First Teaching American History Grant Project Summary (2003-2007)

In September 2003, CESA 6 and the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh received a multi-year, $762,000 Teaching American History (TAH) grant from the U.S. Department of Education to launch a multi-faceted professional development program titled "Rediscovering Our Past: New Directions in U.S. History Instruction."

This professional development project provided teachers of U.S. history with new perspectives -- including various local and Wisconsin statewide perspectives -- on significant events and eras from the American past. This project was designed to draw upon American history teachers' interests and expertise in the field, and sought to assist teachers with:

     (1) the acquisition of new content knowledge in American history from the various perspectives noted above;
  (2) acquisition of knowledge on the nature and use of artifacts, journals and diaries, photos and maps, and other primary source items for history instruction; and
  (3) increasing their capacity to utilize innovative resources, presentation technologies, and instructional strategies in the classroom.


 

 

 

Over the four year project period, 77 K-12 teachers from school districts within CESA 6, 5, 7 and 1 participated in at least one year.  Of those, 18 participated during 2 years and 3 participated during 3 years.  In the fourth summer, all 18 participants had previously particpated in the grant.  Annual project activities consisted of: (1) one-week summer academy -- known as the Teachers Academy for the Study of American History (TASAH); (2) several workshops during the subsequent school year; (3) several two-hour seminars that focused on assigned readings; and (4) site visits to historical sites such as the Wisconsin Historical Society, Outagamie Museum, Oshkosh Public Museum, the UW Oshkosh Archives & Area Research Center, and the Black Holocaust Museum and Black Historical Society Museum in Milwaukee.  Funds were also used to assist the Wisconsin Historical Society, Outagamie Museum and Oshkosh Public Museum in their development of digital collections and exhibits containing historically relevant items.

During the first year (2004-05), the project activities focused around a wide array of national historic themes and periods.  The 2nd year (2005-06) focused around Connecting Wisconsin's Past through National and Local History.  The 3rd year (2006-07) focused around using liberty and freedom as unifying themes tying together disparate aspects of national history.   And the 4th summer (June 2007) focused around additional themes of Wisconsin and Milwaukee history that were connected to significant national history themes.

This website includes a section that have collected links to various history content-rich websites and online resources used by participants during the first TAH Grant Project, as well as links to the online resources developed by the Wisconsin Historical Society (Turning Points), Oshkosh Public Museum (Virtual Exhibits) and the Outagamie Museum (Fox Valley Turning Points) with the assistance of TAH grant funds.  (Click "Links to History-based Resources" at the left on this page). 

In addition, this website includes a section that posts lesson plans and other work products developed by teacher participants of the first TAH grant project, as part of the Teachers Academy for the Study of American History (TASAH).  So far, lthe section posts only esson plans developed by teachers participating in the Year 3 TASAH.  Eventually, lesson plans and work products developed by participants from all three years of TASAH will be posted in this section.  (Click "Lesson Units Created by Teacher Participants" at the left on this page.)

 

WASAH --  New Teaching American History Grant Project (April 2008 - April 2011)

In June 2007, CESA 6 received a 2nd federal Teaching American History (TAH) grant award from the U.S. Dept. of Education, $1 million for three years, to continue coordinating and delivering professional development to grade 4-12 teachers of U.S. history from school districts located within CESAs 6, 7 and 9.  CESA 6 will partner with the history departments for UW-Oshkosh, UW-Marathon County and UW-Green Bay, the Wisconsin Historical Society, CESAs 7 and 9, and other area museums and historical societies in delivering project activities and resources.  The project, entitled "Wisconsin Academy for the Study of American History" (or WASAH), has enrolled 52 history teachers to participate in program activities for 3 years, starting with the April 26, 2008 kickoff workshop at UW-Marathon County.  Project activities for each year will include a 7-day summer academy in late July, site visit at historical content providers throughout the state, two full-day workshops and six half-day seminars throughout the subsequent school year.  (Participants must attend a minimum of two of those seminars.)

If you have any questions or wish to discuss the WASAH Project more specifically, please do not hesitate to contact Mike Derr, WASAH K-12 Coordinator, or History Instructor Jeffrey Pickron, Lead University Coodinator: 

Mike Derr, WASAH K-12 Coordinator
CESA 6 Horicon Regional Office
304 Ellison Street
Horicon, WI 53032                                                                                                                                                          phone: 920/236-0875
fax: 920/485-0306
mobile: 920/210-6525
email: mderr@cesa6.k12.wi.us

Jeffrey Pickron, Lead University Coordinator
UW-Oshkosh                                                                                                                                                           Department of History
Clow Faculty Building                                                                                                                                                      Oshkosh, WI  54903                                                                                                                                                        phone: 920/424-1409
fax: 920/424-
email: pickronj@uwosh.edu