Intersections and Connections Curriculum is aligned with state and national standards and integrated literacy approaches and framed within History UnErased's Inquiry Arc for contextualized pedagogy. The unique instructional resources are designed as a non-judgemental approach to critical analysis to develop civics-based knowledge acquisition, historical thinking skills, transferable life skills, and enduring understandings.
All curriculum components are offered through a secure password-protected UnErased.org portal for each school and include teacher's guides for each thematic module, History UnErased's Educator Resource Guide, two-hour professional development webinar, private peer-to-peer discussion forum, and automatic updates and revisions.
CURRICULUM COMPONENTS
📕Teacher's Guides
Each thematic module offers a teacher's guide which includes embedded instructional resources:
Four lesson plans framed within History UnErased's Arc for contextualized pedagogy
Curriculum framework alignment
Essential questions and expected learning outcomes
Civics-based knowledge acquisition
Transferable life skills
Enduring essential learnings
Background information with footnoted references
Skills-based activities
Scaffolded analysis tools:
Language practice for ELLs
Comprehension guides
Cognitive organizers
Answer keys
Authentic assessments with rubrics
Printer-friendly grayscale student handouts
Copyright-secured primary sources
Some thematic modules include Give Voice to History Project podcasts produced in partnership with Making Gay History -- The Podcast
Visual history instructional posters complement each thematic module and are compatible with screen readers for the visually impaired (digital version is included and print copies are available for additional purchase)
All instructional materials reflect the language of the primary sources embedded in the instructional resources and do not assign today's language to the past
📕History UnErased's Educator Resource Guide includes:
Relevance and rationale for LGBT+ inclusive history and social studies content
Methods and strategies for additional LGBT+ inclusive academic content
Suggested primary sources
Instructional resources for contextualized pedagogy
🖥Two-hour professional development webinar:
Live, interactive, and intellectually inspiring
Introduction to History UnErased's Inquiry Arc for Contextualized Pedagogy
Integrating Intersections and Connections into history and social studies curriculum
Webinar is recorded and housed on your designated UnErased.org portal
🖥Peer-to-peer support:
Private discussion forum housed on each individual school's portal
Provides opportunities for small learning communities and internal professional support
📕One-time purchase includes automatic updates and revisions of thematic modules and instructional resources
➕Optional Add-Ons:
On-site professional development
Printed Teacher's Guides, Educator Resource Guide, and student handbooks
Visual history instructional posters are available for individual purchase at the UnErased Store
OVERVIEW OF THEMATIC MODULES
Each thematic module is anchored in copyright-secured primary sources curated from both digital and print collections from libraries, estates, and archives across the nation - also the Library of Congress, National Archives, Smithsonian Museum of American History, National Park Service, and more.
Module One is an exploration of the use and effectiveness of nonviolent and nonverbal protest, the evolving interpretation of protected classes, and the process and rationale for a court case to advance through the judicial system. Theme: The Constitution and the Courts / Social Studies Domain: Civics / Grades 8+
Module Two is an exploration of Bayard Rustin's influence on Dr. King and American civil rights and analysis of the intersecting goals of various liberation movements. Theme: Civil Rights / Social Studies Domain: History / Grades 8+
Module Three is an exploration of pre and post-Stonewall civil rights activism and the importance of preserving national historic landmarks. Theme: Civil Rights / Social Studies Domain: History / Grade 8+
Module Four is an exploration of the social and economic structures of both the Indigenous population and the English colonists. Theme: Gender / Social Studies Domain: Economics / Grades 8+
Module Five is an investigation of how LGBT individuals serving in WWII established a movement that still impacts American society today. Theme: Civil Rights / Social Studies Domain: History / Grades 10+
Module Six is an exploration of the First Amendment's Free Exercise Clause, Compelled Speech Doctrine, and the concept of compelling state (government) interest. Theme: The Constitution and the Courts / Social Studies Domain: Civics / Grades 10+
Module Seven is a critical analysis of the relationship between the media and cultural perceptions of race and gender. Theme: The Constitution and the Courts / Social Studies Domain: History / Grades 10+
ADDITIONAL THEMATIC MODULES WILL BE AVAILABLE SPRING 2020
KEY CONCEPTUAL UNDERPINNINGS
Students are at the center of it all, and honoring and respecting teachers' experience and expertise makes this curriculum work.
History UnErased's Inquiry Arc for Contextualized Pedagogy
Intersections and Connections thematic modules are framed within History UnErased's Inquiry Arc for contextualized pedagogy to offer a more complete - and complex - analysis of the story of America. The flexible instructional design incorporates the experience and expertise of classroom educators and inspires more successful outcomes for all students.
Accessibility and Sustainability
Intersections and Connections instructional resources are embedded on a unique password-protected UnErased.org portal for each school. Teacher's Guides are offered as quick loading full-color files and printer-friendly grayscale PDFs for classroom reproducibles. Peer-to-peer discussion forum gives each school agency to develop and sustain small learning communities for internal professional support.
Feedback Surveys
The UnErased.org portal for each individual school includes feedback surveys that inform History UnErased's annual updates and revisions of thematic modules and instructional resources.
Important Considerations
PROBLEM: Mandated education policy which calls for the inclusion of LGBT+ history, although well-intentioned, does not include the underpinnings of support to prepare educators to implement the policy. And, the inherent complexities of implementation - the what, where, and how - is especially challenging considering most educators and administrators have not had the opportunity to engage with LGBT+ history within their own academic experience.
SOLUTION: Intersections and Connections Curriculum is a grassroots, whole-school approach providing a framework to antecede the aforementioned problems and support efforts to advance curriculum.
Read the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) Position Statement on LGBT+ history HERE