Teaching Literacy Through History

Helping K–12 Educators Connect American History to
the Common Core

The Gilder Lehrman Institute is named by ASCD as one of the Top Five Resources for Aligning Social Studies Curricula to the Common Core.*
*Source: ASCD Edge, September 2012

The Common Core State Standards have significantly raised the bar for student success, demanding new thinking and new strategies. To meet these benchmarks and prepare students for a 21st-century global economy while nurturing thoughtful, effective citizens, the Gilder Lehrman Institute introduces Teaching Literacy Through History.

Enhance instruction. Improve student literacy. Inspire a love of history.

Teaching Literacy Through History (TLTH) is a professional development program that trains educators to deliver rigorous instruction that develops students’ reading, writing, and analytical skills emphasized by the Common Core through the use of historical texts and primary source documents.

100% of teachers* reported the TLTH program improved their reading instruction, and 97% reported improved writing instruction.
*Percentage derived from participants in TLTH pilot program.
View the full pilot program study.

Customized Professional Development

All Teaching Literacy Through History programs are tailored to fit a school’s or district’s needs. We work with teachers at any level within the K–12 school system, in interdisciplinary teams of social studies and English language arts teachers or same-subject teacher groups, on-site or online, in one or more sessions.

Select, combine, or adapt:

Common Core Pedagogy Training
Learn and practice Gilder Lehrman’s classroom-tested strategies and teaching methods on the use of primary source documents and historical texts to develop students’ core literacy skills. Trainings can be delivered on-site at your school or online.
Customized Curriculum Design for Common Core
We help educators adapt current curriculum to be more interdisciplinary and meet Common Core State ELA Standards, or we can develop new curriculum units aligned to the standards and designed to fit within your school/district’s scope and sequence. Our curriculum support is developed around historical and primary source documents by master teachers and historians.
Teaching Literacy Through History Lesson Plans
We provide online lesson plans based on key historical documents that are appropriate for elementary and secondary educators in English language arts and history.

Benefits

K–12 educators benefit from the TLTH program and learn how to:

align current lesson plans and curriculum to the Common Core Literacy Standards;
develop content-rich lessons that improve students’ critical thinking, close reading, and analytical writing skills through the use of historical texts and primary source documents;
employ a range of document-based teaching methods and classroom exercises the Gilder Lehrman Institute has refined for 20 years;
increase the use and efficacy of primary documents in both history and ELA classes.

Students develop a deeper understanding of American history and improved reading and writing skills.

Questions? Contact us at pd@gilderlehrman.org for further information about Gilder Lehrman’s professional development programs.