Social Studies Awards

PRESERVE AMERICA HISTORY TEACHER OF THE YEAR
Working with the
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

Preserve America History Teacher of the Year Award
for the State of New Hampshire

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS

For 2007, all elementary teachers who have responsibility for teaching American history are eligible for nomination. Winners will be chosen based on several criteria.

Qualifying Criteria

• At least three years of classroom experience in teaching American history in elementary school.
• A deep career commitment to teaching American history, which includes local and state history.
• Evidence of creativity and imagination in the classroom that address literacy and content beyond state standards.
• Close attention to primary documents, artifacts, historic sites, and other primary materials of history, including oral history.
• Evidence of thoughtful assessment of student achievement.

Eligibility

• Any full-time elementary school teacher may be nominated who teaches American history (including local and state history) as his or her primary subject, or one of the subjects they are responsible for in the classroom.
•  Any full-time elementary school teacher may be nominated who focuses on American history within the framework of their elementary school program.

Procedure
Submit the following:

• The nominee’s resume.
• A full letter of nomination that addresses the award criteria and includes quantitative measures of student achievement. Nominations can be made by a department or division head, a school director, social studies director, principal or superintendent.
• A letter of support from a colleague, immediate supervisor, or education professional familiar with the nominee’s work.
• A one-page statement of the nominee’s philosophy of teaching American history.
• A sample lesson plan, no longer than 3 pages. Primary document attachments are not included in the page limitation.
• A sample extended project assigned to students, demonstrating use of primary documents, artifacts, historic sites, etc. Nominees can include up to ten pages of student work in this category.
• An 8-10 minute video, which is not a class session, but a segment during which the nominee demonstrates class projects, and discusses his or her most effective teaching practices, and how student achievement is assessed. Students are not present in the video.

Please submit an original and three copies of all written materials.

Deadlines: The deadline is May 15, 2007.

Awards
State winners will be announced and honored at local ceremonies. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History honors each state winner with an award of $1,000 and a  “History Teacher of the Year” plaque in a ceremony in their home state. The Institute also presents their school with an archive of primary historical materials, named in honor of that teacher, for use in the school library or resource center. Winners are selected in each state by panels of distinguished history educators under the supervision of the Gilder Lehrman Institute and Preserve America.

The National History Teacher of the Year is selected from the 50+ state winners, (including the District of Columbia, Department of Defense and U.S. Territories) by a panel of prominent historians. The 2007 national winner will be honored in early fall, in Washington, DC or New York City. The winner, together with the nominating supervisor, will travel to the national recognition ceremony with expenses paid by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.

Submitting Nominations
Any questions about eligibility or procedures should be addressed to the state award coordinator:

Name: John Krueckeberg
Mailing Address: 17 High Street, Plymouth, NH  03264
Phone: 603.535.2332
Email: jkrueckeberg@plymouth.edu

Contacts

New Hampshire Coordinator: For more information, including the guideline for the nomination form, please contact the New Hampshire coordinator, John Krueckeberg at 603.535.2332 or jkrueckeberg@plymouth.edu.

Gilder Lehrman Institute: The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History promotes the study of love of American history on an international basis. For more information, please visit: www.gilderlehrman.org.

Preserve America: Preserve America is a White House initiative that encourages greater shared knowledge about the nation’s past and increased local participation in preserving the country’s cultural and natural heritage assets. For more information, please visit: www.preserveamerica.gov.