•The Constution Community, a curriculum development team composed of classroom teachers, uses 18th and 19th century documents from the National Archives to develop lessons concerning issues and events from the period from 1754 to the present day (as of May 1999, the twentieth century units were not yet completed but may be when you read this). Each unit provides the historical context of the document, explains the issues, reproduces all or part of the original document, and suggests classroom activities including the techniques of analysis of primary sources.
http://www.nara.gov/education/cc/

•The document analysis unit of the National Archives Digital Classroom proposes worksheets which allow users to practice analysis of primary source documents. The categories currently on offer are: written document, photograph, cartoon, poster, map, artifact, sound recording, motion picture.
http://www.nara.gov/education/teaching/analysis/analysis.html
 

The Georgetown University/American Studies Association (ASA) Crossroads sites

•The American Studies Crossroads website: electronic index to the field of American Studies, not only to documentation but also to colleagues working in the field of American Studies, institutional information, experimental projects and curricula, workbooks, videotapes; teaching practices, pedagogical and scholarly research and advice for integrating technology into the curriculum. The Crossroads Project also offers workshops lasting from a half day to three days and publishes a guide to using technology entitled Engines of Inquiry.
http://www.georgetown.edu/crossroads

•The Interroads forum: a discussion group and listserv sponsored by Crossroads and the ASA International Committee. The forum posts essays sollicited from 4-6 scholars around the world and then asks for rebuttals, after which the forum is opened to everyone on the list.
To subscribe, contact Jeff Finlay, Crossroads Administrator at finlayji@guvax.georgetown.edu

•Roadsignals: a series of critical reviews of electronic resources to which anyone can submit a contribution. Roadsignals is published periodically on the web, but you can also consult the archives of past and present reviews.
Roadsignals archives home page: http://www.georgetown.edu/crossroads/asw/sitescene.html
Roadsignals index: http://www.georgetown.edu/crossroads/asw/index.html

Teaching the JAH (Journal of American History)
Since 2001, the Journal of American History has been posting on the web tools which help teachers to bridge the gap between scholarly publishing and the practice of classroom teaching. The project, called "Teaching the JAH," delivers "teaching packages," each of which features an article from the print journal, along with supporting documents that demonstrate how it might be used in an American Studies or a U.S. history survey course. Additional materials areoften provided which might include images, audio and video clips, or excerpts from primary historical texts, depending on the targeted article. Links are provided to other relevant web sites. The author of the article also contributes a short piece describing how he or she has taught the topic using the documents included on the site.
Home page: http://www.indiana.edu/~jah/teaching/

Land and Freedom

•Land and Freedom is a site created by the Henry George School of Social Science. It offers five lesson plans for teachers who want to explore in class the relationship between land — the ground we stand on — and history, economics, politics and...ecology. Each of the five lessons offers readings, activities, performance objectives and sources for further investigation. Available at: http://www.landandfreedom.org/

Programs for American Studies teachers

The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the Department of State, via the Study of the U.S. Branch, works directly with Fulbright Commissions and Public Affairs sections of United States embassies in developing programs for students, teachers and scholars whose professional focus is American society and culture, past and present. They work with the Fulbright American Studies Institutes and the Currents in American Scholarship series, as well as other projects that support the study of the United States abroad.
The Branch defines "American Studies" broadly, encompassing a variety of academic and scholarly approaches to the study of the United States, whether that study is interdisciplinary in its scope or pursued through any of the more traditional disciplines in the humanities and social sciences. Such study may take place within traditional academic departments abroad or undertaken as part of a foreign area studies program.
For further information, contact the Branch at the address below or follow the links on its French website: <http://exchanges.state.gov/education/amstudy/index.htm>
Study of the U.S. Branch
U.S. Department of State SA-44
301 4th Street, SW Room 252
Washington, DC 20547
tel: (1) 202-619-4557
fax:(1) 202-619-6790