American Promises:
A Teaching American History Program
for K-12 Educators
About the Program
American Promises is a high quality, effective professional development program in traditional American history. Content is organized around the fundamental themes expressed in America's founding documents. This program is aligned with the Massachusetts State Curriculum Frameworks. Major components are day-long seminars, after school workshops, student programs, and the American Centuries web site.
A Partnership Between Local School Districts
The Center for Teacher Education and Research at Westfield State College
The Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association
The United States Department of Education
Gateway & Partners
Teaching American History
July 1, 2009- June 30, 2010
The Gateway Regional Schools in collaboration with Westfield State College, working with the Public School Districts of Chicopee, Westfield, Easthampton, West Springfield, and Agawam, and in partnership with the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, Deerfield, Massachusetts
Invite local educators to join
American Promises:
A Teaching American History Program
For K-12 Educators
Teaching American History is a national program to increase teacher knowledge of American History to enable students to become better informed and more involved citizens. Each year, American Promises examines significant issues, episodes and people from the colonial period into the twentieth century in the context of the ideals contained in our Nation's founding documents: 1) The Promises of the American Revolution: Colonies to Nation; 2) Testing the Promises: The Civil War, Industrialization, and Immigration; and 3) Claiming the Promises: Two World Wars, More Immigration, A New Deal and Civil Rights. Professional development includes seminars with nationally recognized scholars of American History, meetings with individual teachers, workshops, as well as in-class history presentations and an immersion weekend. An advisory board guides this federally funded, content-rich program of professional development.
Benefits for Students
- Fun and challenging experiences learning about American History, including a History Lab in the classroom.
- Local history connected to American History
- Engaging, local primary resources, letters, newspapers, photographs and artifacts
- Student-centered, inquiry-based learning activities that build critical thinking skills
- Alignment with Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks
- Family pass for Memorial Hall and Indian House Children's Museum
Benefits for Teachers and Librarians
- Free, high quality training experiences; work with professors and museum professionals
- Professional development points and academic credits available
- Assistance in developing history and interdisciplinary curricula
- A Teachers Center for American History (multimedia lending library, traveling history kits, workshops)
- Content-focused use of technology, featuring the premier American Centuries website (www.americancenturies.mass.edu)
- Honoraria and free classroom materials
Funded entirely by a $999,650.00 grant from the U.S. Department of Education
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