADDISON GALLERY OF AMERICAN ART, PHILLIPS ACADEMY, ANDOVER, MA

Nearly twenty years after the end of the Civil War, Oliver Wendell Holmes remarked that participants’ hearts were “touched with fire” as they engaged in the American Civil War. This session will work to consider the idea of Civil War "participation" among both men and women. Topics to be examined include: volunteering for war services versus the draft, the participation of women North and South, and the continuous home front and warfront during the war. The latter half of the session will take place at the Addison Gallery of American Art at Phillips Academy. In an examination of “the power of intention” participants will work with the Addison Gallery’s rich collection of photographs, paintings, sketches of the American Civil War to consider questions such as: What stories do Civil War photographs tell? How do the intentions of Civil War photographers compare to subsequent and recent war photographers? How many images are needed in order to tell the whole story of an event? Do photographs or illustrations tell a more convincing story? and Who saw the images? How were they viewed? What stories do they tell?

American Imperialism and the Spanish-American War
With Ed O’Donnell, College of the Holy Cross and Patricia Fontaine, University of Massachusetts Lowell
FEBRUARY 4, 2011 – READING MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL DISTANCE LEARNING LAB

Until the 1890s, America prided itself for its isolation from world affairs. Territorial ambitions and visions of empire were limited to westward expansion across the American continent. But in the 1890s, as the nation emerged as the world’s leading economic power, America took an increasingly aggressive role in international affairs. By 1910 America had become an imperial power, controlling territories around the globe such as the Philippines, Guam, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and Cuba, not to mention the Panama Canal. While many Americans welcomed these events as confirmation of the nation’s status as a world power, others were troubled by the seeming incompatibility of imperial conquest and republican government. The latter half of the day will include viewing the short documentary, “Savage Acts: Wars, Fairs, and Empire, 1898 – 1904” and strategies for teaching with this film and other resources related to the Spanish – American War, the Philippine War, and domestic culture and imperialism.

Presenting History: Technological Applications for Student Presentations
Presented by John Wren, University of Massachusetts Lowell
SESSION A: FEBRUARY 15, 2011 OR SESSION B: FEBRUARY 16, 2011 - READING MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL LIBRARY MEDIA CENTER COMPUTER LAB

This hands-on session will introduce teachers to online resources for the creation of student projects and assignments in the U.S. history classroom. Resources to be examined may include: Jing, a web screen, image and video casting software, Glogster, a program that allows users to create multimedia images or posters, and Prezi, a web based presentation tool. Examples and tips for effective implementation will be discussed and shared. All of these programs are free, useful for both Macs and PCs, and are accessible over the Internet.

Civil Liberties during Wartime: World War I
With Frances Early, Mount Saint Vincent University and Stephanie Greenhut of the National Archives and Records Administration
MARCH 11, 2011 - READING MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL DISTANCE LEARNING LAB

Professor Frances Early of Mt. St. Vincent University will present an interactive lecture explores the role of political activism during the World War I era, a time of increasing militarism and social repression. Personal stories and case studies will illustrate this study of civil liberties during wartime and the conflict between freedom and security. The latter half of this session will provide a hands-on introduction to Docs Teach a new web-based resource from the National Archives and Records Administration. Docs Teach is geared toward giving teachers tools and knowledge to help students interact with primary sources in unique ways that utilize new technology while maintaining a focus on document analysis, weighing evidence, interpreting data, making connections, and examining the big picture.

The End of World War II in the Pacific and the Use of the Atomic Bomb
With morning presenter TBA and Patricia Fontaine of the University of Massachusetts Lowell
APRIL 5, 2011 (tentative) - READING MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL DISTANCE LEARNING LAB

This session will focus on the U.S. and Japan in the latter part of the Pacific War during World War II with a focus on the use of the atomic bomb including an examination of the debate over the bomb with the integration of recent scholarship and memory studies. The latter half of the session will introduce the online Visualizing Cultures “Ground Zero” exhibit of pictures by atomic bomb survivors. The American decision to deploy the new technology of nuclear destruction against densely populated cities will always remain controversial. Strategies for teaching and learning with historical empathy and perspective around the use of the atomic bomb will be modeled, examined, and discussed.

The Korean War
With David Ekbladh, Tufts University and Kevin O’Reilly, Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School
MAY 3, 2011 - READING MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL DISTANCE LEARNING LAB

This session will examine the Korean War as the key event of the beginning of the Cold War, including the model of South Korea as the start of United States militarization around the globe, the longer history of U.S. involvement in Korea, and a consideration of consensus building in the 1950s, exploring how the country was persuaded to go to war so soon after WWII. In the latter half of the session, award-winning teacher Kevin O’Reilly will present his distinct approach to teaching the Korean War through critical thinking, decision making and problem solving strategies.

History Book Discussion Study Groups

Led by Professor Robert Forrant, University of Massachusetts Lowell
LOWELL HIGH SCHOOL SESSIONS (Wednesdays): December 8, 2010, January 12, February 9, March 9, & April 13, 2011, 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
READING MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL SESSIONS (Mondays): December 13, 2010, January 10, February 14, March 28, & April 25, 2011, 3:30 PM - 5:30 PM

Participating teachers will meet for five two-hour history book discussion study groups to deepen their content knowledge of the designated historical periods and theme studied that year. The study groups will provide an opportunity to read and discuss five historical works related to the program year’s theme. Resources and instructional strategies to incorporate the content into the classroom will be provided and discussed.

Book Titles
December: Paul Revere’s Ride by David Hackett Fischer

January: This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War by Drew Gilpin Faust

February: Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919 by Stephen Puleo

March: Double Victory: A Multicultural History of America in World War II by Ronald Takaki

April: Patriots: The Vietnam War Remembered from All Sides by Christian Appy

Books are provided for all participants.

As a result of participation in the school-day seminars and the History Book Discussion Study Group, teachers are required to develop a work product such as a 3 – 5 day lesson plan or a multi-media project. Graduate credit and/or PDPs will be provided. A sharing conference in fall 2011 will provide the opportunity for teachers to share their newly created lessons and curriculum projects.

Primary Source Summer Institute

War and Society from the American Revolution to the War in Vietnam
With presentations by leading academic historians, independent scholars and “lead teachers”
JULY 11 - 15, 2011 AT READING MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL, ORIENTATION & FOLLOW UP DAY TBA

Primary Source summer institutes provide a rich introduction to a course topic. During a summer institute participants interact with an array of scholars from the area's top colleges and universities, and seasoned teachers with expertise and teaching experience on the institute's subject. Readings assigned prior to the institute elevate participants' capacity to engage vigorously with content and provide shared background knowledge among students.
The Summer Institute will include topics such as:

The Common Man as American Hero: The American Revolution and the Civil War
Ethnicity and Race in the Civil War: The New York City Draft Riots
Lives on the Home Front Through Letters and Material Culture
The Struggle for Racial Integration in the Armed Services, World War II, Korea and Vietnam
Youth Culture and the Anti-War Movement in the Vietnam War

Site visit possibilities include the U.S.S. Cassin Young at the Charlestown Navy Yard and walking tours of Boston’s war memorials.

As a result of participation in the Primary Source Summer Institute, teachers are required to develop a work product such as a 3 – 5 day lesson plan, an in-depth book review, or a film guide. Graduate credit and/or PDPs will be provided. A sharing conference in fall 2011 will provide the opportunity for teachers to share their newly created lessons and curriculum projects.