MAKING CONNECTIONS SCHEDULE AND ACTIVITIES, 2007-2008
Location: GRADUATE CENTER, CUNY365 5th Avenue (by 34th St.), New York City
9 A.M.-3 P.M.
click here for directions
The Making Connections program seeks to revitalize student interest and achievement through the use of multicultural and interdisciplinary approaches to the humanities; inquiry- and technology-based instruction; and primary documents that teachers can use to foster critical thinking, reading, and writing skills.
Throughout American history, young people have been at the forefront of change, expansions of citizenship and equal rights. This year, we plan on examining the experiences of young people as agents of change as documented in various forms of historical and literary narratives.
 |
Making Connections features innovative research-based approaches to curriculum development and instruction. Public middle and high school teachers engage in a rich discussion on designing curriculum to meet content and performance standards. |
September 28, 2007
Inquiry and Evidence:
Planning for Interdisciplinary Teaching and Learning
Our inaugural seminar is designed to assist teachers in planning their semester or year-long American history and culture courses. We will present ASHP/CML teaching approaches and methods as well as new social history scholarship. The seminar will help teachers identify overarching goals and appropriate resources, plan for performance assessment, and build critical thinking skills to help students prepare for standardized exams, such as the New York State Regents.
November 2, 2007
The “Peculiar” Institution
The “peculiar” institution was used as a euphemism for slavery in the American South. This seminar will explore how slavery impacted the meaning of liberty and citizenship. Participants will use materials from ASHP’s documentary Doing as They Can: Slave Life in the American South to further their understanding of the culture the slaves themselves forged. Guest facilitator, Dr. David Gerwin of Queens College will discuss teaching techniques from his text Teaching U.S. History as Mystery.
 |
Making Connections teachers and CUNY faculty mentors participate in a seminar discussion. The Making Connections program fosters collaboration between ASHP staff and CUNY faculty mentors such as Prof. Cynthia Jones (Hostos Community College) 2nd, left. |
November 30, 2007
America’s Gilded Age
America’s Gilded Age is understood as a period unprecedented economic, industrial, and population expansion. In this seminar we will explore the impact of these changes on the lives of everyday people, particularly workers, Native Americans and the Chinese and Chinese American population. We will also look closely at the building of railroads to understand the impact of westward expansion on Native and Chinese populations. Participants will use materials from ASHP’s documentary 1877: The Grand Army of Starvation and The Iron Horse and Buffalo.
December 14, 2007
Torchbearers of Democracy
Participants will explore the ways in which American participation in the war fundamentally altered how the United States and its peoples viewed themselves in relation to the rest of the world. This session pays particular attention to the myriad ways in which the war and military service in particular created new opportunities for historically marginalized social groups, such as African Americans, to advocate for effective democratic rights on an international scale. Participants will use various primary and literary resources. They will also explore the work of Jacob Lawrence and the ASHP video, Up South: African American Migration in the Era of the Great War. This session will take place at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.
 |
Making Connections features rich historical and literary content featuring the experience of ordinary Americans. In the Making Connections classroom, students develop critical thinking skills to prepare them for college coursework. |
February 1, 2008
The Great Depression
The 1930s were a period of economic hardship. Yet this period is also marked by positive and constructive changes that would become the hallmark of modern liberalism. Participants will be introduced to ASHP’s Young America: Experiences of Youth in U.S. History website. Interacting with the materials on this site we will cover the topics of student activism, New Deal programs, and what it meant to grow up in the 1930s.
March 7, 2008
Civil Rights Movements
Equality, recognition, and self-determination were at the forefront of movements led by ordinary people who ultimately transformed the meaning of freedom. Focusing on the African American and Chicano civil rights movements, participants will examine memoirs, speeches, music, and images representative of the time period. Teachers will also review and discuss portions of the PBS series, Chicano! History of the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement, and Teaching Tolerance’s, The Children’s March.
May 9, 2008
Race, Immigration and Globalization
The end of the 20th century was marked by a period of economic resurgence and social change. In this seminar we will look at how late-twentieth century globalization spurred youth activism. We will examine the anti-apartheid movement, the Fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the 1989 protests at Tiananmen Square, and the World Trade Organization Seattle meeting in 1999. Participants will use various primary sources to obtain a greater understanding of this relationship for young people today.
|