The Teaching American History (TAH) Grant is a competitive grant program offered by the U.S. Department of Education, which provides funds to school districts nationwide, supporting efforts to improve the teaching and learning of American History. Since 2001, New York City’s School Districts have benefited from many TAH Grants.
The Districts in New York City that have been awarded a TAH Grant have structured programs designed to offer high-quality professional development to teachers with the goal of deepening their knowledge and appreciation of American History. Through partnerships with historians and cultural institutions, teachers also gain understanding of historical content and themes. As a result of these grants, teachers are able to develop historically accurate, standards-based classroom curricula that use primary resources and active engagement. By participating in the TAH programs, teachers have the unique opportunity to be students of American History while collaborating with colleagues, and generating exciting and insightful ways to teach American History to their students.
We have collected information on the TAH grants, including some with Web sites, to provide all New York City teachers with access to document-based teaching resources and the content links that support the teaching of American History. Although many of these grants offer professional development specifically geared to teachers in their districts, the materials that they use and develop are posted and available for all elementary, middle and secondary schools to use in their classrooms.
Please Note: All content on the TAH grant Web sites is maintained by the District host.
Grants with Web Sites:
Telling America’s Story™ (2003) This grant is for teachers of Kindergarten-12. This Web site includes links to teaching materials, useful Web sites and pacing calendars.
Teaching American History (2002) American Social History Project Center for Media and History. This grant is for teachers of grades 6-12 in Districts 20, 21, 24, 29, 30, 31, and 32.
Foundations of American Democracy (2002)
This grant is for teachers of grades 6-12 in Districts 6, 3, and 5. The program’s partners are The New- York Historical Society and the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.
Exploring the American Past A Partnership to Improve Knowledge, Teaching and Learning. District 21 in conjunction with District 31. The Exploring the American Past Project in conjunction with the American Social History Project at the City University of New York will provide professional development support to teachers in 26 schools in District 21 and District 31. Other partners include the Brooklyn Historical Society, the Brooklyn Museum, Museum of Television and Radio, and Education Development Center. This Teaching American History program asks participants to be both learners and teachers, with the goal of improving the intellectual and pedagogical quality of history teaching in their schools. During the school year, participants attend day-long retreats led by guest historians and ASHP staff. The retreats take in the full chronological sweep of U.S. History focusing on three themes: “Democracy and Citizenship,” “Becoming American,” and “America and the World.”
In addition to discussing historical ideas and primary source documents, teachers work with ASHP staff and colleagues to assess what makes an effective history lesson and use those insights to create better lessons. Teachers receive primary document, book, and video resources. Additional retreats and summer institutes provide opportunities for teachers to create, share, test, and revise classroom materials. At the completion of the three-year program, finished classroom materials will be collected to create a resource packet for distribution and for posting on a specially created website. For more information, contact Deborah Nasta, Project Director: dnasta@schools.nyc.gov.
Content and Continuity: A Citywide Approach to American History Content and Continuity is a three-year intensive program designed to create a K–12 continuum in the teaching of American history. The New York City Department of Education’s key partners in this project are the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History; Columbia University’s Teachers College; Bank Street College of Education; New York Public Library; Thirteen/ WNET (PBS); Facing History and Ourselves; and The American Place Theatre. Content and Continuity is an integrated, K–12 instructional model based on the theme of the growth of democracy. Our goal is to articulate a developmental approach to American history, highlighting the interdependence of content while continuously deepening teacher and, in turn, student knowledge. The program will equip New York City teachers of Kindergarten through 12th grade with a deep understanding of American history content in order to help students explore the content through the lens of the American Dream.
Each year through a February Institute, Summer Institute, History in the Field workshops, all day forums and the Evening Lectures Series we will address one of the following themed topics: Defining the American Dream—early American History; Realizing the American Dream—the United States Constitution as a Living Document; and Successes and Challenges of the American Dream—exploring the effects of a growing nation. In addition, this Program will map out K–12 American history content to ensure that students revisit the theme of the growth of democracy throughout the many stages of their development. For more information contact Fran Macko, Project Director: FMacko@schools.nyc.gov.
