Smithsonian’s “Let’s Do History Tour” Program Partners With Hays CISD To Energize Social Studies Teaching

Hays Consolidated Independent School District has joined with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History to strengthen and invigorate history teaching through the “Let’s Do History Tour.”

The project seeks to support K–12 social studies teachers by introducing them to museum objects such as the Star-Spangled Banner, and by providing effective techniques, powerful online tools and standards-based content that can be used in classrooms.

The tour brings the best of the National Museum of American History resources and teaching strategies to Hays CISD. The museum will share its interdisciplinary “do history” approach to teaching with a focus on everyday objects, people-centered stories and dialogue.

The “Let’s Do History Tour” is part of the A. James Clark Excellence in History Teaching Program. It is made possible through a gift from the late A. James Clark, former chairman of the board and CEO of Clark Enterprises Inc., one of the largest privately held companies in the nation.

The tour program has two parts.

The first consists of three-hour, highly interactive sessions for teachers hosted by the museum’s staff on April 17th, to introduce teachers to the museum’s resources and methods.

In the second on April 18th, teachers take part in an intensive daylong program in which Smithsonian educators provide in-depth training on object-based learning and primary source analysis and work with Hays CISD teachers to integrate museum resources and methods into lesson plans for their classroom.

All participating teachers will receive USB flash drives containing free classroom materials and links to Web resources as well as other teaching tools.

“Our program combines the best of what the museum has to offer with best practices in 21st-century education and will reach thousands of K–12 teachers nationwide,” said John Gray, Director of the National Museum of American History. “While we can’t change the amount of time teachers have to teach American history, we can help them make every minute count.”