This course explores the rich history of the Southern Mother Lode during the California Gold Rush, focusing on key locations such as Mariposa, Agua Fria, Hornitos, and La Grange. Designed for educators, the course enhances social science teaching skills by integrating historical content with digital tools, including Weebly, TimeGraphics, Pinterest, Diigo, and Google Earth.
Become more knowledgeable about California's Gold Rush and the impact it had on California's history. In this online course, you will learn about Native Americans and settlers in the Gold Rush areas. You will gain a deeper understanding of labor-intensive mining and capital-intensive mining in Coloma, Grass Valley, and Nevada City. Through video tours you will visit the James Marshall Gold Discovery Site, The Empire Mine, and the North Star Mine Powerhouse.
Gain a deeper understanding of the importance Monterey had in the establishment of California as a state. In this online course, you will learn about the Rumsen Indians, the settlement of Alta California, the Carmel Mission, and the effects of the Gold Rush on Monterey. You will understand why Monterey was considered the capital through many periods in history, including the period of the first California Constitutional Convention.
This course explores various periods in the history of Los Angeles. Experts will discuss Mission San Gabriel, Southwest Indians, the Southwest Museum, George C. Page Museum and the La Brea Tar Pits, and El Pueblo De Los Angeles. Biographical information on significant people in the history of Los Angeles will be used to teach the idea of exploring history through biographies.
This online course is designed to help students become more knowledgeable about Sacramento, California's rich history. Through this course, students will not only learn about Sacramento's history, but will understand how to enhance their social studies curriculum with high quality technological applications. They will recognize how Sacramento became the metropolis it is today through the study of Native American Indians, Sutter's Fort, Old Town Sacramento, the Gold Rush, the Big Four, Theodore Judah, The Port of Sacramento, and Sacramento's growth over the years.
California Missions 1769 - Secularization is designed to help teachers learn about the California Missions Period. Through oral interviews, videos, and readings, teachers will become more familiar with important aspects of the Mission Period, including reasons Spain founded the missions, founding fathers of the mission, lure and treatment Native Americans at the missions, mission music, economics, architecture, religion, trades taught at the missions, restoration, and archaeology.
This course is designed primarily to introduce teachers to Dr. J.S. Holliday's study of past and present relationships which led him to conclude that California's present-day image as a "risk-taking society" is the result of its formative years, especially those years during the Gold Rush and the 1860s through the 1880s.
This course serves as an introduction to the history of the use and preservation of the National Parks Service from its inception in 1916. Through the text, videos, and the myriad of resources offered on the Internet, students will gain insight and knowledge into the National Parks rich heritage and the issues surrounding the Park Service.
The study of the ancient Greek world is foundational to discovering who we are today. Western Civilization, and indeed the world, owes much to the innovations developed by the ancient Greeks. Learning about their ideas concerning philosophy, government, drama, athletic competition, medicine, astronomy, military strategy, architecture, and art will explain much about our own history and ways of seeing the world.
Discover why Boston became the center of much patriot activity that moved England's American colonies toward revolution and independence. The American Revolution began in the Boston area and was fed by the fervor of its citizens. Many of the most sacred sites of early American history are found in or near this remarkable city. You will explore the ideas, events and people of the Boston area that provided direction for the new American nation.
Have you ever wondered about how your country, state, and county came to be? This K-12 methods course will direct you to many sources that will help you answer this question and countless others to which your students will seek to find answers. You will have a lot of fun learning about who we are and from where we came in this vast Earth.
This course will explore the ideas and way of life followed by many early colonists in New England. It was a society and culture that detractors mockingly called 'Puritan' and which has had a profound influence on American life and thought to the present. Learn what drove thousands of Puritan English settlers to seek refuge in the wilderness of New England where thy sought to establish a model Christian society - a 'city on a hill' for the world to see.
Explore how the study of Social Studies - Map Skills is important to our lives with this ONLINE course. You will learn about global connections, how to use maps and other geographic representations, tools and technologies to acquire, process and report information. The participants are required to complete and evaluate a planned series of lessons and/or experiences with their students.
