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The Teaching American
History project is a three year
grant awarded to the Oakland
Unified School District in August
2001 to support professional
development for teachers of
American history at the 5th,
8th and 11th grade levels.
Objectives
The goal of our
project is to increase student
achievement and engagement in
the study of American history.
Using California
state content standards
and Oakland's
historical thinking standards,
teachers and students critically
examine historical primary sources,
considering multiple points
of view and evaluating different
interpretations of historical
events. We believe that through
studying the struggle for democracy
and linking that theme to the
best pedagogy and practice of
history, we will achieve our
goal.
Teacher
Learning
- Increased knowledge of the
history of the struggle for
democracy in America.
- Increased ability to teach
students to read historical
documents and to write historically
Student Learning
- Improved ability to read
and write history.
- Greater understanding of
the struggle for a more democratic
society and their own connection
to that history.
Participants
Thirty 5th, 8th and 11th
grade history teachers and
school librarians from the
Oakland unified School District
join the project each academic
year for an anticipated total
of 90 participants over three
years.
Professional Development
- monthly group meetings with
lectures from nationally recognized
Bay Area historians, and time
to work collectively on pedagogy
and lesson planning
- annual summer institutes
to focus on enhancing teachers'
content knowledge through
lecture and research, and
to work on lesson plans for
the next school year.
Lesson Study
(see
lesson study page)
Partners
For more information
about De Tocqueville's Ghost,
contact:
Shelly Weintraub
shellyw@ousd.k12.ca.us
or
Stan Pesick
Stan.Pesick@secmail.ousd.k12.ca.us
Visit our website
www.teachingamericanhistory.us
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