Educator Resources

Professional Development

Educators can participate in document-based workshops on finding and teaching with primary sources, and on specific historical topics.

Summer 2021 Professional Development

This summer, the National Archives and our Presidential Libraries will host several professional development opportunities for educators!

Primary Sources and Project-Based Learning

Dates: July 7-28, 2021

Proposed schedule: 9am-1pm ET synchronous meeting once a week over 4 weeks, and asynchronous independent activities

Method: Online via Zoom

Hosted by: Maryland Humanities and the National Archives

Cost: Free

Register Here!

Participants will choose a research topic and explore primary sources from the digital resources of the National Archives and Library of Congress. Learn about the National History Day 2022 theme, and complete your own mini-research project to take back to your classroom. Explore free teaching resources including DocsTeach from the National Archives and Thinkport Inquiry Kits, developed in partnership with Maryland Humanities, Maryland Public Television, and the Maryland State Department of Education.

Participants will receive three MSDE credits. Space is limited, and successful applicants will be notified. All K-12 teachers, resources teachers, and librarians are welcome to apply. This year, priority will be given to teachers of ESL. Please note that if you took Primary Sources and Project-Based Learning in the past, you may not receive the MSDE credit again. Preview an outline of the weekly schedule (PDF).

On the Record: News Literacy Then and Now

Date: June 24, 2021

Time: 12 pm-3 pm ET

Method: Online

Hosted by: The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum

Cost: Free

Register by May 31, 2021!

In this workshop, Emmy Award winner Dr. Elizabeth Smith (Pepperdine University) will discuss news literacy and its impact on our lives. The breadth and scale of social media, and the history and trends in our news industry and information ecosystem, are topics of immense importance.

Listen and converse with others about the impact the shifts in news delivery have had on public perception of news events. Dr. Smith will also share thoughts and tools for instructing your students on this critical topic. This event will also serve as a rollout for a brand new virtual simulation experience centered around news literacy — all teachers in attendance will be able to take part in a demonstration.

Presidents and the Constitution Workshop

Dates: July 12-16, 2021

Proposed daily schedule: 11 am-1 pm and 2-4 pm ET

Method: Online via Zoom

Hosted by: The Presidential Primary Sources Project and The Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum

Cost: Free

Register Here!

Presidents and the Constitution is a week-long online workshop for teachers focused on how a variety of presidents have encountered and molded the Constitution. Each occupant of the office – from the first President to the 45th – has contributed to the story of the Constitution through the decisions he made and the actions he took as the nation’s chief executive.

By examining presidential history through the lens of constitutional crises and confrontations, the Presidents and the Constitution Workshop offers a fresh viewpoint on how the Constitution has evolved in the hands of individual presidents. Presenters from 10 Presidential Libraries will each share how their President made decisions with the Constitution in mind, how it helped them, and how it hindered them.

Teaching activities will be shared throughout the week and there will be a number of interactive sessions for teachers to participate in. Presenters for this workshop include the Hoover Library, FDR Library, Truman Library, Johnson Library, Nixon Library, Carter Library, Reagan Library, George W. Bush Library, George H.W. Bush Library, Clinton Library, and the National Archives.

Changemakers: Youth Activism from the Progressive Era to Today

Dates: July 12-23, 2021 (weekdays)

Daily schedule: 9 am-12:30 pm ET

Method: Online (or Hybrid)

Hosted by: The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum and the University of Massachusetts Boston American Studies Department

Cost: Participants may earn three graduate credits or take the course for PDPs only. Learn more about the varying cost on the Kennedy Library website.

Register by May 28, 2021!

Participate in the Kennedy Library’s annual American Studies Summer Institute, an intensive 10-day program of thought-provoking lectures and discussions led by distinguished scholars and practitioners.

This year’s summer institute will explore youth participation in US social movements from the late 19th century to the present and will focus on labor, anti-war, civil rights, LGBTQ rights, immigrant rights, environmentalism, and gun control campaigns. In this historical moment, when many young people are seeking to make their voices heard, access to stories of youth-led or youth-energized movements can have an empowering effect on young people, increasing their civic engagement.

The Institute will ask the following underlying questions:

What are the issues that have galvanized American youth to act?
How has their activism evolved from expressions of individual grievances to concerted actions?
What were and are the effects on young people and society of youth movements?
What were and are the social and civic outcomes of their campaigns?
How have adolescent activists navigated adult power and critics?
How have youth movements pioneered the use of new rhetorical and political strategies?
How have US youth movements linked with global youth movements, and why?
How has youth activism figured in cultural productions such as film, music, and literature? What cultural movements and narratives have young activists fashioned, appropriated, or rebutted in service to their goals?

Learn more on the Kennedy Library website.