Designed to take the educator back in time, this course puts you on the road with the legendary, Samuel Clemens aka Mark Twain. Samuel Clemens may have been born in Missouri but Mark Twain was born in the West. Christened with the name Mark Twain in Virginia City, Clemens used it out of necessity when his writing became offensive to the targets of his writing. You are taken through Clemens' years in the West and will experience the context within which this author created many of his most profound literary contributions.
Engage in an overview and details of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States during the 1950's and 1960's that grew out of decades, if not centuries, of discrimination and humiliation experienced by Black Americans. Galvanized by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and others, Black Americans and other minority groups who underwent struggles of their own brought national and international attention to racial injustice in this country and helped turn America in a new direction of living up to its creed of equality for all.
This online course will explore the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution of the United States. Historical contexts, personalities, and debates in the development of these documents will be studied. The contents, implications, and changing roles of these documents throughout our history will be examined, incuding present-day impact on American life.
The greatest crisis facing the United States since independence was the secession of eleven southern slave states determined to create a separate nation based on the perpetuation of human slavery. Elected president of the United States in 1960, it fell to Abraham Lincoln to manage this crisis, wage war to preserve the Union of states as one nation, not two, and ultimately to end the enslavement of nearly four million Americans.
Trace the history and study the development of American slavery from early colonial times to the end of the Civil War. The profound impact of slavery on the development of American social, political and economic life will be explored, as well as the moral debate generated by the existence of slavery in a nation whose founders professed that 'all men are created equal.'
Discover how a small village of hills near the Italian coast grew to dominate the Mediterranean world and become the center of the strongest empire in Europe, North Africa, and Western Asia. Designed to cover national social studies standards for this content area, the course will help you understand how much we, as part of Western Civilization, owe to the ancient Romans.
Explore the multi-ethnic heritage of the United States, providing valuable insights through the experiences of earlier generations who came to this land as 'new' American and the reactions they generated from those already here. The trials and triumphs of those coming to America is often a story of painful discrimination and injustice and yet probably no nation in human history has given more opportunity to strangers.
his course delves into the major discoveries, influential theories and prominent figures of the Scientific Revolution in Europe during the 16th to 18th centuries. It will explore the profound impact of the period, the important scientific discoveries of the time and the tensions they created with traditional religious and cultural beliefs.
Explore the development of the American Presidency from its Constitutional beginnings in 1787 through the development of political parties, primary elections and modern media-centered campaigning. Discover who the key individuals were and their strengths, weaknesses and contributions to the office that have helped make the presidency the most powerful political position in the world.
Explore the Great Depression, the single most important economic event of the 20th Century. Attention will be given to the causes, events, policies, movements, personalities, and human tragedy and triumph of this era through an interdisciplinary historical perspective that will examine economic, political, psychological, and sociological aspects of the greatest economic crisis ever faced by the United States.
The game of baseball is an integral part of American culture from its origins to the present day. Participants develop an understanding of our national past-time and discover how the game is a reflection of America. The course evaluates culture and connects the game to the classroom curriculum units and Common Core Standards. Baseball as American Culture includes a travel option to visit the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.
This course examines the remarkable life of Benjamin Franklin with an emphasis upon his impact on the city of Philadelphia, PA. It is a Social Studies course that studies Franklin's relentless drive to improve both his life and the life of others. His intense curiosity, practicality, combined with humor continues to inspire all of us today. The course offers opportunities for participants to develop curriculum lessons, field trips and projects about Franklin.
Examine various government systems and political ideologies from around the world. The governments and political systems of six countries will be used as case studies: the United Kingdom, China, Iran, Russia, Mexico, and Nigeria. Emphasis will be placed on each country's government structure, economic system, elections, political parties, sources of tension, social movements, and current policy challenges.
Examine the major religions of the world, including Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism. Emphasis will be placed on each religion's origins, historical development, central doctrines, and important rituals in order to locate the similarities and differences between each faith. Additional focus will be placed on the role of religion in American history and in today's global community.
Explore the structure and functions of the United State government's three policymaking institutions: the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. Focus is placed on the role of each branch in developing public policy and on exploring the checks and balances that are intended to limit each institution. Students will also develop skills to effectively teach this topic in the classroom and align lessons to teaching, Common Core, and content standards.
