Term

Spring 2017

Capstone

Thesis

Degree Name

MAT

Primary Advisor/Dissertation Chair

William Keilty

Secondary Advisor/Reader One

Kurt Kortenhof

Peer-Reviewer/Reader Two

Angela Senger

Abstract

This project addresses the question of how to shift the average American History curriculum into a more Minnesota centric curriculum without the need to rewrite it completely or make it more cumbersome. The author believes that students will be more engaged if they have a personal connection to the people and places described. The main influence for this project was full curriculums written for Minnesota History at both the Secondary and College level. It differs though in that instead of being strictly about Minnesota History this paper uses Minnesota as a focal point for each broader topic. The author uses historical documents and research to show how Minnesota relates to the various topics. The author talks about the various Minnesota regiments and how they figured into specific Civil War entanglements like Gettysburg and Shiloh as an example. The author includes resources for teachers to use including interactive maps, timelines and web sites for further research. Also included in the Appendix is an amended Civil War Unit to demonstrate the new shift in perspective along with examples of specific lesson plans from both the Civil War unit and also on James J. Hill. