Upcoming Institutes

Using Primary Sources to Teach Major Topics in U.S. History in their Constitutional Context (Summer 2025 Webinar Series)


On July 7, 8, and 9, 2025, Humanities Texas will hold a webinar series that provides social studies teachers with resources and tools to teach about milestone topics in U.S. history in their constitutional context.

Curriculum and Faculty

The webinar series will take place on Zoom from 9:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. CT on July 7, 8, and 9, 2025. Attendance for all sessions is encouraged but not required.

The series will introduce teachers to resources and techniques to improve student achievement through hands-on learning. Each day’s three-hour session will be presented with a mix of content and pedagogy and include hands-on work with primary sources. Participants will have opportunities to join in large and small group discussions. Links to online primary sources and lesson materials will be provided for each session.

  • July 7: Equality: Ideals and Realities in Constitutional Development. This session will focus on an examination of the idea of equality as articulated in the Gettysburg Address, look back to the presence of the concept in the Declaration of Independence and Constitution, and explore how the issue of constitutional equality was addressed in the decades after Lincoln’s death. The session will present a variety of primary sources (e.g., the Gettysburg Address, Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and 14th Amendment) and classroom resources for engaging students in hands-on learning about them.
  • July 8: Internationalism: Debates and Changes in U.S. Foreign Policy from 1898 – 1919. This session will draw upon period news media, with a focus on political cartoons, to discuss teaching about the issues and events that fueled the debate over expanding America’s engagement in global affairs from the War with Spain to the Treaty of Versailles. The webinar will feature resources and techniques for improving learning by using visual primary sources and underscore the importance of identifying point of view, bias, and propaganda in primary sources. Constitutionally, the session will address the power to make war and the power to make treaties.
  • July 9: The Cold War: Threats and Responses that Shaped American History from 1949 – 1972. This study of the era from the Truman Doctrine to the SALT Treaty and President Richard M. Nixon’s visit to China will examine the mid-century debate over the America’s global role and obligations. Participants will explore techniques for teaching with political cartoons and primary source documents and consider methods for identifying point of view, bias, and propaganda in visual and textual primary sources. This session will present resources for teaching about the issues of domestic loyalty, the containment policy, and the domino theory. Constitutionally, the webinar will highlight the ongoing debate about the balance of war power between Congress and the Executive Branch.

Content will align with the TEKS for U.S. history and government. Like all Humanities Texas teacher programs, the webinar series will be content-based and teacher-centered, with an emphasis on teaching with primary sources and developing effective pedagogical strategies.

Charles Flangan will lead the webinar series.

Eligibility

The webinar series is open to secondary-level social studies teachers in Texas schools.

CPE Credit

The online program is free to teachers and their schools. Participants will receive CPE credit and a wealth of curricular materials for each session in the series. Participants are encouraged, but not required, to attend all sessions. CPE hours will be based on Zoom attendance and adjusted if a participant misses any portion of the program. In order to attend the webinars and receive CPE credit, you must be a registered participant.

How to Apply

Complete the online application for the "Using Primary Sources to Teach Major Topics in U.S. History in their Constitutional Context" online series. Please apply as soon as possible, as registration will occur on a rolling basis.

Sponsors

The institute is made possible with major funding from the State of Texas, with ongoing support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.