Helping Colorado Educators and Students Discover the Treasures
of the Library of Congress

AAM-Colorado Newsletter • Edition 8 • August 2006

• FREE Fall 2006 Workshops for Colorado
  K-12 Educators
• AAM-Colorado Highlights for 2005-2006
• AAM-Colorado Fellows
• Summer 2006 Learning Activities Development Completed
• American Memory Workshops Across Colorado
• AAM-Colorado Events
• AAM-Colorado Staff and Collaborator Update

U.S. Senator Wayne Allard to Visit AAM-Colorado

AAM-Colorado is pleased to welcome United States Senator Wayne Allard to Metropolitan State College of Denver in late August 2006. Senator Allard and other guests will visit with AAM-Colorado staff, and hear about how AAM-Colorado is helping educators across the state to use digitized primary sources from the Library of Congress in their schools.

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FREE Fall 2006 Workshops for Colorado K-12 Educators
AAM-Colorado Fall Workshops are coming up quickly, with Online classes beginning August 21, and Face-to-Face classes beginning August 26. Workshops are offered at no charge to any Colorado K-12 educator.

The AAM-Colorado Face-to-Face workshop series will be offered on three consecutive Saturdays, during each of the following weeks this Fall:

• August 26 / September 9 / September 16
• October 7 / October 14 / October 21
• November 11 / November 18 / December 2

The AAM-Colorado Online workshop series will be offered during the following schedules this Fall:

• Monday, August 21 through Saturday, October 14
• Monday, October 16 through Saturday, December 16

Participants may take the Face-to-Face or Online workshop series for a total of 24 contact hours (21 workshop hours and 3 hours homework). This format entitles participating educators who complete Series I, II, and III to receive the American Memory Certification, possible licensing renewal credit, up to $240 in Digital Resource Certificates, an American Memory USB Flash Drive complete with AAM-Colorado Workshop materials and digital primary sources, and the eligibility to apply for a $1,500 Technology Acquisition for their school.

Workshop participants who seek three online graduate credit hours earn 45 contact hours (21 workshop hours, remainder online), the American Memory Certification, possible licensing renewal credit, up to $450 in Digital Resource Certificates, an American Memory USB Flash Drive complete with AAM-Colorado Workshop materials and digital primary sources, and the eligibility to apply for a $1,500 Technology Acquisition for their school. Graduate credit is awarded through University of Colorado at Denver or Adams State College. There is a tuition charge of $210.00 ($70.00 per credit hour) for graduate credit.

For more information, see the AAM-Colorado Fall workshop schedule at: http://aamcolorado.mscd.edu/schedulefall2006.htm.

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AAM-Colorado Highlights for 2005-2006
During the reporting year 2006-2006, AAM-Colorado serviced over 20 Colorado school districts, with over 600 teachers, librarians, media specialists, and administrators attending AAM-Colorado workshops. AAM-Colorado has collaborated with 11 school districts to create on-site primary source workshops. In addition, over 600 pre-service teachers per year are introduced to accessing Library of Congress digital primary source material and the technology required to use it, in Metro State's required teacher education course, Educational Technology (EDT 3610).

An Adventure of the American Mind - Colorado Teams with Jefferson County
Jefferson County Public Schools, the largest district in Colorado, was informed that they have been awarded a $950,000 Teaching American History grant. AAM-Colorado has been asked to participate, and will teach its workshops to all grant participants. Read more about AAM-Colorado's collaboration with Jefferson County.

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AAM-Colorado Fellows
AAM-Colorado introduces its new Fellows program, in which educators who have completed AAM-Colorado workshops will assist AAM-Colorado staff with promoting and coordinating the program in their home district and across the state. New Fellows to be welcomed are:

• Mary Johnson (Education Consultant, former Library Media Specialist with Eagleview Middle School, Colorado Springs, Academy School District 20, former Library of Congress American Memory Fellow, AAM-Colorado Alumnus)
• Donna Levene (former Library Media Specialist with Overland High School, Cherry Creek School District, former Library of Congress American Memory Fellow)
• Michelle Pearson (History and Language Arts, Hulstrom Options School, Adams 12 School District, AAM-Colorado Alumnus, former White House Historical Society fellow in Pre- Collegiate Education)
• Cynthia Stout (Project Director for Teaching American History Grant, former Curriculum Content Specialist for Secondary Social Studies Education, Jefferson County School District, former Library of Congress American Memory Fellow)

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Summer 2006 Learning Activities Development Completed
AAM-Colorado Learning Activities Development (LAD) brings teams of content experts together to create learning activities incorporating primary sources and other educational elements to accomplish stated learning outcomes. Learning Activities Development projects:

• Follow a specified template.
• Are centered around a topic (unit or lesson) using American Memory primary sources.
• Propose an essential question about the topic.
• Address specific state content standards.