Click here for an informational flier for the 2008-9 school year.
Leadership in American History Leadership in American History is a citywide program of systematic professional development that will instruct and engage 7th and 8th grade American history teachers working in the city’s 127 “Schools in Need of Improvement” on the middle school level. Through an in-depth examination of American leaders throughout history who have shaped our nation, teachers will learn the content of traditional American history and innovative strategies and materials for bringing it to the students in their American history classes. The program will also measure the increase in student achievement that results from increased, ongoing and differentiated staff development; document and disseminate successful strategies and curricular units in American History created through the program; and develop a cadre of Teacher Leaders in order to provide a sustainable professional development model for New York City beyond the grant period and a replicable model for school systems across the country.
Leadership in American History will be a collaboration among the NYC Department of Education; the Gotham Center of the City University of New York (CUNY); City Lore: New York’s Center for Urban History and Culture; the Historic House Trust of New York City; Henry Street Settlement; The New-York Historical Society; the Brooklyn Historical Society; and the Museum of Television and Radio. The combined expertise of these organizations will bring teachers and their students the essential themes and content of American History in an immediately accessible framework. For more information contact Elise Abegg, Project Director: Eabegg@schools.nyc.gov.
Becoming Historians Districts 1, 2, 4, and 7. Becoming Historians is a collaborative professional development project between New York University and the New York City Department of Education. This project, which aims to improve history instruction in elementary classrooms in Community School Districts 1, 2, 4, and 7, is built on the theory that in order to improve history education at any level, teachers need, above all, to be able to think historically. Through workshops, institutes, and in-school and online support, we help teachers develop their knowledge of US history and their ability to critically interpret the past by working with primary sources, to explicitly incorporate the teaching of literacy skills in history, and to broaden their pedagogical toolkits, through the use of arts and drama based teaching strategies. For more information, contact Terri Ruyter, Project Director: Truyter@schools.nyc.gov .
Here is information on grants which are not connected to Web sites:
Experiences in American History: Setting the Stage for Grades K-2 (2008) This grant is for teachers of Kindergarten through grade 2 across the city. The program's partners are the New-York Historical Society, the Gilder Lehrman Institute and Bank Street College of Education. To view a brochure with more information, click here.
Telling America’s Story: Language and Literacy for Learning Traditional American History (2007) Districts 8, 11, and 12. This professional development opportunity for teachers working in Community School Districts 8, 11 and 12 continues the tradition of federally-funded Teaching American History Programs in the Bronx. The program is designed for Social Studies teachers with a focus on developing teaching strategies that balance rich historical content with language and literacy skills to help our students. Teacher-Historians will participate in intensive professional development to become Master Teachers and provide support for their colleagues. Our partners include Fordham University, Bartow-Pell Mansion, the Bronx County Historical Society and the Museum of the City of New York. The program will conduct Spring and Fall institutes as well as several workshops and tours hosted at our partner sites over the course of the year. For more information, please contact Brian Carlin, Project Director: Bcarlin@schools.nyc.gov.
Uncovering America’s Past (2005) District 9. The Teaching American History Grant Uncovering America’s Past is a partnership with Community School District 9 in the Bronx and the Museum of the City of New York, New York Historical Society, and Colonial Williamsburg. It is a professional development program aimed at improving teacher knowledge of American history and the strategies that work most effectively to teach history to fourth, seventh, and eighth grade students. This grant project is in its final year and will come to a close in August 2008. By the end of the grant, 60 educators will have worked in three cohorts of twenty, participating in professional development and sharing the information with their students, peers and administrators. The grant offers monthly full day professional development workshops at local cultural institutions and museums. Participants also partake in monthly study group sessions to share best practices and discuss their unit of study. During the summer, a one week summer seminar takes place in New York City. This seminar is open to all teachers of social studies within District 9. In addition, selected cohort members receive sponsorship to spend a week in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia at the teacher institute program. For information, please contact Ann-Marie Weathers, Project Director: Aweathers@schools.nyc.gov.
