Explore ways to teach the history of the land that is now called Maine and its peoples through various types of primary sources. Geared towards middle and high school teachers, this workshop includes presenters from Akomawt Educational Initiative, Maine Historical Society, Maine Department of Education, and the Osher Map Library.

• Wednesday, 8/19/20, 9:00-4:00 at Osher Map Library (314 Forest Ave, Portland)
• Thursday, 8/20/20, 9:00-4:00 at Maine Historical Society (489 Congress St, Portland)
• Both days are included in registration

Workshop capped at 25 participants

Presenter & Session Information:

Akomawt Educational Initiative: endawnis Spears and Chris Newell

The Akomawt Educational Initiative was born out of our professional experience in museum and classroom education. Our founders, as they worked together, saw an ever-growing need to supply regional educators with the tools to implement competent education on Native history and Native contemporary issues. We also saw the need to provide Native-sourced resources on contemporary issues affecting Native America. The Akomawt Educational Initiative is here to supply that need. Education is the tool that binds what we do with classroom educators, professors and university administrators, curators and museum professionals, but also in how Native peoples are looked at and talked about in this country. We work to create a more inclusive environment in all of the spaces we educate and make community. By honoring the voices of Native peoples in our shared educational work, we hope to create a better world for all. We hope you will join us on the snowshoe path. (See more at www.akomawt.org)

Maine Historical Society Presentations: Kathleen Neumann and Brittany Cook

Participants will learn about how to use Maine Memory Network and the research tools Maine Historical Society to access primary sources and lesson plans, with a special emphasis on what MHS has created and highlighted for Maine’s Bicentennial. Using the resources of MHS teachers (and students) can find, save, and use primary source documents of local, state, and national significance, share lesson plans and interactive classroom activities, and develop partnerships and projects with historical organizations in the community. We will also tour the MHS campus and discuss opportunities for schools to visit.

Maine Department of Education: Joe Schmidt, "Hands On History"

In this session teachers will learn about how to use primary sources to take a position on a document based question (DBQ) and to participate in a history lab. Participants will make connections about how to integrate primary sources, DBQs, and history labs into their own classrooms. Come learn how to support student learning in disciplinary literacy, inquiry and questioning, historical thinking skills, and argumentative writing.

Osher Map Library & Smith Center for Cartographic Education

Dr. Matthew Edney, Dr. Libby Bischof, and Renee Keul will lead participants through a exploration of the primary sources in the collections of the Osher Map Library. Participants will learn how to access and use maps and other items through the Osher Map Library's website and the digital repositories of other cartographic archives. Dr. Matthew Edney will lead a curator tour of his exhibition, "Mapping Maine: The Land and Its Peoples, 1677-1842."