About TAH

The Mendocino, Lake, and Sonoma Counties Teaching American History Project (TAH MLS) is part of a nationwide Teaching American History federal grant program funded through the U.S. Department of Education. In August 2010, MCOE was awarded funding for the second Teaching American History project through the United States Department of Education.

The Teaching American History (TAH) MLS project is a five-year grant funded by the United States Department of Education and awarded to the Mendocino County Office of Education. This project is designed to develop and deliver a five-year program of quality professional development for two separate cohorts in the content and teaching of traditional U.S. History targeted at 4th and 5th grade teachers but also open to other teachers. TAH Mendocino, Lake, and Sonoma is a collaborative effort among the Mendocino County Office of Education, Sonoma State University, and school districts within Mendocino, Lake, and Northern Sonoma Counties (Cloverdale, Windsor, Piner-Olivet, and Santa Rosa City Schools). The Mendocino Historical Society and the Grace Hudson Museum are also part of this collaboration. As a result of participation in the grant, teachers will be able to help students more effectively meet high academic standards in American History. The program will support teams of teachers in summer institutes and establish and maintain professional networks focused on teaching standards based American History. Also, teachers will learn how to develop lesson plans which will integrate literacy strategies, support English language learners and use technology to access primary sources.

Goals:

The project goals are to provide training and opportunities for project participants to acquire understanding and expertise in effectively developing standards-based American History lessons. Other project goals: (1) to increase traditional American History content knowledge; (2) to improve the quality of curriculum and instruction of traditional American History as a separate academic subject; and (3) to improve student knowledge and understanding of American History. There will be a strong regional focus to encourage teachers to become familiar with local resources and to work closely with historical associations and museums in identifying resources that illustrate local participation in the larger national historic movements. The grant also entails a three part author lecture series/book study open to all K-12 teachers as well as community members.

Program strands:

  1. Interweaving content, pedagogy, and historical thinking.

  2. Integrating history/literacy and developing historical habits of mind.

  3. Identifying appropriate assessment tools and applicable teaching processes.

  4. Setting benchmarks and performance indicators for teachers and students.

  5. Identifying standards, texts, books, articles, and materials to be used.

  6. How to observe peers and give feedback.

  7. Advocating for increased instructional time.

Summer Institute:

From July 11-21, 2001, we will hold a two-week summer institute that begins at 8:30AM and ends at 3:30 PM. The summer program allows teachers to work intensively with dedicated history professors and content literacy specialists. Each summer’s program focuses on a theme that traverses the range of the California Content Standards. Professors begin by introducing broad themes that can be used to understand material in the pre-colonial, colonial, Revolutionary, and early national periods. All institutes include a morning academic content strand and curriculum development in the afternoon. Academic content will be developed by SSU American history professors, Dr. Michelle Jolly and Dr. Steve Estes, and Anthropology professor Dr. Margaret Purser in consultation with the leadership team, TAH Director, Dr. Nancy Rogers-Zegarra; Professional Development Director, Miriam Hutchins, ELL/Content Literacy Specialist Nancy Case-Rico and Teacher Leader Liaison, Sue Olds.

Topics and Texts

Theme:  Teaching Early American History: Cultures, Communities, and the Creation of the American Republic

2010-2011
American Frontiers -Colin Calloway, New Worlds for All; Fred Anderson: Crucible of War. Excerpts: Olaudah Equiano, The Interesting Narrative Life of Olaudah Equiano; Andres Resendez, A Land So Strange: The epic Journey of Cabeza de Vaca.
2011-2012
Colonial Communities and Institutions: Charles Mann, 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus; David Price, Love and Hate in Jamestown; Nathaniel Philbrick, Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community and War
2012-2013
Creation of the American Republic (with study trip to Boston & Philadelphia):
Ray Raphael, A People’s History of the American Revolution; Christopher and James Collier, Decision in Philadelphia; Carol Berkin: Revolutionary Mothers

Stipend:

Teachers participating in the program will receive a $1,200 stipend for attending the summer institute and follow-up activities each year. They will also receive books and teaching materials.

Field Trip:

The capstone of the MLS TAH experience will be a seven day trip to Philadelphia and Boston at the end of three years. In Philadelphia, teachers will experience a two-day workshop with Professor Molefi Asante from Temple University on “African Americans in Colonial and Revolutionary Philadelphia.” In Boston, teachers will experience a guided tour of the Freedom Trail with Dr. Jolly.  In addition, teachers will build on the themes of colonial communities and frontiers through a visit to Plimoth Plantation. The cost for the hotel and flight will be paid by the TAH grant.