Teacher as Historian (2007-2008) Districts 17 and 22. This grant serves thirty-four elementary and middle schools in District 17 and District 22 in southeast Brooklyn. There are two primary partners in this grant: Gilder-Lehrman Institute for American History and the Brooklyn Museum of Art. They work together to design and implement a professional development program for elementary and middle school teachers. The program is geared towards improving student achievement in American History, providing enriched content knowledge for participating teachers and involving parents in the education of their children by encouraging them to make meaningful connections between history and today’s world.
Participating teachers are invited to the Brooklyn Museum of Art to attend several all day workshops over the course of the year. A historian from Gilder-Lehrman discusses a specific historical period. Immediately following this workshop, museum educators lead the teachers in a guided tour of targeted works of art to engage participants and enrich their perspectives on that period. Gilder-Lehrman also provides a Summer Institute that invites five participating teachers to attend a university in a variety of locales with historical significance in the U.S. and abroad to focus on a specific period in history. There is also a pilot program for high school educators. Gilder-Lehrman has brought in top historians to provide a small number of customized workshops to work with teachers on primary documents, annotated primary sources and lessons on selected topics in American History. For more information, please contact Diane Lacapria, Project Director: dlacapr@schools.nyc.gov.
Teacher as Historian (2006-2009) Districts 17, 18, and 22. This grant serves twelve middle and high schools in Districts 17, 18 and 22 in Brooklyn. There are three primary partners in this professional development grant: Library of America, Brooklyn College and Teaching Matters, Inc. Each partner provides a unique perspective and support for deepening teacher’s knowledge of various periods in American History.
Brooklyn College hosts a Summer Institute that invites staff history professors and visiting prominent historians to a series of two, two-day workshops geared to enriching teachers’ knowledge of American History. Teaching Matters, Inc. provides two half-day sessions during these four days on the effective integration of technology into the teaching of American History.
Library of America provides a series of five workshops for six high school American History teachers. They plan activities that alternate between the workshop and discussion session models. Noted actors are invited to perform readings of important documents to bring history to life for participants.
Teaching Matters, Inc. provides participating middle school teachers with on-site support of technology applications geared to improvement of teacher’s use of all available historical resources, with particular emphasis on Internet use. For more information, please contact: Diane Lacapria, Project Director: dlacapr@schools.nyc.gov .
American Leaders Districts 1, 2, 4 and 7. The American Leaders project was developed collaboratively with Teachers College, Columbia University and a variety of cultural institutions. The project provides professional development to middle school social studies teachers to deepen their knowledge of American history and strengthen their ability to deliver that content to their students. This is achieved through: full day content-rich professional development sessions and summer institutes with leading American history scholars; full day “lesson study” sessions focused on developing and implementing content rich lessons; after school study groups focused on utilizing literacy tools in the social studies classroom; and in-school professional development with the project director aimed at supporting teachers’ efforts to bring the American history content and pedagogy they have learned into their classrooms. For more information, contact Jennifer Goodwin, Project Director: jgoodwin@schools.nyc.gov .
History in the Classrooms: Turning High School Teachers into American Historians Districts 1, 2, 4 and 7. History in the Classroom is a program developed and implemented in collaboration with New-York Historical Society to increase student achievement at the high school level through rigorous training of teachers with a focus on American history. This is accomplished through P-Credit courses and summer institutes co-taught by an historian and the Project Manager/Master Teacher. Through partnerships with the American Museum of Natural History, Museum of the City of New York and the New York Public Library, teachers learn to incorporate the use of primary documents, visual and recorded artifacts and cultural artifacts in the process of both learning and teaching. Other components of the program include book clubs, museum visits and lesson study. Teachers are also provided in-school support by the Program Manager and Project Director. For more information, contact Jennifer Goodwin, Project Director: jgoodwin@schools.nyc.gov .
