For Educators and Students

Our Resources:

Celebrating Constitution Day in the Classroom

The United States government has mandated that September 17^th be observed as Constitution Day to commemorate the September 17, 1787, signing of the U.S. Constitution. The National Archives encourages teachers and students at all levels to learn more about our Constitution and government.

We have prepared a special Constitution Workshop for teachers to use in the classroom. Go to the:
U.S. Constitution Workshop

Contact Us

Kristina Maldre, Education Specialist

Telephone: (773) 948-9010
E-mail: kristina.maldre@nara.gov

The National Archives at Chicago is a wonderful resource for teachers and students in our six-state region of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin.

Teachers

We assist teachers and home-schooling parents in the use of primary source documents with curriculum.

Resources permitting, we:

teach workshops for educators at our facility or in schools
provide copies or images of primary sources suitable for use in the classroom
provide educational resources containing primary source documents tied to state teaching standards, in the Great Lakes Region, for classroom use.
co-sponsor workshops with partners and recipients of Teaching American History (TAH) grants

If you would like further information or have questions, please contact Kris Maldre, Education Specialist at kristina.maldre@nara.gov or 773-948-9010.

Workshops

Check out our 2009-2010 Workshop Line-up

We offer professional development opportunities for educators, school administrators, principals, and home-school parents. Licensed by the Illinois and Indiana State Boards of Education, we can award continuing education credits for participation in our workshops and other public events.
View the Public Programs Calendar

Summer Institute - Primarily Teaching

The National Archives at Chicago hosted the second annual Primarily Teaching summer institute from July 13-17, 2009. This workshop provides a varied program of lectures, demonstrations, analysis of documents, independent research, and group work that introduces teachers to the holdings and organization of the National Archives. More about Primarily Teaching workshops

Larger Version

July 2009 Primarily Teaching Participants at the National Archives in Chicago.

Larger Version

Teachers touring the Pullman Factory, Pullman State Historic Site, Chicago, Illinois.

Larger Version

Teachers researching primary sources at the National Archives in Chicago.

Educational Resources

National Archives Digital Classroom

Check back soon for a wide array of Great Lakes derived primary source-based instructional materials. In the meantime explore teacher resources at the National Archives Digital Classroom.

Research Topics

We hold a large amount of federal records created in the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin that can enrich your curriculum. These records cover a wide scope of topics including, but not limited to:

Chicago and Regional History
Civil Rights Movement
Environmental History
Espionage and Sedition
Fugitive Slaves
Immigration and Naturalization
Indian Affairs
Labor History
Maritime History of Great Lakes and Inland Waterways
Mining and Railroads
Organized Crime and Prohibition
Science and Technology
World War I and II Home fronts

We also hold over 60,000 rolls of microfilmed records. The bulk of the collection is the Federal population census schedules from 1790-1930 for all states. These holdings are complimented by microfilm rolls relating to:

Native Americans
Revolutionary War Service and Pension
U.S. Customs Department Ship's Passenger Arrival
FBI, Kent State University Investigation
Freedman's Bureau
Records of the Continental Congress
Captured World War II German Records
Diplomatic and Consular Affairs
54th Massachusetts Infantry (from the film Glory)
Flight 19 Bermuda Triangle
Development of the Atomic Bomb
Selected Court Cases argued by Abraham Lincoln
Selective Service System
Letters of Application and Recommendations During Presidential Administrations
FBI Investigative Case Files (1908-1922)
Slave Ship Amistad
Civil War Prisoner of War Camps
Investigation and Trial Papers relating to the Assassination of President Lincoln
1864 Massacre of Cheyenne Indians at Sand Creek, Colorado Territory
East St. Louis, Illinois Race Riots, 1917
Military Intelligence relating to "Negro Subversion" 1917-1941
Appellate Case Files of Brown vs. Board of Education
Southern Claims Commission
Sultana Disaster, April 27, 1865
Selected 19th Century African Americans Awarded the Medal of Honor
United States Supreme Court, 1790-1950
United States Postal Service, 1832-1971
Trial of Aaron Burr and Harman Blennerhassett
Records relating the Military Service of Ulysses S. Grant
Territorial Papers of the United States
Nuremberg War Crime Trials

Students

Students at all levels can find a wealth of primary materials related to the documents of our federal government. Staff archivists are available to assist you in your research and to explain related resources in other historical institutions.

These records can be used:

as primary sources for your research project
to demonstrate or illustrate the questions or answers in your paper
to enhance your presentation
as research for National History Day projects

We're interested in helping you use our resources in your scholarly research. Please feel free to contact us directly at chicago.archives@nara.gov for assistance in defining your topic and finding primary resources useful to your research.

National History Day & the Chicago Metro History Fair

The Great Lakes Region is an active supporter of the National History Day program in our region. We also support the Chicago Metro History Fair, a regional History Day event for the city of Chicago and suburban Cook, Lake, Kane, and DuPage counties.

In addition to judging in both city and state History Day events, we are readily available to help students use our primary resources to support, contribute, and illustrate their research endeavor. Check out our Archival Holdings Guide for insight into using our resources.

Please investigate these great online resources from local and state programs:

In addition to the research topics highlighted above for teachers, we crafted a list of research ideas based on this year's theme, Innovation in History: Impact and Change.
View the History Day topic list

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