FREE Courses on Teaching Historical Argumentation and Research

 

Online Course on Historic Argumentation

May 19-August 8, 2025

Join MTHS interpretive historian and National History Day in Montana co-coordinator, Dr. Melissa Hibbard, for 3 credit, 12-week summer course on historical argumentation and learn strategies to help your students think like historians and develop solid historical arguments.

This course includes four live webinars and other online asynchronous work. This course is available for FREE to Montana Teachers grades 4-12 thanks to a Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources grant. Space is limited, so sign up asap.

Questions? Contact Melissa Hibbard.

Historical Thinking through Student-Driven Research

August 5-6, Montana State University-Billings

Want to engage your class with student-driven research projects using primary sources? Want to promote more historical thinking and critical analysis? Join teachers from across the state as Jamie Holifield, an educator for National History Day and former Milwaukee public schools social studies teacher, teaches you how to facilitate student research, analyze sources, and think historically. Think of it as a two-day “doing history” bootcamp.

In this workshop you will learn about:

• Keywords and frameworks to help students write historical research questions and thesis statements
• Free online databases where students can locate primary and secondary sources
• Research organization strategies
• How to focus student research around a common theme
• How to modify primary and secondary sources to make them more accessible for a range of students
• How to teach students to place topics in historical context and think about short and long-term impacts
• How to define lenses of historical analysis
• How to support historical arguments with reasoning and evidence

You will get hands-on practice:

• Analyzing and curating primary sources related to federal policy to assimilate American Indians
• Creating and annotating historical questions and thesis statements
• Differentiating descriptive from analytical writing
• Evaluating historical projects created by real students

Eligible Applicants:

• Teach 4th-12th grade in Montana
• Can commit to teaching student-driven historical research projects using primary sources in the 2025-2026 school year
• Can commit to attending BOTH days of the August 5-6 summer institute from 9 am to 5 pm at MSU Billings

Successful Applicants will receive:

• Meals during the workshop
• Lodging
• Travel stipends
• 16 OPI renewal units

Applications will be accepted until all spots are filled. Apply now!