Voice of America Districts 1, 2, 4, and 7. Now in an extension year, Voices of America is designed to improve the quality of American history education in the area's 11th grade classrooms in small high schools. Workshops feature seminars with historians and the resources of a variety of cultural institutions. The content of these sessions address six major themes in American history, which meet New York City standards for teaching and learning: Constitutional Foundations; Industrialization; The Progressive Movement; Prosperity and Depression (1917 to 1940); An Age of Global Crisis; and A World in Uncertain Times (1950 to present). During this extension year, there is a focus on developing the leadership capacity of the teachers who have been involved in this 3 year project. For more information, contact Jennifer Goodwin, Project Director: jgoodwin@schools.nyc.gov .
The James Madison Seminar on Teaching American History District 20 in conjunction with Districts 21 and 31. This project is sponsored by the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University, the National Association of Scholars, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, in partnership with Districts 20, 21 and 31. The primary focus of the Seminar is the substantive study of the philosophical foundations of the Constitution, the construction of the Constitution, the constitutional crisis of the American Civil War, and 20th and 21st century struggles over the application and interpretation of the Constitution. Historical subject matter is systematically related to pedagogical process.
The three-year professional development program in American constitutional history for middle school and high school teachers of social studies has at its core a two-week, eight-day seminar on the campus of Princeton University. The summer seminar is led by university-based scholars and is joined by experienced pedagogues with pre-collegiate teaching experience. The seminar is a rigorous graduate level experience in constitutional and cultural history. For more information, contact Deborah Nasta, Project Director: dnasta@schools.nyc.gov .
America Across the Ages District 27. America across the Ages, a 3-year professional development program, has the goal of giving 105 targeted teachers in grades 5, 7, 8, and 11 multiple opportunities to enhance their content and pedagogical knowledge in American History. This program will include a partnership between District 27, the City College of NY, The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, The American Institute for History in Education, WLIW Channel 21, United Streaming, New York Learns, Think Quest NYC and C-SPAN in the classroom.
Through this project, targeted teachers will have a variety of professional development opportunities to become certified Social Studies Teachers, improve their understanding of American History, implement standards based lessons, and expose teachers and students to pivotal documents in order to bring history to life in the classroom. This will be accomplished by offering summer institutes and workshops throughout the year for teachers in which they will learn how to develop American History units of study that include the study of Primary Documents and how to use web and media resources in the classroom. Participants will have first-hand experiences through field trips, access to American History experts, and will be able to study history content and pedagogy through graduate courses leading to NY State Certification in the area of History. For more information, contact Deborah Nasta, Project Director: dnasta@schools.nyc.gov .
Telling America's Story
- for Middle and High School Educators
- for Elementary School Educators
- for Small School American History Teachers
Traditional American History through a Local Lens for Middle and High School Educators Districts 8, 11, and 12
The Telling America's Story TAH Grants are a three-year intensive, federally-funded professional development program designed to improve teachers’ U.S. History content and classroom pedagogy. In the morning sessions of the TAH Institutes, teachers participate in seminars from nationally known historians such as Ken Jackson, Andrew Robertson, and Cindy Lobel. In the afternoon sessions, teachers work with experienced staff developers and professors of education to develop standards-based classroom strategies and materials based on the workshop model and balanced literacy.
Teachers participate in TAH Institutes (summer, spring and fall), museum visits and workshops, TAH Museum Pass, Gilder Lehrman Historian's Forums and school-based interdisciplinary American History study groups. For more information, contact Philip Panaritis, Project Director: Ppanari@schools.nyc.gov.
We the People District 3, 5, and 6. We the People is an intensive professional development model that will improve American history instruction in New York City’s Department of Education District’s 3, 5, 6 elementary schools (52,000 students). The goals of the program include: developing a cadre of fourth and fifth grade teachers who are knowledgeable and passionate about American history; developing that cadres’ capacity to teach American history content through a variety of proven methods; establishing an effective, sustainable professional development model that will enhance American history content instruction; and improving student achievement and interest in American history.