Survey the structure and functions of the American electoral process with an emphasis on public opinion, citizen participation, ideology, interest groups, the media, political parties, campaigns, and elections. Teachers will also learn how to implement these concepts in the classroom.
How were 120,000 Japanese Americans forcibly relocated simply for 'looking like the enemy?' In this course, students will gain a deeper understanding of the impact the attack on Pearl Harbor had on the lives of Japanese living in Western America. You will learn about the Japanese Internment Camps established after that fateful day in 1941. You will expand your understanding of life in the camps, including daily tasks like eating and using the bathroom, housing conditions, and how people occupied their time while incarcerated.
The American West history course offers an in-depth exploration into the truth about westward expansion and the American frontier, offering both the grit and grandeur of this epic time and place in American history. With stunning storytelling and visuals from The Great Courses, FPU's American West History course combines your love of learning and history with practical teaching tools you can use in your classroom immediately. Assignments address the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) for History.
America stands at a dramatic crossroads: Mega banks and corporations wield disturbing power; huge income gap between the top 1% and the other 99% grows visibly wider; astounding new technologies are changing American lives; conflicts over U.S. military interventionism, and the environment and immigration dominate public debate. Sound like today's headlines? You might be surprised to know that these headlines were from newspapers over 100 years ago.
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is America's premier intelligence organization, charged with keeping constant watch in an increasingly dangerous and unstable world. Some critics have accused it of not doing enough to protect US national security. In the view of others, it has done too much, intervening excessively overseas and threatening civil liberties at home. Are these criticisms of the CIA justified? The aim of this course is to give you the information you need to decide for yourself.
We owe so much of our modern world to the Industrial Revolution. The lights that illuminate our homes, the cars that carry us to work, the computers that help drive our economy, and the appliances that make our lives easier-these technologies exist thanks to a remarkable group of scientists and entrepreneurs who, over the past 250 years, have transformed virtually every aspect of our lives and fueled one of the greatest periods of innovation in history.
In more ways than you can imagine, today's geopolitical climate is a product of World War II. The United States, France, Germany, Russia, and Britain-all of these world powers and their sense of place today were profoundly shaped by the most savage, sweeping war in human history. How was the war in Europe fought over the course of seven long, arduous years? What led to Germany's early sustained gains, and what eventually stymied its advances?
The Japanese attack on the United States Battle Fleet stationed at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, socked most Americans. While the attack was a tactical success for Japan, it was also one of the most reckless strategic decisions in the history of warfare, for it awakened a sleeping giant and triggered some of the most harrowing and ferocious military actions the world had ever seen. For the United States, the war started and ended in the Pacific Theater, with the war against Japan.
As a political epicenter, Washington DC is a major national and international crossroads and featured in the global news on a daily basis. But beyond the glamour and glare of high-profile politics, it is a city on par with some of the greatest in the world, brimming over with remarkable history and culture, and offering a multitude of unforgettable sights and experiences. Throughout this capital city, you'll find some of the world's most beautiful and extraordinary national monuments.
In Pirates: The Real History, you'll find yourself looking at world history from a new point of view, realizing that much of what you've learned before could-and possibly should-be viewed through a more accurate, post-imperialistic filter. You will be exposed to new ways of thinking about global interactions, from the West Indies and the Red Sea to the North Atlantic and Indonesia, and beyond.
In War in the Modern World, we will examine modern conflicts, exploring decades of violence between and within nation-states. We will define insurgency and counterinsurgency warfare as well as the strategies that underlie both. You will learn about the weapons that fundamentally changed how countries and rebel groups fight. And you will understand how highly localized civil and insurgent conflicts became the new terrains on which great powers wage war.
World War II: Up Close and Personal invites educators to step into the shoes of those who lived through one of history's most pivotal conflicts. What was it like to grow up in Nazi Germany-or survive as a Jewish child in the Warsaw Ghetto? How did soldiers, sailors, pilots, and war correspondents experience the war firsthand? Through compelling lectures, documentary footage, and powerful video testimonies, you'll explore the human side of WWII.
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