Teacher Workshop

The Edmond History Museum is thrilled to announce the receipt of national grant to host a Summer Teacher Workshop for 30 select public and private school teachers and librarians (K-12) at the historic Rodkey House (410 S. Littler) on July 14-17, 2025, from 8:30-4:30 each day.

The purpose of the Summer Teacher Workshop is to introduce educators to the resources of the Library of Congress that can support using primary sources of photographs, documents, and artifacts in the classroom. The project will introduce teachers to resources available at the Library of Congress, the Edmond History Museum, and other Oklahoma museums and libraries.

Attendees will participate in hands-on activities, learn about teaching trunks, hear guest speakers, and explore a topic of choice in-depth. Course activities include: discovering primary resources and learning how to use them in the classroom, understanding copyright laws, analyzing photos, manuscripts, sheet music, maps and books, newspapers.

The $25,000 “Teaching with Primary Sources, Great Plains Region” grant is hosted by the National Council for History Education. For further information, visit https://www.edmondhistory.org/event/teacher-workshop/ or email Lorie Prater at LPrater@EdmondHistory.org.

Further Details:

The workshop is not limited to history educators, because primary resources can enhance student learning in all topics, and a variety of subject areas will be discussed, in order to reflect the extensive diversity of the resources that are available through the national and state collections.

Examples of teaching with primary sources might include:

• Listening to a music clip relevant to the topic you are teaching
• Analyzing a historic photograph to glean information about the time period, social behaviors, architecture, machines, clothing worn, people, etc.
• Touching objects/artifacts that tie in with a science lesson
• Comparing written samples and how people have communicated over time
• Layering online maps from different time periods to determine geographic

Participants will create a lesson plan to use with their students in the coming school year and present a poster at a free Open House for educators at the Edmond History Museum at the start of the new school year.

To apply, email Lprater@edmondhistory.org to receive a short application form by email. Selected teachers will be notified via email with a invitation to attend the workshop and receive $500 stipend upon completion of the workshop and a lesson plan project. Priority will be given to Title 1 schools and/or teams of two or three, including one teacher and one librarian from a single school, in order to encourage collaboration during the workshop and after educators return to their schools. 

The workshop will take place in the historic Rodkey House at 410 S Littler Ave, Edmond, OK 73034, just west of the museum in Stephenson Park. Tours, within walking distance, include visit to the Edmond History Museum and a tour of the historic Downtown Edmond. Participants will drive to the Oklahoma History Center one afternoon to explore resources in the Research Division. 

Presenters, Janet Bass and Jan Davis, have partnered on previous Teaching With Primary Sources projects with the Library of Congress. The workshop is hosted by Amy Stephens and Lorie Prater of the Edmond History Museum. Guest presenters include Chad Williams of the Oklahoma Historical Society, Judy Pike of the Edmond Historical Preservation Trust, and local author, Tammi Sauer.

Application Process:

To apply for this workshop, copy the questions below and paste them into an email, using 75 words or less for each answer.

Email your answers to Lorie Prater, lprater@edmondhistory.org.

Name your email: Workshop Application, [Your name]

Name:

Contact Info (email/cell):

Teacher/Library Position & School Name for the upcoming 2025-26 School Year:

Grade(s) you will work with:

Number of years in Educational Career:

Brief summary of educator background:

How would primary resources, such as photo and artifact resources enhance your teaching?

Do you have another teacher and/or librarian that you plan to partner with? Please include their name(s).

Do you commit to attending the entire workshop and completing the lesson plan project and poster display due in September? Yes or No