The Power of Perspectives

Teaching with Primary Sources to Engage English Learners in Democratic Discussions in Social Studies

What Will Be Accomplished in This Program?

Upon completion of the program, participating teachers will be prepared to:

• Articulate the benefit of using primary sources to further develop students’ critical historical thinking skills
• Navigate gov/teachers to locate, select, analyze, and use primary sources in your unit/lesson plans
• Design inquiry-based instruction using primary sources and the NCSS C3 Framework that includes appropriate supports to make content accessible to ELs
• Engage ELs in democratic discussions through inquiry-based instruction using Talk Moves
• Engage students in the Claims-Evidence-Reasoning framework to articulate evidence-based claims to support a particular perspective
• Design accessible assessments for ELs and evaluate assessment data for content and language learning

A team of experts will assist teachers in assessing the following student outcomes:

• Demonstrate growth in ability to engage in the academic language of social studies
• Demonstrate growth in English proficiency in all four domains (reading, listening, speaking, and writing)
• Synthesize ideas, perspectives, and arguments based on evidence identified in primary sources
• Use the C-E-R framework for locating, interrogating, and organizing evidence and making evidence-based claims
• Engage in democratic and deliberative discussions within a social justice framework by demonstrating ways in which content is concerned with self, ethics, others, and the global world (the 4 unifying motifs in the NCSS framework for developing participatory citizens)

What Is Required to Complete the Program?

This project is grant-funded and has both evaluation and research components to determine the effectiveness of the project (evaluation) and to inform the ongoing development of high-quality professional development for teachers of ELs (research).

• Complete two online questionnaires (pre- and post-program)
• Attend and actively participate in all virtual workshops (see schedule below)
• Design an instructional unit throughout the program and implement the unit in the final weeks of the program
• Participate in two interviews
• Gather and bring all instructional materials and student assessment data for active participation in the workshops

The Power of Perspectives: Teaching with Primary Sources to
Engage English Learners in Democratic Discussions in Social Studies

Professional Development Schedule

How Do I Construct A Team?

• A team should have a minimum of 2 members who teach in the same grade level and have ELs in their classrooms. The two required team members are 1 social studies/history teacher and 1 ESL Specialist.
• Other team members may include additional ESL Specialists, English Language Arts/Reading teachers, Reading Specialists, additional Social Studies teachers, and/or any other educator in your grade level who teaches ELs.
• All members of the team must be employed by the same school district but do NOT need to be assigned to the same school building, although this is ideal.
• Each team is asked to include the contact information of the administrator who supports the team’s participation.

Ready to Apply?

The application will be available in April 2021. You will receive a confirmation that your application has been received. This is a competitive application process with limited openings. A member of the selection team may contact you if additional information or clarification of your application is needed. Applicants will be notified regarding the status of their application by June 1, 2021.