News
UCD History Project Tackles the 8th-grade CST Conundrum
A team of HP teacher-leaders, concerned about student performance on the California Standards Test given at the end of 8th grade that covers the previous three years of study, have developed a 3-day symposium in consultation with historians. Entitled Building Thematic Bridges Across the History Curriculum, the program promises to expand teachers' understanding of the content assigned to each grade level, six through eight, so they can capitalize on opportunities to preview and review content with students. Participants will learn how continuity and change can be observed across three themes: commerce, religion, and government. Two historians will participate in the symposium, each giving a formal talk and helping us make connections within the wide-ranging content. In addition, six practicing teachers will demonstrate model lessons and quick review activities like "Six Degrees of Historical Separation." If you teach 6th-, 7th-, or 8th-grade history, this symposium is for you! See the July calendar for further details.
Join Us to Celebrate!
What better way to celebrate May Day than to toast the good work of fellow history teachers?
Join us on May 1 from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm in Sac State Library's Special Collections Room. Eat, drink, and enjoy the company of fellow history educators--elementary, secondary, and university.
If you have earned the distinction of History Project Fellow by participating in sustained curriculum development work totaling 60 hours or more, we'll have a snazzy lapel pin for you!
Please email historyproject@ucdavis.edu or call 530.752.4383 to let us know if you plan to attend.
The Best of Yolo County: A History-Social Science Symposium
April 12, 2008
Fifteen Yolo County and Dixon teachers recently demonstrated the outstanding lessons they developed as participants in the History Project’s Teaching American History grant programs. The grant, awarded to Yolo County Office of Education and the History Project at UC Davis in 2004, funded workshops and institutes focused on historical content and literacy-building strategies.
The event, held April 11-12, highlighted lessons teachers developed to apply their training. Each lesson had been classroom tested and teachers spoke from experience and shared student work in each workshop. Teachers teaching teachers at its finest!
UC Davis historians Ari Kelman and Beverly Bossler also participated at the Symposium as keynote speakers.
Charles Postel's Book is a Winner!
March 14, 2008
CSUS professor and perennial History Project favorite Charles Postel's book, The Populist Vision, has won not one but two prestigious awards. The Frederick Jackson Turner Award from the Organization of American Historians recognizes an author's first book on some significant phase of American history.
Just as the confetti started to settle in our celebration of that award, we learned that Charles's work had also been awarded the Bancroft Prize. This prize, awarded each year by the trustees of Columbia University, is considered one of the most prestigious awards in the field of American history writing.
Congratulations, Charles!