Yearly Content Themes
The 1562 Map of America by Diego Gutierrez, Library of Congress
Pilgrims Going to Church, G.H. Boughton, Library of Congress
The Birth of Old Glory, Library of Congress
Year One
American Frontiers/First Encounters
Key topics include:
1) Trade: teachers will study pre-Columbian settlements and trade/contact among them and how early European explorers and settlers built upon pre-existing trade relationships;
2) Exploration and Migration: Topics include:
a) Explorers of the 15th and 16th Centuries (e.g., Columbus, Cortes, Coronado, Cartier and Drake) and 19th Century explorers such as Lewis and Clark, Pike, and Fremont,
b) the settling of North America old world peoples,
c) the ways these periods of migration/immigration were turning points in American history;
3) Conflict and Cooperation: Topics include:
a) Conflict and cooperation among Europeans, Indigenous People and Africans in the process of conquest, exploration, settlement, revolution and migration,
b) How trade, military alliance and cultural interchange facilitated cooperation between colonists and indigenous people.
Year Two
Colonial Communities and Institutions
The study of the diverse communities of North America from pre-Columbian civilizations to 17th century European colonies and the maturation of those colonies in the 17th and 18th centuries.
We will begin with the major pre-Columbian settlements (i.e.; the Pueblo People, the American Indians of the Pacific Northwest and the Woodland Peoples of the East). Teachers will then compare the economic, political, social, environmental and cultural characteristics of settlements by Spanish, French, English and Dutch colonists. They will concentrate on the founding of the original 13 colonies, and the roles of major individuals (e.g., John Smith, Roger Williams, William Penn and John Winthrop) with particular attention to the role of religion, the economy and the development of slavery in the English colonies. Teachers will study the diversity of the North American settlements and the rising importance of the British colonies.
Colonial Institutions and the Origins of Democracy: Teachers will examine the foundations of political self-government and free market economic systems in British North America, including representative assemblies and town meetings, growing religious tolerance, developing newspapers and the spread of Enlightenment ideas in the 18th century.
Year Three
The Creation of the American Republic
The study of the causes, courses and consequences of the American Revolution, development of the Constitution and expansion of the republic in the early national period. Participants will immerse themselves in this critical time in our history, which introduces 5th graders to the Revolution and lays the groundwork for the 8th grade curriculum. Because this is the most extensive coverage of the Revolution these students will receive, it is imperative that teachers are knowledgeable and possess the ability to effectively teach the material.
Key topics are:
1) Roots of Revolution, which explores the roots of democracy in colonial America,
2) The Decision for Independence: the study of people and events associated with drafting and signing of the Declaration of Independence and its significance as well as the role the Declaration played during the Revolution and
3) Creation and Expansion of the American Republic: Teachers will explore development of the Constitution. What a Constitution is, and how it, and the government it created, differed from pre-existing governments, and how the Constitution seeks to balance different interests of individuals, states and central government. In Spring 2013 (PDC# 1) and 2015 (PDC# 2), the Constitutional Rights Foundation will present a one day workshop as a preview of the topic.