Recently in Teaching Resources Category

Sarah Yabroff of the Goethe-Institut sends along the following information about the Transatlantic Outreach Program:

The goal of "TOP" is to encourage cross-cultural dialogue and to provide Social Studies educators with global understanding from an international perspective using Modern Germany as the basis for comparison and contrast, in order to internationalize Social Studies curriculum as well as to provide international exposure to Social Studies educators in the United States and Canada. In order to achieve these goals, the Three Pillars of TOP work in concert:

1. Teaching Materials. TOP currently produces four textbooks for the elementary, middle, and secondary levels. These textbooks are authored by American Social Studies professionals and edited by TOP staff. In addition, TOP produces wall maps, videos, and a series of online games.
2. Workshops. TOP sponsors hundreds of in-service training workshops every year by providing its educational materials free-of-charge to workshop leaders.
3. Study Tours. TOP sends Social Studies educators to Germany every summer on all-expense-paid study tours, exposing them the government and education systems, large and small businesses, and various examples of culture. Upon completion of the study tour, educators return to the United States to write a unit of learning as well as conduct two in-service training workshops.

For more information, please visit the TOP web site: http://www.goethe.de/ins/us/lp/prj/top/.

Contact Name: Bill Carey
Contact Email: historybill@usa.com

Announcing new virtual tours of two of the most fascinating places in Tennessee

* Historic Rugby, the Utopian colony started for the younger sons of English gentry. It failed more than a century ago, but somehow still thrives today.

*The Andrew Johnson Historic Site, a wonderful resource that includes a visitor's center, the former president's tailor shop, and two structures in which the 17th president of the United States lived Courthouses, courthouses... New ones include Carter, Greene, Johnson, Marshall, Sullivan and Unicoi counties. At this pace, we'll be taking number 95 in early October (and getting the truck repaired in mid October)

* Click to see the updated TN History for Kids courthouse page

Coming next: * Virtual tours of the Cumberland Gap National Park the Butler Museum, and that ever-elusive pencil factory

* A complete Tennessee history text for high school students

All photos taken by Bill Carey for THFK Tennessee History for Kids, a 501(c)3 organization PO Box 58063, Nashville TN 37205 www.tnhistoryforkids.org

Contact Name: Noah Shaw
Contact Email: noah@nhd.org

I thought you would be interested in three new sets of curriculum materials for social studies educators that National History Day, Inc. (NHD) has created. You can learn more about NHD at www.nhd.org and check out the materials listed below online.

1) Making History is a set of five new workbooks developed by teachers to help engage students in the study of the past and support the creation of National History Day projects.

You can view the series at http://nhd.acuityweb.com/cart/ - use the code "HistoryNow" and receive $10 off.

"A Guide to Historical Research" - is the cornerstone of the series and is a comprehensive 264 page book that provides teachers step-by-step guidance to understanding what is history, how to conduct historical research and how to engage students in active learning projects that teach historical understanding and essential reading and writing skills.

The four additional workbooks are How-Tos that guide students through the process of creating successful National History Day projects. These practical workbooks provide step-by-step resources to help students develop documentaries, exhibits, research papers and performances.

2) The Annual NHD Contest Kit provides teachers everything they need to participate in the NHD contest. The kit will include the annual theme book, DVD introduction to NHD, contest rule book, information on meeting the NHD standards, an NHD fact sheet; NHD FAQs, testimony about NHD programs, judging sheets for each category, judging instruction packets for all categories and additional curriculum materials.

You can view the kit at http://nhd.acuityweb.com/cart/ - use the code "HistoryNow" and receive $10 off.

3) Triumph and Tragedy in History was developed with ABC-CLIO and is a set of three resource books that equip teachers with all of the materials they need to challenge students to think critically and to create engaging classroom experiences.

You can view the series at http://nhd.acuityweb.com/cart/ - use the code "HistoryNow" and receive $10 off.

The resource books cover topics of free speech, immigration, and nation-building that all go to the heart of the American experience and national aspirations. We are a nation of immigrants who dedicated their country to freedom and liberty, within our borders and across the world. As wars, economic downturns, and political upheavals have challenged this nation's commitment to its ideals, these issues have come to the forefront again and again, sometimes revealing the best facets of the American experiment, sometimes revealing its less appealing side.

We hope that you will let other educators in your area know about these resources.

Thank you,

Noah Shaw
National History Day, Inc.