Description
The Civil War Era 1846-1865: A Summer Humanities Institute for Elementary School Principals and Teachers
June 13-July 3 1985
Fairfax County Public Schools
Supported by a Grant from the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and Public Policy
(5-29378-83-92)
OVERVIEW OF THE HUMANITIES PROJECT ON THE CIVIL WAR
Supported by funding from the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and Public Policy, the Fairfax County Public Schools, in conjunction with selected university-based humanities scholars and major museums in Washington, D.C., is sponsoring a 24-month project to increase elementary school principals' and teachers' understanding of the humanities. Central to the project will be a three-week summer institute designed to immerse elementary school principals and teachers in an interdisciplinary, humanities-focused study of the Civil War era. Focused on the Civil War period (1846-1865) and coordinated by the project director, activities will lead participants to see the connectedness of political and social history to developments in literature, art, architecture, and music. Humanities scholars will direct participants in the academic study, and curriculum consultants will lead sessions on translating academic content into classroom strategies appropriate for fifth grade students with diverse interests and achievement levels. Each participant will develop at least two teaching activities on the Civil War era. After the summer institute, the teaching activities will be refined; edited and then piloted in the spring of 1986. The piloted materials will be revised in the summer of 1986 and distributed in final form for general classroom use in the spring of 1987.