We the People partners include: Teacher’s College, Columbia University, Columbia University’s Department of History, the New York Historical Society, and the Museum of the City of New York. These partners bring scholarly expertise, proven professional development models, use of primary sources, development of history learning skills, and the use of wide range of instructional strategies, including media and informational technologies, to enrich the classroom. The Project Director will provide on-site coaching and support, and teachers will receive the material resources to create engaging, intellectually rigorous American history classrooms. For more information, contact Richard Steckmeister, Project Director: Rsteckm@schools.nyc.gov.
District 14 Teaching American History Project Partnering in this comprehensive professional development program for 2nd, 4th, 5th, 7th, and 8th grade teachers are the College of Mount St. Vincent, American Museum of Natural History, Brooklyn Historical Society, Brooklyn Museum, Museum of the City of New York, and South Street Seaport Museum. Activities designed to improve U.S. history content knowledge and teaching skills include graduate-level coursework, museum studies, seminars, school-based projects, research, curriculum development and historic site visits. Topics will include the Revolutionary War; Emancipation, World War II; Native America; Westward Expansion; Industrial Revolution; Roaring Twenties; Immigration; Slavery; Civil War; and Reconstruction among many others. This grant has been given a one year extension and will expire in June 2008. For more information, contact Nicole Field or Linda Harris, Project Directors: Nfield2@schools.nyc.gov; Lharris10@schools.nyc.gov .
District 13 Teaching American History Project This project was developed by District 13 in collaboration with Bank Street College, the American Civil Rights Education Services, the Brooklyn Historical Society, and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Partners also include the Brooklyn Museum, the City of New York Museum, and the South Street Seaport Museum. American history teachers in the fourth, fifth and seventh grades will participate. They will enhance their knowledge and teaching skills and create collaborations that support instruction by engaging in graduate-level courses each year, museum studies, seminars, and field trips. In addition, school-based professional development sessions will be conducted and curriculum will be created and aligned with state standards. Program content focuses on the following: (1) change and continuity in American democracy; (2) immigration and interactions among peoples; (3) economic and technological changes; and (4) America's changing role in the world. Local and primary resources will illustrate each key theme. For more information, contact Nicole Field or Linda Harris, Project Directors: Nfield2@schools.nyc.gov; Lharris10@schools.nyc.gov .
District 15 Teaching American History Project The project will address four goals: providing professional development that improves teacher knowledge of content and related teaching skills; raising student achievement in American history; promoting traditional American history as a separate academic subject; and creating collaborative partnerships that support American history instruction. The project's content will include the historical themes contained in the National Assessment of Educational Progress in U.S. history. The partners of this grant are the College of Mount St. Vincent, the Brooklyn and New York Historical Societies, the Brooklyn Museum, the Historic House Trust of New York City, and the Museum of the City of New York. For more information, contact Nicole Field or Linda Harris, Project Directors: Nfield2@schools.nyc.gov; Lharris10@schools.nyc.gov.
District 14/16 SINI Teaching American History Grant Project This grant is designed to serve schools in need of improvement in Community School Districts 14 and 16. Throughout the three years of the grant a cohort of 30 teachers will receive ongoing professional development. At the end of each grant year, participating teachers will complete a portfolio of student work, documents, and lesson plans. The partners of this project include The Gotham Center, The Anne Frank Center USA, Brooklyn Historical Society, Museum of the City of New York, and The Brooklyn Museum. Staff from these institutions will work closely with participating teachers to help them integrate a rich American History based social studies curriculum into their schools in a way that will have an impact on the entire school’s approach to teaching and learning. For more information, contact Nicole Field or Linda Harris, Project Directors: Nfield2@schools.nyc.gov; Lharris10@schools.nyc.gov.
US Department of Education's Teaching American History Resources