Building Bridges to the Past: Teaching with Primary Sources & Public History Collaborations

Why you should attend
This workshop will give you tools to make history a living and relevant subject. In this workshop, you will:

• help your students learn how to use primary sources to discover local history to foster a deeper understanding of history;
• learn how to design relevant lessons to help young adults make connections with the local community they call home;
• enhances critical thinking and analytical skills as well as instills in students a genuine appreciation for the complexities of the past;
• create a public history project with your students to bridge the gap between the classroom and community, while building a collective sense of identity and heritage;
• Meet community partners who can help and get resources to support this work;
• Receive Professional Development Credits when you attend one of the full-day workshops.

What can I expect: Workshop agenda
You can expect to be challenged and supported in your investigation of how to teach with local primary sources. To accommodate the busy schedules of teachers, the one-day workshop will be offered twice and you can choose which date works best for you. Your options are Friday, April 19, or Wednesday, April 24, 2024.

• 8:30 - Welcomed and check in while you enjoy the best coffee and muffins in town
• 9:00 - Investigation Ice Breaker: an inquiry project using local primary sources
• 9:30 - Session #1: Rationale for Local & Public History that Utilizes Primary Sources.
  • Participants will complete a primary source analysis Gallery Walk that utilizes tools available through the TPS Primary Source Analysis Toolkit.
• 10:30 - Break; seconds on muffins encouraged
• 10:45 - Session #2: Igniting Inquiry with Primary Sources about Local History
  • Participants will explore diverse ways to establish community partnerships and tap into local resources. This session will culminate in a hands-on session where teachers will showcase how students can build public history projects in their classrooms.
• Noon - Lunch provided at the Museum
• 1:00 - Session #3: What we’ve learned
  • Participants will explore and create strategies to assess public history projects that are aligned with the latest social studies standards. This session culminates with a hands-on activity, prompting participants to create their Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS) Album example directly on the Library of Congress page.
• 2:00 - Wrap-up session and next steps: a review of the relevant CPDUs.

Participant Stipend
Your time is valuable. Teachers will receive a $150 stipend for their full participation in the one-day workshop. You can also request reimbursement for transportation costs, as well as $80 to cover the cost of a substitute teacher. Participating in the lab sessions will also be compensated. To sign up for the workshop, teachers are asked to complete a short registration form online by clicking the button below. Registration can also be done by mail by downloading the form and mailing it to the Museum. We will also accept registration by phone. For more information, contact the Museum at 309.837.2750 or info@wimuseum.org.

Thank you to our funder!
The Building Bridges to the Past: Teaching with Primary Sources and Public History collaborations is sponsored in part by the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources Midwest Region Program, located at Illinois State University. Content created and featured in partnership with TPS Midwest Region does not indicate an endorsement by the Library of Congress.

Meet your Instructor Joe Brewer

Mr. Brewer is the social science and history teacher at Cuba High School. He received a degree in Social Science Education from Olivet Nazarene University and an M.A. in Sociology from Western Illinois University. In partnership with his high school students, Mr. Brewer manages The Forgottonia Project a classroom podcast and website that aims to honor the rich history of rural western Illinois while also examining the problems facing the region. Mr. Brewer resides in Cuba, Illinois, and enjoys reading, coaching, wrestling with his dogs, and spending time with his wife and stepsons.

The Western Illinois Museum is located at 201 S. Lafayette Street, one block south of Macomb’s Courthouse Square. The building is fully accessible and there is free parking to the south of the Museum.