Emerging America supports K-12 teachers of history, civics, social studies and humanities with high quality, accessible, inquiry-based curriculum and other teaching resources, as well as workshops and events in-person and online. We focus on teaching students with disabilities and on multilingual learners, and we advance civics and service-learning projects. Other online resources include primary source sets, assessments, "Teaching Strategies" to advance accessibility, and other classroom activities and tools, a monthly Inclusive History eNews and the Emerging America blog.
The Collaborative for Educational Services Professional Development Department launched Emerging America in 2006 with a grant from the U.S. Department of Education Teaching American History Program.
Current major programs are described below.
In 2010 the Collaborative joined the TPS Consortium, providing free workshops and courses to support inquiry-based use of primary sources, featuring the vast collections of the Library of Congress. Programs emphasize strategies to support struggling learners. Drawing on the expertise of classroom teachers, and with contributions from specialists in Special Education and English Language Learning, CES posts accessible curriculum, primary source sets, and other resources, including in our Teacher Resources Library.
As they investigate topics in local history, students learn to see connections with national events and stories, and to build interpretations of the past that are guided by careful critical questioning. Emerging America offers research guides on disability history and exemplary student-created websites and videos. See also the exemplary online exhibit on disabled Civil War veterans.