Presenting my lesson, based on Dr. Prescott's Pioneer Mothers for the New Millennium and "Settler Colonialism and the Persistence of Pioneer myths in Western Monuments, 1890-Present," at the Western History Association Conference in San Antonio in October 2018. This collaboration was part of the Library of Congress's Teaching with Primary Sources Western Division's "Teachers as Scholars" initiative.
Collaborating with scholars as part of the California Rising book project sponsored by St. Mary's University in San Antonio. Looking forward to the continued relationship as we build lessons related to Joanna Dyl's article "Earthquakes, Fires, and Environmental Risk in the San Francisco Bay Area."
Recipient of the 2018 Texas History Teacher of the Year award from Gilder Lehrman. My profile on the Gilder Lehrman website.
Received a 2018 Outstanding Teaching of the Humanities Award from Humanities Texas. The announcement on Humanities Texas website.
Gaining new perspectives on American Indian history, culture, and contemporary lives during the Native Knowledge 360 Teacher Institute. Will be trying out their Inquiry-based lessons in my classroom and sharing my experiences with other educators.
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2018 James Madison Fellow
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2017-2018 National Humanities Center Teacher Advisory Council
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Preparing a presentation for the 2018 Western History Association conference, under the auspices of the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources, Western Division program
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Keynote Speaker Dr. Cinthia Salinas from the University of Texas at Austin at the National Council for History Education
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National Council for History Education 2018 Conference
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A little light fun at the 2018 National Council for History Education Conference
Professional Presentations

Teaching with Primary Sources Western Region Presentation at the Western History Association

Presented as part of a teacher-scholar collaboration through the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources Western Region
Lesson Plan
Have additional questions or comments? Email us at cherry.whipple@austinisd.org (History) or nadine.cooper@austinisd.or (English)
Class Websites Handouts

2018 AP Conference Presentation

"Blurred Lines": Interdisciplinary Connections Between AP US History and AP Language & Composition"
     During this session, participants examine a successful Advanced Placement model that breaks down the walls between AP Language & Composition and AP US History. By exploring specific ways that writing for history and English overlap, teachers of both content areas will be able to help students develop the strong skills needed for success on the AP exam in both English and History. Shared reading assignments will also demonstrate how the two courses are compatible and can build a common lexicon. Participants will be able to find relevant activities to use in their own programs by completing a scavenger hunt for learning resources on website curated by the presenters and multiple handouts will be provided for use in participants’ classrooms.
     Participants will view highlights from an interdisciplinary model developed at S.F. Austin High School to construct connections between the AP Language & Composition and AP US History curriculum requirements, including reviewing common language and tools that enable higher level thinking by students as they develop the common skillset shared by these courses. Participants will listen as presenters walk through a specific lesson used in both classes that uses past AP prompts to gain the skill to build their own program using College Board materials available in the teacher portal area of the College Board website. Participants will complete an online scavenger hunt to find relevant resources for their own classrooms by visiting website curated by the presenters. Participants will receive access to multiple ready-to-go lessons and handouts.
AGENDA
  1. Introduction of presenters and S. F. Austin High School "American Studies" program
  2. Review of pacing and syllabus connections between AP Language & Composition and AP US History with sample handouts
  3. Presentation of reading- and writing-focused instructional tools and curriculum resources used to coordinate between English and history classes 
  4. Exhibition of a variety of lessons from both AP US History and AP Language & Composition, including handouts and student samples 
  5. Walk through of AP prompts from both courses, modeling instructional language overlaps. 
  6. Scavenger hunt for relevant activities on curated websites 
  7. Question and Answer session and door prizes
  8. Door prizes

International Studies Schools Network (ISSN) Summer Institute

Presentation Handouts
Inquiry-Based Learning Project
Participants will view highlights from a successful interdisciplinary project developed at the Academy for Global Students at Austin High School. The inquiry-based research project asks students to research and choose an issue faced by a specific American Indian community and using their research to prepare a presentation communicating their findings to an authentic audience. An innovative method of communicating was encouraged. Participants will have an opportunity to view multiple student sample presentations and ask questions of the students related to both the content and process of the project. Participants will receive access project handouts and rubrics and teachers will answer questions related to the teacher role during the project.
Student Portfolio Links (with IBL Project information and Reflections)
Class WebsitesHandouts

2017 AP Conference Presentation

"Blurred Lines": Interdisciplinary Connections Between AP US History and AP Language & Composition"
     During this session, participants will examine a successful Advanced Placement model that blurs the lines between AP Language & Composition and AP US History. Participants explore specific ways that history and English overlap and learn how to plan out a year of curriculum connections that enable students to more successfully navigate the broad historical background of our country while developing strong reading and writing skills that supports success on the AP exam in both English and History. Participants will also discover methods for integrating elements from both classes into interdisciplinary projects that engage students and showcase creativity in the Advanced Placement classroom.
     Participants will use a model developed at S.F. Austin High School to plan potential connections between the AP Language & Composition and AP US History curriculum requirements, including reviewing common language and tools that enable higher level thinking by students as they develop the common skills set shared by these courses. In addition, after examining sample interdisciplinary project descriptions and rubrics, participants will outline individualized project ideas.
AGENDA
  1. Introduction of presenters and S. F. Austin High School "American Studies" program
  2. Review coordination of pacing and syllabus connections between AP Language & Composition and AP US History with sample handouts
  3. Presentation of instructional tools and curriculum resources used to coordinate between English and history classes
  4. Exhibit of sample interdisciplinary projects, including handouts, rubrics, and student samples 
  5. Brainstorming session for additional potential PBL/Interdisciplinary projects using project planning tools and course specific objects from the College Board Curriculum Frameworks 
  6. Question and Answer session and door prizes

Student Work Samples

Puck Magazine Project

These are representative samples. Not all projects received the highest scores, rather this represents an overall sampling.

Immigration Article Analysis

Drama-Rama

Lightside/Darkside: May the Force Be With You

Sample papers for Light Side/Dark Side project.
​NOTE: Not all of these papers receive A's (in fact some may have received a poor score!), but they are useful for seeing how other people have laid out their papers. The criteria of the project was slightly different, so these papers do not include the "Art Analysis" part. You will need to make sure you add that to your paper.

Civil WaR Digital Timeline


North vs. South PiktoCharts