Teachers' Workshops:
Preparing for the Spring 2009 Contests

The Colorado History Day state office, in partnership with Denver Public Schools, will sponsor a two-part teacher training workshop in Fall 2008.

Part 1 will take place on Saturday, September 20, 2008 from 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. This workshop will focus on getting students started on the historical research process which is central to all History Day projects.

Part 2 will take place on Saturday, November 22, 2008 from 9:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.. This workshop will focus on the different categories in which students can create projects: writing a paper, producing a documentary, developing a web site, putting on a performance, creating an exhibit.

Both sessions will be held on the Auraria campus in downtown Denver, in Room 1521 of the North Classroom Building. Click here for a map of the Auraria campus

Teachers can earn up to 8-1/2 hours of CDE recertification credit for attending both sessions of the workshop. One credit in graduate education is available through Adams State College.

We can also arrange to put on workshops around the state. If you can gather a group of teachers, we can arrange a workshop! Contact your regional coordinator to learn about training opportunities available in your region.

Teaching with Primary Sources -- Colorado

We want to let you know of an exciting training opportunity offered through Metropolitan State College of Denver. The Teaching With Primary Sources -- Colorado program trains "in-service and pre-service classroom teachers, faculty such as librarians, media specialists and educational support personnel, and college faculty to access, use, and produce curriculum using the Internet and digitized primary source materials from the Library of Congress (LOC) collections." As stated on their web site, the goals of the Teaching with Primary Sources program are to:

  1. Provide online and in-person primary source-based professional development programs nationwide.
  2. Increase the ability of educators to design student-centered primary source-based learning experiences that use best instructional practices.
  3. Implement standards-based learning experiences that improve student ability to critically examine primary sources.
  4. Build patronage of the Library of Congress' digital resources that expands the community of educators dedicated to the improvement of education through the use of primary sources.

This training gives teachers the tools to help their students use the fabulous digital resources of the Library of Congress for History Day or other classroom projects.

The training is offered in both in-class and online formats. We encourage you to visit their web site for information about scheduled programs.

The training is free of charge, and professional development credits are available.