Why Get Involved?

A better question to ask yourself is why you would NOT get involved?

Participating in the Teaching with Primary Sources – Colorado Rural Partnership directly benefits you, your school, and your students. (See below for the details on how to get involved.)

Instructional benefits:

Increase your ability to design student-centered learning experiences that integrate primary sources
Improve your knowledge and use of the latest instructional practices
Field-test other teachers’ learning experiences
Implement standards-based learning experiences that improve student abilities to
- critically examine primary sources
- deepen content knowledge
- improve literacy in a number of areas: reading, writing, information literacy, media literacy, visual literacy and technology literacy.
Obtain free posters and other printed materials from the Library of Congress resources

Professional benefits:

Showcase your work and help others to learn the value in teaching with primary sources
Apply professional development hours to re-certification or optional UNC graduate credit
As an Ambassador [link to the description of ambassadors on the Professional development page], become a part of a growing community of educators dedicated to the improvement of education through the use of primary sources.

School benefits:

Take advantage of free, meaningful staff development
Build collaboration between librarians and instructional staff

Earn credits that can be exchanged for valuable instructional technology tools including: flash drives, computer accessories, iPods, LCD projectors, books, printers, interactive white boards, and more!!

How to Get Involved

How to Get Involved
Here’s how your school can get involved and take advantage of free, convenient and powerful professional development.

1.	Read our Web site to get more information.

2.	Contact us to discuss your interest.
	777	Note: Because our goal is to maximize the effective use of primary sources throughout the school, our program is designed to reward school participation and encourage teacher leadership as you share what you have learned with others. We encourage teachers who wish to participate to be a part of a school "team." At minimum, this should include two teachers and a school librarian. If possible, please include an administrator and parent or community member in the introductory level workshops, the Essentials Exploration. You may find other options that work better for your overall district plans, such as involving members of ET-IL team, or a curriculum writing committee across district. Don’t let this “team concept” scare you away! There are many options for working within your school or district to bring together a “leadership team.” As a participant, you will go through the Essentials Exploration and Advanced Application workshops, which will prepare you to engage students with primary sources from the Library of Congress. You will also have an opportunity to develop and discuss strategies to pass on your knowledge and expertise to fellow teachers. We are happy to discuss the options and composition of this team. So, invite your colleagues and contact us to get started. 970-351-1555.

3.	We will work with you to set dates for the first onsite workshop in the Essentials Exploration series, which we try to coordinate with neighboring schools to maximize the facilitators’ travel time.

4.	You will be asked to complete a planning sheet to explain how your school will benefit from this program and a roster of who will attend.