Our Project Directors work with your K-12 staff or your educational organization to develop arts-infused standards-based curricula tailored to the needs and interests of the client. To inquire, contact Jan Maher.
Examples of units designed by Local Access Project Directors:
The Densho Legacy Project
Three units co-authored by Doug Selwyn. These units were developed to help students recognize that “liberty and justice for all” is an ongoing process and quest in our democracy, and to help them develop the skills and content knowledge necessary to study historical issues and current events in critical, knowledgeable, and responsible ways. One unit looks at the Constitution, understanding the values and beliefs that undergird it, a second unit is focused on the media and understanding how we know what we know, and the third deals with immigration, why immigrants have chosen to come to the United States and what their experiences have been once they arrived. The units are examples of Classroom Based Assessments, and serve as models of how teachers can meet Washington State Curriculum Standards in the Social Studies.
Northwest Heritage Resources
Unit authored by Jan Maher. This unit, “King County and Western Washington Cultural Geography, Communities, Their History and Traditions,” was developed to encourage classroom teachers in the Pacific Northwest to make use of the extensive resources available at the Northwest Heritage Resources website. It was designed as an extended Classroom Based Assessment for the theme “Enduring Cultures” and serves as a resource for 7th and 8th grade teachers to meet Washington State Curriculum Standards in the Social Studies.
Breaking the Silence
Unit authored by Jan Maher and Nikki Nojima Louis. This unit was developed as a semester-long arts-infused curriculum for Seattle-area high school students to gain an in-depth understanding of the experience of three generations of Japanese Americans. Students develop content knowledge through nonfiction readings, works of fiction, video documentaries, simulations, and creative writing and arts projects; then distill their newfound knowledge into a readers’ theater presentation to communicate their learning to other audiences. This project won a Washington State Humanities award.
Ralph Bunche: The Odyssey Continues
Resource materials developed by Jan Maher to support a series of 12 teaching video modules on the life and legacy of Dr. Ralph Bunche, produced by William Greaves Productions; available to schools, colleges, universities, libraries and other educational and cultural institutions.