Follow-up Programs:

Historical Lecture Series:

The Historical Lecture Series is an annual lecture series. The three lectures will continue the yearly themes addressed in the institutes and are open to all K-12 teachers and the community.

Credits:

Credits for the summer institute are available through Sonoma State University (up to 4 units each year). One unit and a $150 stipend are available for all K-12 teachers that attend all 3 of the historical lectures.

Teacher Leaders:

TAH teacher leaders, selected from the participating school districts, will sit on the MLS TAH advisory board; work with the program director and the professors in designing the summer program. They will provide feedback about which lessons and activities are valuable. Teacher leaders will also take an active role in coaching and facilitating meetings and implementing the Lesson Study approach to improving student learning.

Technology:

Technology will be used to deliver content, communicate with participants through our website, share lessons and resources and provide multi-tiered training to improve and expand teachers’ use of technology in their classrooms. MCOE will provide technology support and training during all five years of the grant. This technology component will create an online community of history scholars and help minimize the isolation of teachers in our region. Lessons will be posted on the MLS TAH website (http://tah.mcoe.us/lesson-study)

EVENT TEACHERS SERVED YEARLY HOURS
Two Week Summer Institute 35 PDC 80
Two Follow-Up Day In-Services 35 PDC 15
District Meetings lead by Teacher leaders/classroom observations/data analyses/lesson revision 35 30
Optional M.A. in Teaching American History for PDC teachers 15 PDC 90
Historical Lecture Series and Book Study 35 PDC + 40 24

About the TAH MLS Project (2010-2015)

How to participate:

1.  Become a “Cohort 1 or 2 Program” participant (limited to 30 participants with a focus on 4th and 5th grade teachers for each Cohort)
Attend the ten day Summer Institute at the Mendocino COE each year for three years. There will be two Cohorts: #1(2011-2013) and #2(2013-2015). Attend field trips each year as part of the summer institute. Participate with other grant participants in "Lesson Study" -a collaborative process to develop, teach, analyze, and refine American History lessons in classrooms.  A focus on reading, writing, historical thinking and support for English Learners will be part of the lesson design. Teacher Leaders will support the Lesson Study process in districts throughout the school year. Cohort participants will receive $1,200 yearly stipend.

2.  Join the Historical Lecture Series (each year, limited to 10 participants in grades K-12)
Attend three Historical Lectures each year presented by noted historians at the Mendocino County Office of Education. Work with colleagues to apply information from the lectures to design classroom lessons. (Teacher Participants may receive a $150/year stipend if you attend all three sessions during the year, and submit a lesson plan).  One SSU credit is available for attending 3 sessions and completing a lesson plan. All Historical Lecture Series events are open to all community members.

3. Become a Teacher Leader (limited to 6 additional participants for Cohorts 1 and 2)
Benefits of Participating in the Project: Participants will have the opportunity to hear from and work with nationally recognized historians and scholars. Work to enhance students' academic literacy skills through a focus on reading, writing, and history. Collaborate with colleagues on the development, refinement, and analysis of classroom lessons. Attend ten day summer institutes (2011, 2012, 2013) to enhance content knowledge and develop instructional materials for use in the classroom.

Facilitate "Lesson Study" - a collaborative process to develop, teach, analyze, and refine American History lessons in classrooms.  A focus on reading, writing, historical thinking and support for English Learners will be part of the lesson design. Teacher Leaders will support the Lesson Study process in districts throughout the school year. (Teacher Leaders will receive a yearly stipend, books and other teaching materials).

Who Should Apply?: Elementary 4th and 5th grade teachers who want to increase their repertoire of instructional strategies to improve student achievement in history and in the reading and writing of expository texts. New teachers who desire time to collaborate with more experienced colleagues and to accelerate their professional development Experienced teachers who know the value of participating in quality professional development focused on increasing content knowledge and the development of classroom lessons. Attend the ten day Summer Institute at the Mendocino COE each year for three years. There will be two Cohorts: 2011-2013 and 2013-2015. Partners: All School Districts in Mendocino and Lake Counties, the Cloverdale, Windsor, Piner-Olivet and Santa Rosa School Districts, Sonoma State University, Dominican University, Grace Hudson Museum, Constitutional Rights Foundation, Organization of American Historians.

The Teaching American history Grant program is funded under Title IIC, US Department of Education. To learn more about the Teaching American History Grant Program and other participating schools go to http://www.ed.gov/programs/teachinghistory or click on the link to Abstracts of Funded Projects. For more information about the second Teaching American History Grant , contact: Nancy Rogers-Zegarra nrogers [at] mcoe [dot] us