Educator Programs
Powerful Content. Engaging Instructional Strategies.
From civic learning to core curriculum, we’ve got you covered. Our professional development programs provide rich and unique experiences with history. Connect with the Museum’s exhibitions and resources. Engage with staff and experts.
SOLD OUT! Teacher Workshop | Folded Map Project
Saturday, November 16, 9:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
Earn 3 PD hours; recommended for teachers of grades 6–12
Free; advanced reservation required
Social Justice artist Tonika Lewis Johnson’s Folded Map Project visually connects residents who live at corresponding addresses on the North and South Sides of Chicago. Johnson investigates what urban segregation looks like and the impact it has on Chicago residents. From a photographic study to a multimedia exploration with video interviews, the Folded Map Project now also includes a student curriculum.
In this interactive session, you will discover how to center your student’s experiences in Chicago to explore and understand the historical and contemporary forces that created and perpetuated racial segregation. The Folded Map Project curriculum provides a tool for discussing big systemic issues with your students in a way that is personal and inspires action.
Starting with Johnson’s 30-minute animated movie about her childhood experience with Chicago’s segregation, students are guided through a series of reflections and activities that culminate in an action plan to help disrupt the cycle of segregation in their own lives.
The session will include free copies of the Folded Map Project curriculum, related resources from the Chicago History Museum, and time in the exhibition Designing for Change: Chicago Protest Art of the 1960s–70s.
Virtual Teacher Book Club
Saturdays, January 25 and March 1, 9:00 a.m.–noon, with asynchronous engagement between
Earn up to 21 PD hours; $50, cost includes 2 books
Engage with teachers as we read and discuss The Rock and The River by Kekla Magoon and The Black Panther Party: A Graphic Novel History by David F. Walker and Marcus Kwame Anderson.
In The Rock and the River, follow the fictional story of Sam Childs as he navigates life as the 13-year-old son of a civil rights leader and what it means to be a good sibling to an older brother who has joined the Black Panther Party, unbeknownst to their parents. To complement The Rock and the River, we will also read The Black Panther Party: A Graphic Novel History for a deeper dive into the formation and impact of the Black Panther Party.
Online engagement will draw on the Designing for Change: Chicago Protest Art of the 1960s–70s exhibition and highlight a selection of CHM’s classroom resources related to the era. Zoom sessions and online engagement foster rich discussions, practical resources, and instructional strategies to teach the history of social justice movements of the 1960s and 1970s.
Registration opens November 1.
Register Here
Customized Planning with CHM Education Staff
Our educators are here to match Chicago History Museum resources to your needs, answer questions, and help brainstorm ideas. Simply email school programs staff and let us know what you’re working on. We’ll set up a FREE, one-hour Zoom meeting with you to share materials and answer questions. We look forward to meeting you and learning about all the amazing work you are doing! 1 PD hour per session.
Please email both Heidi Moisan moisan@chicagohistory.org and Megan Clark clark@chicagohistory.org to make an appointment.
In-Service Programs
Are you interested in a custom in-service experience?
We’re happy to plan with you. To get started, email Heidi Moisan, senior school programs manager, at moisan@chicagohistory.org.
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