Forward

There are many things about the next school year that you may not know yet. An atmosphere like this calls for even more flexibility than usual in planning, and we want to help. Whether you find yourself continuing to design lessons for distance learning, live classroom instruction, or a combination of both, we are continuing to develop new resources and modify existing material with all of these scenarios in mind.

The tool that we think will be most helpful to those of you who teach U.S. History is our new online U.S. History resource, Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, launching July 6. Visit the website for more details and to be notified of the launch, and check out additional resources below to help you plan.

Mark your calendars! Our new online U.S. History resource, Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness will fully launch on July 6. Visit the website for more details and to sign up for updates.

To make planning easier, we created a new easy-to-navigate site that highlights our best resources on a wide variety of subjects and grade levels. Check out teach.mybri.org today!

Did you miss our Tenth Period conversation a few weeks ago with a few of our Teacher Council members, "Quaranteaching History Today"? If so, you can watch the recording on our YouTube channel, along with last week's "Why Teach Social Studies in a Crisis?"

BRI News and Other Opportunities

Join the Debate: Do Students Have a Constitutional Right to Education?
Please encourage your students to join in the latest debate on Think the Vote. The current topic: Do students have a constitutional right to education? The students who make the strongest case for their position and their referring teachers win a gift card, swag, and a chance at a $1000 scholarship.

Fall Programming: Are We Coming to Your Area?
We are hopeful that we will be able to meet you in person once again this fall. We've already confirmed a handful of professional development seminars and expect to have several more confirmed by the end of the month. Please check the website for details and updates.

#BRIThankaTeacher Contest Received 75 Submissions
We wanted to again congratulate the winners of our #BRIThankaTeacher Contest announced last Friday and thank everyone who was nominated. We were thrilled to receive over 75 submissions honoring just a few of the many teachers doing especially amazing work during these challenging times.

Please encourage your high school students to apply for our first-ever virtual Constitutional Academy happening from July 6-10. Participating students will work through curriculum online that will allow them to have a unique chance to typify student voice and youth agency. They will discuss young peoples’ participation in policy, business, and philanthropy as well as develop their capabilities in communication, discourse, and dialogue.

Meet Mary Patterson!
Mary Patterson brings over seven years of classroom experience to her work with the curriculum team at BRI. Her favorite subject to teach during her time in the classroom? "Revolutions. Studying the French and Russian Revolutions and what a bloodbath they became really gives one perspective for how exceptional the American Revolution really was."

"Each time we did a revolution I assigned kids an 'identity' through which they had to respond to the revolution," Mary recalls. "Some of the characters were real (Alexander Hamilton), some were just funny (Yankee Doodle Dandy, a printer in Boston), but each kid was someone different. Those journals were such a joy to read." Read Mary's full bio on the BRI website.

Last Week to Apply!

BoE: Bottom of Email

Dear John,

As a former high school teacher, I always bookmarked May for two big reasons: AP exams and Teacher Appreciation Week. It was nice to know that in the midst of endless review, mock exams, and general crazies, I’d be getting some nice thank you's and at least one free lunch.

Teacher appreciation has taken on a whole new meaning in our current situation. In the very best of circumstances, teaching can sometimes feel impossible—a bird flies in your classroom and all the kids are screaming, the senior prank involves chickens roaming the halls, you are mildly electrocuted by the projector cart—yet none of these things compares with the challenges you are now facing. All of us at BRI bow to you and your entrepreneurial spirit. The amazing thing about teachers is that we always find a way. You are what holds that classroom together, whether in-person or online. Please don’t forget that, and remember that BRI, now more than ever, has your back.

For the last two years, I have been working with the content team on BRI’s free, online AP U.S. History resource, Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, launching July 6. This resource is a labor of love on many levels—a love of American history and a love of teaching and learning. It is the ultimate Teacher Appreciation gift. I am excited for you to use it to help students appreciate the complexity and richness of the American experiment. Whether you are back in your classroom or still on that webcam in the fall, this resource will be a powerful tool in your arsenal.

Thank you for all you do. And if you ever come to D.C. and we meet, lunch is on me!

Cheers,

Mary Patterson
Senior Education Program Specialist

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