Virginia Museum of History & Culture receives Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources Regional Grant
Representative John Lewis spoke at the street naming of Arthur Ashe Boulevard in June 2019.
Photo credit Ervin B. Clarke
The Virginia Museum of History & Culture is pleased to announce it has been awarded a Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS) Regional Grant. This opportunity is sponsored in part by the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources Eastern Region Program, coordinated by Waynesburg University. The Library’s TPS Regional program promotes the widespread, sustained and effective use of primary sources from the Library of Congress by increasing access to the Library and to TPS program resources.
With this project, the VMHC will create the Virginia History Day Elementary Teacher Guide, a series of elementary?level resources to support the teaching of the social studies skills necessary to complete a Virginia History Day (VHD) project. These resources will expand VHD participation among 4th and 5th grade students by giving teachers the tools needed to implement National History Day (NHD) in the classroom. In addition, these materials will be available for free to any Virginia educator, increasing the availability of elementary level, primary source focused, and skill?based teaching tools throughout the state. Upon completion of the guide, VMHC staff will conduct a series of free professional development workshops across the Commonwealth to introduce the guide and Library of Congress resources to teachers. “We realize how important a knowledge and understanding of history is in creating a civically-minded and engaged society. The Library of Congress grant will allow the VMHC to continue to grow Virginia History Day and to encourage a love of history among youth across the Commonwealth” said Jamie Bosket, President & CEO of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.
Virginia History Day is the state affiliate of the National History Day program. Similar to a science fair but for history, the National History Day Contest was founded in 1974 to inspire students to conduct original historical research. Since its creation, the contest has grown into an international competition with more than half-a-million participants and thousands of dollars in scholarship awards and prizes annually.
“Creating a project for the National History Day Contest is challenging. It requires hard work and dedication. But it also provides great reward,” said Dr. Cathy Gorn, National History Day® Executive Director. “The skills of conducting research and recognizing credible sources are crucial to increasing civic engagement in young people.”
The VMHC will use grant funds to pay two content writers $3,600 each to create the guide. Applicants should have experience in elementary education and curriculum writing, but do not need to have prior experience with NHD or be a current classroom teacher. Knowledge of the Virginia SOLs is required, but applicants do not need to be current public-school teachers to apply. For more information and to-apply, please visit the VMHC’s website at https://virginiahistory.org/learn/educators/professional-development.
The TPS Regional program grants awards to organizations and collaborations of organizations that design and deliver projects using Library of Congress materials for specific educational goals in formal or informal settings. Learn more about the Library’s TPS program and other resources available to teachers at www.loc.gov/teachers.
