Education Links

Related Web Sites and Sources

Information on Grand Canyon

  • Grand Canyon National Park
    http://www.nps.gov/grca/
    This is the entry portal to the park’s Web site.
  • Grand Canyon National Park Environmental Education
     http://www.nps.gov/grca/forteachers/
    Includes information on a variety of programs, activities, and contact information for the park’s environmental education specialist.
  • Interpreting America’s Historic Places: Nature, Culture, and History at the Grand Canyon
    http://grandcanyonhistory.clas.asu.edu/
    You are on this site. The “Grand Canyon History Travelin’ Trunk” and Web site have been created through the Nature, Culture, and History at the Grand Canyon grant project at Arizona State University. Additional lessons and resources, including maps, biographies, stories, and art and architectural information can be found here.
  • Grand Canyon Association
    http://www.grandcanyon.org
    This is an educational branch of the Grand Canyon Organization and a partner with Grand Canyon National Park. The Travelin’ Trunks are available through this organization.
  • Grand Canyon Association Virtual Field Trip
    http://www.grandcanyon.org/fieldinstitute/virtualtour.asp
    View images and movies from multiple park locations. This includes a photo of petroglyphs and short videos of locations along the South Kaibab to Bright Angel hiking trail. Be sure and make a virtual visit to Phantom Ranch, designed by Mary Colter and home to some CCC boys in the 1930s.
  • Grand Canyon Field Institute
    http://www.grandcanyon.org/fieldinstitute/educators.asp
    Information on educational opportunities and materials can be found here as well as information pertinent to the Travelin’ Trunk program.
  • National Parks Service Historic Photograph Collection
    http://www.nps.gov/applications/hafe/hfc/npsphoto.cfm
    Contains photographs of the Grand Canyon and other national parks.
  • Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan, The National Parks: America’s Best Idea, 2009
    http://www.pbs.org/nationalparks/
    Ordering information for the documentary and the companion book can be found at this PBS Web site on national parks. The site contains information on national parks in America, including videos, essays, and activities.
  • Colorado Plateau Digital Archives, Cline Library, Northern Arizona University
    https://archive.library.nau.edu/
    Photos, essays, documents, oral histories, and more have been digitized for researching the Colorado Plateau.
  • Library of Congress American Memory Collection
    http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html
    Documents, artifacts, and resources on American life and culture can be found at this site. There are many resources for educators and students.
  • National Archives
    http://www.archives.gov/
    The National Archives has records of the U.S. government, such as the Declaration of Independence and other legal documents, census records, military reports and data, etc. The Archives has special sections for educators and students.This is the entry portal to the park’s Web site.
  • Southwest Crossroads: Cultures and Histories of the American Southwest
    http://www.southwestcrossroads.org/
    Created by the School for Advanced Research on the Human Experience and Project Crossroads, this Web site features many stories and artifacts of the diverse peoples who have lived in the American Southwest. This site was funded, in part, by a National Endowment for the Humanities “We the People” grant.

 

Doing History, Learning History, Teaching History

  • Teaching History, National Center for History Education
    http://teachinghistory.org/
    This site has a wealth of resources, ideas, strategies, and lessons for teaching history. See especially helpful sections on historical thinking skills and teaching strategies.
  • Thomas Andrews and Flannery Burke, “What Does It Mean to Think Historically?”
    http://www.historians.org/perspectives/issues/2007/0701/0701tea2.cfm
    This article from the American Historical Association Perspectives (January 2007) emphasizes what they call the five C’s of historical investigation and explanation: change over time, causality, context, complexity, and contingency.
  • Frederick D. Drake and Lynn R. Nelson, Engagement in Teaching History: Theory and Practices for Middle and Secondary Teachers (2nd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2008)
    http://history.illinoisstate.edu/nhp/firstsecondthirdorder.html#primary
    This offers suggestions on ways to engage students in historical inquiry, source analysis, and interpretation. See also “Defining First-/Second-/and Third-Order Documents” by Lawrence W. McBride and Frederick Drake, “The National History Project.”
  • National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places
    http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/twhp/
    This contains lesson plans, teaching materials, and ideas of America’s historic places.
  • National History Standards 5–12: http://nchs.ucla.edu/standards/

    Historical Thinking Skills: http://nchs.ucla.edu/standards/thinking5-12.html

    Students can draw upon skills within the following five interconnected dimensions of historical thinking:

    1. Chronological Thinking
    2. Historical Comprehension
    3. Historical Analysis and Interpretation
    4. Historical Research Capabilities
    5. Historical Issues-Analysis and Decision-Making

For additional site suggestions, please go to the links page on the “Nature, Culture, and History at the Grand Canyon” site.