nhfr

When the New Hampshire Historical Society asked teachers what they most wanted and needed for curriculum support in teaching New Hampshire history, the answers came load and clear, and in near unison. They needed:

1) a chronology of NH History,
2) a framework for teaching NH history, keyed to the NH K-12 Social Studies Curriculum Framework,
3) accurate, student-appropriate sources of information,
4) user-friendly units and guides that can be used in whole or in part, from which to pick and choose,
5) interesting, effective, and appropriate handouts and activities for students, and
6) assessment tools.

The New Hampshire Historical Society responded to the call. John Frisbee, NHHS director, Linda Burdick, Education Director, Barbara Pitsch, Board of TRustees member, and teachers Kathy Lyn Begor, William Kellogg, and Chris Lewis worked patiently and tirelessly with me to create a comprehensive New Hampshire history curriculum with plans for subsequent instructional units. The curriculum will, when fully implemented, serve the dual purpose of speaking to teachers' needs and increasing accessibility of the contents and expertise housed at the New Hampshire Historical Society.

As a former high school social studies teacher and as a teacher of teachers, I am excited about helping educators do their jobs better. As a scholar, I am excited about making new and accurate research available to students and teachers. As a practicing public historian (Project "Number Please" and the Warner Women's Oral History Project), I delight in the opportunity to excite young people about their past.

Finally, this work rests on the premise that the connections between history and the learner must be made visible; history must become personal. Only then, we believe, will students truly appreciate that history offers a fundamental key to comprehension of the self, community, state, nation, and larger world.

Judith Moyer,
Historian, Educator and Curriculum Author