Summer Professional Development

We still have a few spots available for summertime PD around the country.


Image of Wong Kim Ark who was denied reentry to the United States upon his return from an 1894 visit to China
Denied reentry to the United States upon his return from an 1894 visit to China, San Francisco–born Wong Kim Ark was detained by the collector of customs in San Francisco. Wong filed a habeas corpus action against his detention. (Image from Departure Statement of Wong Kim Ark, 11/5/1894. From the Records of District Courts of the United States. National Archives Identifier: 2641490)

Teacher Professional Development at the National History Day National Contest

Teaching Historical Inquiry using Exploration, Encounter, and Exchange through Multiple Lenses of Immigration

June 15, 9–11:30 a.m. at the University of Maryland

How is history researched and written? Do students know how to read historical texts? How can you help your students construct a historical narrative and interpret historical themes? How can you enhance interest in a national topic by making local connections?

Join the National Archives for a session that will explore Chinese Immigration and the Ganges slave ship case. The session will focus on specific areas of instruction that are tied to the Core Curriculum and C3 Framework such as close reading of primary sources to develop sequencing skills and understanding of source perspective, using secondary sources to corroborate and diversify the inquiry process, understanding historic impact and context, developing an analytical thesis, and presenting a case study to demonstrate the power of informed action. This case study will show the importance of using multiple historical sources and connecting local history to larger national and international narratives.

Teachers will receive digital documents from the immigration case studies, tutorials for DocsTeach.org (our online tool for teaching with documents), sample lesson plans, and resource sheets.

Register online.


Primarily Teaching DC 2014 Participants

Primarily Teaching

Our summer institute for educators on using historical documents in the classroom. 

Each location will explore a specific topic using original documents in our archival holdings:

  • The National Archives at Atlanta (Morrow, GA): To the Moon!: NASA Records,
    June 22–26
  • The National Archives at Chicago: The U.S. Encounters a World War: The WWI Homefront in the Midwest, June 22–26
  • The National Archives at Seattle: Effects of Lewis and Clark on Modern Native America, July 6–10
  • The Herbert Hoover Presidential Library in West Branch, IA: Case Studies from the Hoover Library, July 20–24

Participants will produce a learning activity on DocsTeach.org, and will have the opportunity to continue researching the case study or to independently research another topic.

Learn more and apply online.


2015 American Studies Summer Institute

The American Studies Summer Institute at The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum

Nature and Nation Transformed: Rethinking the Role of the Environment in America’s Past and Present

July 6–17, 2015 (8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.)

Join us this summer for an intensive two-week program of thought-provoking lectures and discussions led by distinguished scholars and guests. The American Studies Summer Institute, an annual program co-sponsored by the University of Massachusetts Boston and the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, offers educators and graduate students the opportunity to explore in depth a topic drawn from American history, politics, culture, or social policy.

This year’s program, held at the Kennedy Library, will ask the following questions: How have the environment, geography, and climate shaped American lives and thought and, in turn, how have Americans transformed the physical world around them? How does investigating the interdependence of nature and human activity deepen our understanding of American history?

Learn more and register online; the deadline is May 29.

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