AAM-Colorado-trained educators have recently completed Learning Activities Development projects for Summer 2006. Topics that have been completed or are currently in development include:

All Grade Levels

• Conservation: Using Google Earth, Primary Resources, and Intel Tools for Understanding and Thinking

Upper Elementary/Middle School Level

• A Fight for The West (A Look at Key Indian Battles / Massacres in The Fight For The West 1860-1895)

Middle School Level

• Archie's Autographs: White House Visitors at the Turn of the 20th Century: A KnowledgeQuest for Middle Level Students
• What's a Region: A KnowledgeQuest for 7th Grade
• Library of Congress American Memory Access to Primary Sources.
• Posters from the WPA: A Knowledge Quest and Inspiration for Creation
• A Look into the Past: Colorado 1850-1900 - A WebQuest/KnowledgeQuest for 7th Grade English and History
• The Turning Point: Gettysburg, a Document Based Question - KnowledgeQuest for 8th Grade
• Ben Franklin: His Influence on the United States Political System and Scientific Contributions
• Colfax Avenue's Role in the Commercial Development of Downtown Denver
• Mark Twain's Years in Hartford, CT

High School Level

• Analyzing World War I and II Propaganda
• The Immigrant Experience in the United States: 1850-1930
• Uncovering the Evolution of the Rights of African Americans Using American Memory
• Chinese Americans
• The Impact of the Progressive Era on America
• The Power of Words: The Effectiveness of Rhetoric in Letters and Speeches of the Civil War Period
• Great Depression - Impact on the Lives of Americans
• Battles of the American Revolution
• The Rise of Collective Federalism

A selection of completed Learning Activities Development projects has been made available to the educational community through links on the AAM-Colorado Web site. For more information, visit the AAM-Colorado LAD page at http://aamcolorado.mscd.edu/learnactComp.htm.

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American Memory Workshops Across Colorado
Although AAM-Colorado is based at the Metropolitan State College of Denver, its purpose is to serve the state of Colorado. AAM-Colorado workshops have reached outside the Denver metropolitan area and across the state, taking place in Grand Junction, Alamosa, Durango, Cañon City, and Colorado Springs, with upcoming workshops planned for Longmont, Loveland, and Greeley.

AAM-Colorado workshops may be scheduled on-location with a minimum of 15 participants. To find out how your school or district can participate in AAM-Colorado workshops, contact us at aamcolorado@mscd.edu or 303-352-4945.

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AAM-Colorado Events
AAM-Colorado has hosted the following special events in 2005-2006:

• Librarian Days: Librarians from around the state were invited to attend a professional development day and bring a teacher. Activities include presentations by AAM-Colorado collaborators, and workshop participants who have created learning activities development projects. Over 75 educators attended AAM-Colorado's 2006 Librarian Days.

• Google Earth/Geocaching Presentations: Educators were invited to attend presentations demonstrating how geocaching can be used in conjunction with Google Earth, to create activities relating to a variety of topics including math, science, geography, and history.

• Historical Walking Tours of Denver: Using primary sources for comparison, Metro State's Adjunct Professor of History Kevin Rucker and AAM-Colorado Assistant Director Chris Jennings guided walking tours of historic downtown Denver.

• Podcasting on Colfax Avenue: Completed in conjunction with the brochure "26 Miles of Colfax History," and funded through a grant from the History Channel, students from Hulstrum Options School, and their teacher Michelle Pearson (an AAM-Colorado participant) spent weeks researching the street's long history and producing podcasts for the community on the history of Denver's oldest highway. These podcasts, created with the assistance of the Adventure of the American Mind - Colorado staff, received a national Save Our History Honors Award from the History Channel. To hear the podcasts, go to http://historicdenver.org/colfaxhistory.asp.

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AAM-Colorado Staff and Collaborator Update
Regretfully, AAM-Colorado says goodbye to Assistant Director Chris Jennings, as he departs for Washington, D.C. and the Library of Congress. AAM-Colorado is pleased to welcome former student employee Diane Watkins as Online Content Developer beginning July 2006.

You may have read in our Summer 2005 newsletter that Sherrie Galloway, Library Media Specialist at Mt. Garfield Middle School in Clifton, CO, was appointed Educator in Residence at the Library of Congress for a year. Sherrie's appointment has been extended, and she will remain with the LOC until December 2006!

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AAM-Colorado Fall 2006 Workshops are Coming Soon!
Contact AAM-Colorado at 303-352-4945 or aamcolorado@mscd.edu
for details about enrolling in AAM-Colorado Workshops. Please do not respond to this e-mail. Instead, use the contact information below.

An Adventure of the American Mind - Colorado
Metropolitan State College of Denver
PO Box 173362, Campus Box 35
Denver, CO 80217

Phone 303-352-4945 • Fax 303-352-4987
E-mail aamcolorado@mscd.edu • Web http://aamcolorado.mscd.edu/