Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Education Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

American Studies

Professional Learning Day

Articles 1 - 9 of 9

Full-Text Articles in Education

Session C-3: The Black Hawk War, Eric Smith Mar 2017

Session C-3: The Black Hawk War, Eric Smith

Professional Learning Day

The Trail of Tears was but one of the many removal programs undertaken by an expansive and industrializing United States. The Black Hawk War offers a number of documents that help promote historical thinking by considering accounts of the events by both sides in the conflict.


Session B-4: Why Study War? The Importance Of Teaching Military History, Justin Riskus Mar 2017

Session B-4: Why Study War? The Importance Of Teaching Military History, Justin Riskus

Professional Learning Day

This session will provide educators with the means and methods of incorporating American military history into the classroom, and how its study fosters critical thinking skills. A global perspective of American military power {Civil War, Cold War, War on Terror), and ideas on how to teach such perspectives, will be explored.


Session A-3: The Yin And Yang Of U.S.-China Relations 1840-Present, Diane Haleas Mar 2017

Session A-3: The Yin And Yang Of U.S.-China Relations 1840-Present, Diane Haleas

Professional Learning Day

The United States and China have experienced both difficult relations and positive relations. For over 150 years these interactions between the United States and China have resulted in significant influences on political, economic, and cultural decisions in both countries. This presentation will offer an overview of time periods, emphasize crucial events, and analyze the implications for U.S.-China relations today and in the future. Lesson plan ideas will be included.


Session A-4: Legacy: Enslaved African Muslims In The Americas, Steven Buenning, Elizabeth Buenning Mar 2017

Session A-4: Legacy: Enslaved African Muslims In The Americas, Steven Buenning, Elizabeth Buenning

Professional Learning Day

Among the estimated 12.5 million enslaved African persons deported to the Americas, about 10-20% were Muslims. What were their experiences? How did their actions influence life in the Western Hemisphere? What is their legacy today? Through new scholarship, the Transatlantic Slave Trade Database, primary sources, and geography exercises, we will explore how this topic can enrich your teaching of the history of slavery. In addition, books for young readers about Islam and other world religions will be discussed.


Session C-4: Mary Lincoln’S Journey, Mary Kerr Mar 2016

Session C-4: Mary Lincoln’S Journey, Mary Kerr

Professional Learning Day

Lincoln's Journey will detail in an interesting and objective manner the pivotal points in her life: early feelings about slavery, the decision to leave Lexington and settle in Springfield, IL, being a single mother while her husband was "riding the circuit", her continued support of Lincoln as a national politician, restoration of the White House, and her inability to make positive decisions after Lincoln's assassination. In the end she was able to live on a budget and died with dignity. The presentation follows the book Mary Lincoln's Journey by Kerr and Kerr in which primary sources are emphasized.


Session A-1: The New Illinois Civics Curriculum: Perils And Pitfalls, Claiborne A. Skinner Jr., Eric Smith Mar 2016

Session A-1: The New Illinois Civics Curriculum: Perils And Pitfalls, Claiborne A. Skinner Jr., Eric Smith

Professional Learning Day

The Illinois Legislature will require all Illinois students to complete one semester in civics in order graduate beginning with students entering next academic year. IMSA adopted a combined one-semester civics/American history curriculum this year that can serve as a critical study in how to achieve the goals the state hopes to achieve. Rather than wrestle with the issue of American History vs. American Government curriculum, we are attempting to present a History of American Government, exploring the origins of our political institutions beginning in the Dark Ages and how these have evolved to meet the needs of the times. We …


Session A-1: Interpreting Cold War Origins: Past, Present, Future, Lee Eysturlid Feb 2015

Session A-1: Interpreting Cold War Origins: Past, Present, Future, Lee Eysturlid

Professional Learning Day

This session will enable attendees to teach the origins of the Cold War for the United States (and world) along with the evolution of American opinion on the topic. This fragmentation of historical opinion (left, right, center) will help attendees see the many possibilities of the topic. Teachers will leave ready to teach the topic.


Session A-3: Across The Wide Missouri: Illinois & Early Exploration Of The Trans-Mississippi West, Claiborne A. Skinner Jr. Mar 2013

Session A-3: Across The Wide Missouri: Illinois & Early Exploration Of The Trans-Mississippi West, Claiborne A. Skinner Jr.

Professional Learning Day

Illinois History is often perceived as a contradiction in terms. Until the arrival of Abraham Lincoln, most folks think that nothing of any note happened here. This presentation will address the French traders and explorers from the Illinois Country who pushed west up the Missouri and Arkansas Rivers in the century preceding Lewis and Clark's more famous jaunt. The two knew of these French travelers only too well and recruited a half dozen Illinois French at Fort Massac and Kaskaskia to show them how to get to the "unknown". The effect these men had on the Plains was profound.


Session A-4: National Archives Resources And The Common Core, Kris Maldre Jarosik Mar 2013

Session A-4: National Archives Resources And The Common Core, Kris Maldre Jarosik

Professional Learning Day

Discover the online resources of the National Archives and learn how they can support Common Core standards and help build the literacy skills of your students. We will explore sample U.S. history activities relating to the Civil War, American Indians, and World War II during this session.