Yes, ladies and gentleman, you saw that right. A partnership with Waynesburg University and The Library of Congress has presented us with a grant that will allow you to do New York History Day with a little more green in these tough economic times.
"So, John," you ask. "How do I get to be a part of this fabulous offer??" Well, let me tell you more before you apply. Here is some information directly from the grant:
This project will seek to engage teachers from a large geographic area in the use of primary source documents in a variety of disciplines. Introducing participants to the National History Day program and offering training on program implementation and student-driven projects based on primary source research will provide a real world context. Interested teachers will be able to apply for mini-grants, assisting them with implementing the National History Day program in their individual schools, and, for interested participants, extending the experience into the regional and state competitions associated with New York State and National History Day.
Throughout the grant project, National History Day will be used as the example as a meaningful; standards based activity that incorporates primary source documents as a key element of the projects design and efficacy.
New York State History Day staff, guest speakers, and distance learning opportunities will provide the training and curriculum materials delivered to teachers and librarians from across the BOCES' districts of New York State. This training will facilitate use of the Library of Congress' on-line collection, including the American Memory Project, and provide web based support tools for National History Day implementation. These resources will include a closed social network for project participants. Here they will be able to share their experiences as they take on History Day, have access to on line resources, be updated about upcoming workshops and participate in real time discussions about researching with primary sources.
Training will take place through several different mediums. Initially, a summer workshop focusing on the overarching elements of the program including ways to use primary sources in the classroom, using Library of Congress to support research topics, and accessing local records in the region will be scheduled. School district representatives will travel to the New York State Historical Association (NYSHA), Cooperstown, NY for the summer 2009 on-site training.
Additionally, seminars and/or webinars will be offered at the Instructional Support Services center in Norwich, NY and on-site in a district library. Gretchen Sorin, Director of The Cooperstown Graduate Program and former Associate at the American Memory project will share her expertise with participants. She will train teachers to access primary source documents from the American Memory collection. Other sessions will feature distance-learning sessions with Library of Congress staff. Participants will be taught how to use both basic and advanced search strategies during their Library of Congress searches.
So that is the program. The $300 in mini-grant funding would cover things like traveling to a local research library, registration fees for students, digital cameras, student exhibit boards, supplies for the projects, and so on. There are only two key requirements for getting the dough: be sure that your students use Library of Congress' online resources for some of their research, and that they complete a National History Day project.
Even if you decide not to do the grant, this program also pays for NYSHD staff Tobi Voigt and me to take trips to classrooms to introduce the program and to do professional development on the LOC and using it for NHD topics.
So don’t hesitate! Apply today or call me at 607-547-1476 to arrange a visit, to answer questions!
Click this link to download our grant application form: Mini-Grant Application - TPS.doc
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