Hearthside - The House That Love Built

Teachers to Receive Training on American History at Hearthside

A grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Teaching American History program has been awarded to the Lincoln School Department along with 11 school districts throughout Northern Rhode Island. The grant of $934,587 is dedicated to improving the teaching of American history for grades 5 through 12. Hearthside, one of the partners in the grant as well as being a site to be used for teacher training, first approached the Lincoln School Department two years ago in an effort to integrate local history into the curriculum. The project funded through this grant, called "A New Birth of Freedom: Developing Historical Thinking in American History," also includes partnerships with the Rhode Island Historical Society and the Gilder Lerman Institute of American History, the DBQ Project and the University of Rhode Island./p>

Hearthside also has the honor of having been selected to host the official kick off reception for the project, which will take place on Thursday, October 28, 2010.

Each year through the three-year grant, 60 teachers will be selected to participate in advanced professional development opportunities, such as attending lectures by experts in the field and visiting historical sites. There will be a five-day institute during the summer with lectures by scholars, seminars, workshops and a chance to gain field experience. During the school year, teachers will work one on one with project staff after school, and visit regional historic sites (such as Hearthside), museums, and institutes to learn from experts and specialists. The participating districts are Burrillville, Central Falls, Cumberland, Foster, Foster-Glocester, Glocester, Johnston, North Providence, North Smithfield, Smithfield and Woonsocket.

At least one teacher from each grade from each of the 12 districts will be able to participate, with the remaining spots to be determined by the population of the schools. Because Lincoln took the lead role in applying for the grant, Lincoln teachers will get a few extra spots. As part of the project, 5th grade teachers who are selected to participate will be visiting Hearthside next May for a day-long workshop.

The whole idea of the program is that as teachers' knowledge and understanding of U.S. history improves, so will their teaching methods. Historians' understanding of history is constantly evolving like science and becomes outdated very quickly. Teachers participating in the program will have an opportunity to learn from nationally renowned historians who they would normally never even have a chance to talk to. Student learning will improve as teachers develop thematic lesson plans based on what they have learned through their professional development. By studying history through primary sources - the speeches, letters, photographs and other resources that historians study - students will learn to analyze history. During the project, student work will be submitted for review to determine the effect that the project is having.

At the conclusion of the three-year grant, the program will be evaluated for a possible two-year extension. Lincoln Curriculum Director Melinda Smith believes that Lincoln and its partners have a good chance of getting the extension unless the Department of Education discontinues the program. If the extension is approved, the school has asked for an additional $643,671 for the 4th- and 5th- year of the program.

A goal of the program is to become a model for statewide reform and have the Rhode Island Department of Education recognize that having measurable history standards can increase scores in history. Model lesson plans that participating teachers create will be put on program's Web site. These lesson plans, along with reading lists, primary sources and related activities, will be available for any teacher in the state, or nation, who would like to use them.

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