CROSSROADS
A K-16 American History Curriculum
Preface
In 1992, The Sage Colleges (Troy, NY) and the Niskayuna School District
(Niskayuna, NY) received a three-year grant from the Fund for the Improvement
and Reform of Schools and Teaching (FIRST) of the U.S. Department of Education
to develop a seamless K-16 curriculum in American history. The curriculum,
called Crossroads, is composed of thirty-six units equally distributed
among elementary, middle, and high school grade levels, as well as course
syllabi for preservice social studies educators on the subjects of American
history and history education. The curriculum is chronologically organized into
twelve historical periods--each covered by a unit at each of the three grade
levels.
Each unit begins with an essay on the history and historiography of the period
written by the project historian, Richard B. Bernstein, an Associate of the
Council for Citizenship Education at The Sage Colleges and an adjunct faculty
member at New York Law School and distinguished historian. The unit plans were
then written by teams of Niskayuna and Sage teachers after a year-long seminar
in American history and historiography with Professor Bernstein. Following
their preparation, elementary and middle school units were field tested within
the Niskayuna District and in the Albany City School District. The middle
school curriculum was also field tested in two Ohio districts. All units were
reviewed by an advisory panel. The project is directed by Stephen L. Schechter,
a Professor of Political Science and Director of the Council for Citizenship
Education at The Sage Colleges, and by Henry E. Mueller, Niskayuna Middle
School Social Studies Coordinator. The project is administered by the Council
for Citizenship Education.
Developed by the Niskayuna-Sage partnership, the "crossroads" model of
curriculum development begins with three strategic junctures of history
education: (1) at grades seven and eight, where a natural "crossroads" already
exists between elementary and secondary education, between childhood and
adolescence, and between an interest in the concrete and a capacity to grapple
with the abstract; (2) in the first year of postsecondary education, where
students are taking surveys of American history, government, and education
which can provide a critical juncture between secondary and postsecondary
education; and (3) in capstone experiences of postsecondary education, notably
social studies methods and student teaching, in which students experience
another transition, this time between their undergraduate experience in
postsecondary education and the prospect of a teaching career rich in lifelong
learning experiences.
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