The Diary of George Templeton Strong

The New York Times' Disunion is commemorating the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War with daily articles that trace the progression of the war. Of particular interest are the excerpts from George Templeton Strong's diary. His detailed accounts can give students a perspective of what it would have been like to live through the war.

The Underground Railroad: Escape from Slavery

A recommendation from a Back to History colleague - this interactive site takes you on the journey of slaves who chose to attempt escape through the underground railroad network.

George Washington Summer Residential Teachers' Institute

The George Washington Teachers' Institute is a highly competitive program which brings teachers to Mount Vernon, Virginia for an intensive week of study at Washington's home. Participating teachers immerse themselves in the study and discussion of this critical period of American history and the remarkable role George Washington played in the founding of our nation. 

All teachers accepted into the institute receive a travel stipend of up to $350 and reside on the grounds of Washington's home. Participants are required to complete one lesson plan for dissemination to teachers across the nation on the Mount Vernon website, and perform one in-service for colleagues in their home district or state. 

Applications for Ohio teachers are due by March 7, 2011.

Reconstruction

hi everyone! In our chat last Thursday we talked about African-American voting rights after the Civil War and into the 20th century. I was trying to find this link during our chat, but didn't get to it until after. This is one of my favorite political Cartoons about this time period:

http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/images/at0082_6bs.jpg

On another note, I know Kristina sent out an email with the link to http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/, but I wanted to emphasize the resources they have available for teachers. They have a link on the site with a ton of lesson plans, many that I've used in class! I have tweaked a couple of them for use in both my government and AP government classes and the students have always really enjoyed viewing the commercials. We have done whole classroom activities, and also individual activities--I just tell the students to bring a pair of headphones that day so they can listen to the ads on their own. If you'd like me to email any lessons I have done using Living Room Candidate, let me know!

Gangsters, Gamblers, and Girls

I have gone on this historic walking tour and am hoping to take some students to see it this April. It is an awesome exhibit and so entertaining!!

http://www.newportgangsters.com/index.html

Awesome Video

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to share this video from the BBC. Hans Rosling takes statistics for 200 countries over course of 200 years (from 1810-2010). Although he is a professor who teaches about global health, this could easily be used when teaching about globalization, industrialization, etc. It is a very interesting look at how life expectancy and income are connected. Very cool.

Hope you find it as interesting as I do!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbkSRLYSojo&feature=player_embedded

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Teacher Fellowship

Applications are now being accepted for the 2011-2012 Museum Teacher Fellowship at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum from teachers in grades 7 through 12. Those chosen must show evidence of extensive knowledge of Holocaust history, successful teaching experience, and participation in community and professional organizations.

Teaching Fellows help promote the Museum’s efforts to ensure quality Holocaust education in secondary schools by participating in a variety of activities.

For more information and application material, visit
http://www.ushmm.org/education/foreducators/prodev/teacherfellowship/. The application deadline is February 11, 2011.

Making Ohio Memory Better

Hi Everyone,

I hope you are having a wonderful holiday season and staying warm!

You may remember me mentioning that we are working on our Ohio Memory website. The Ohio Historical Society is looking for some feedback on the functionality of our Ohio Memory search engine. As the digital collection has grown we are trying to find ways to make it increasingly user friendly. We especially value the opinions of teachers as we want our resources to be accessible for the classroom.

Please take a few minutes to complete the survey at the link below. In order to answer the questions you will have to complete a search using a new test home page for Ohio Memory. You can only access this page using the link provided in the survey directions. The survey will be available until December 31^st, 2010. If you have any questions please contact me at muline-olmstead@ohiohistory.org.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/QXMVLXW

Thank you so much and we look forward to your feedback.

Help make history come alive for Ohio's 4th-12th grade students

National History Day in Ohio is in the race to receive $50,000 from the Pepsi Refresh Project. Show your support for the program and Ohio students by voting everyday in December. Go here to vote.

Funding from the Pepsi Refresh Project will help to expand the program into more urban and rural schools. The grant will be used to provide financial assitance to low-income students; program materials & field trips to historic sites; teacher training & support materials.

Library of Congress Teachers

Starting today, you can search for classroom materials from the Library of Congress using state academic content standards. Of course, I has to test it out. I searched Ohio, grade 10, social studies, and found some great primary source sets and lesson plans for Industrialization.

Give it a try: http://www.loc.gov/teachers/.