American Discovery, Teaching American History 
Teacher Interest Survey

Dear Teacher:

The following survey is part of an effort intended to assess teacher need for professional development related to the teaching of American History in grades K-8. You have been asked by your school district to complete this survey so that the organizers of a new multi-district professional development program can create a program that addresses the content that best suits your needs as a New Hampshire teacher.

Please note that the information you provide through this survey will NOT be shared with your district in any individually-identifable way. Your answers will only be reported to the project organizers in aggregate (with other teacher respondents) for planning purposes.

If you would like to be entered into the drawing for one of the five $50 Barnes & Noble gift cards that are being given away to (lucky) survey entrants, please put your personal email address in the "Additional Comments" field at the end of the survey. Winners will be selected by random drawing and will be notified by the project organizers. Again, no email addresses will be shared with anyone in your district and your survey responses will not be tracked to your email address.

Thank you in advance for your time!

I am a Teacher of American history/ Social Studies: yes no

Grade level that I currently teach:

My District: (Please choose your district from the pull-down list):

Please use the boxes next to each of the following curriculum topics to indicate:

You may check more than one box for each topic.

Topic

I currently teach this topic

I feel comfortable in my knowledge of this topic

I feel that I need more knowledge of this topic in order to teach it effectively

I would like more resources for teaching this topic

Pre-Columbian Civilizations of the New World, European Exploration, Settlement to 1700

Life and Society in Colonial NH in context with Colonial America (17th & 18th c.)

Political and Social Conflicts in the Colonies, the American Revolution (1760s-1770s)

Origins of the U.S Constitution, Federalism, and Governing a New Nation (1775-1820s)

Economic Growth and Conflict in the North and South, 1800-1860

Westward Expansion, Immigration, Economic Opportunity and Change (19th c.)

 

Immigrants and Industrializing America (1820s-1920s)

Social & Political Conflicts, Reform, and the U.S. Constitution (19th and 20th c.)

The following documents represent some of the primary sources utilized to teach the topics in the above list. Please check the box next to each document that you would like to know more about in order to teach your American history curriculum. You may comment on these documents, or offer additional suggestions in the Additional Comments field at the end of this survey.

Magna Carta (1215)

Mayflower Compact (1620)

English Bill of Rights (1689)

John Locke’s Treatises of Civil Government (1690)

Virginia Declaration of Rights (1776)

Declaration of Independence (1776)

The Articles of Confederation (1777)

The New Hampshire Constitution (1784)

The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom (1786)

The Northwest Ordinance (1787)

The United States Constitution (1787)

Selected Federalist Papers, such as numbers 1, 9, 10, 39, 51, and 78 (1787–1788)

The Bill of Rights (1791)

George Washington’s farewell address (1796)

Thomas Jefferson’s first inaugural address (1801)

Alexis de Tocqueville in Democracy in America, Volume I (1835) and Volume II (1839)

The Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions (1848)

Frederick Douglass’s Independence Day speech at Rochester, New York (1852)

Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857) "The Dred Scott Decision"

Abraham Lincoln’s “House Divided” speech (1858)

Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address (1863) and Second Inaugural Address (1865)

Emma Lazarus, “The New Colossus” (1883)

Booker T. Washington, The Atlanta Exposition Address (1895)

The Niagara Movement Declaration of Principles (1905)

Theodore Roosevelt’s “The New Nationalism” speech (1910)

Franklin Roosevelt’s “Four Freedoms” speech (1941)

Justice Robert M. Jackson’s opinion for the Supreme Court in West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (1943) 

Learned Hand, “The Spirit of Liberty” (1944)

John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address (1961)

Reverend Martin Luther King’s Letter from Birmingham City Jail (1963) and “I Have A Dream” speech  (1963)

Lyndon Johnson’s speech to Congress on voting rights (March 15, 1965)

When considering various programatic features that an American history professional development project might emphasize, which of the following seem desirable to you. Check as many as you like, and you may write additional comments in the space below.

Access to local history sites and/or museums

Contact with scholars and historians from colleges and universities

Living history performances, re-enactors, etc.

Time to collaborate with teachers from outside of your district

Time to collaborate with teachers within your district

 

  

Of the above features, which would you find to be the most valuable? Please select just one item from the following list:

Additional Comments

Use this section to add clarification to any question, or to add any thoughts you might have related to your American history professional development needs.

When you are finished with this survey, click on this button to the survey for processing. Please click only once.

When your survey is accepted by the system, you will be taken to a confirmation page. This may take a moment, so please be patient.

If you want to delete all of your answers and start again, click here

Survey Form Updated 3/2/11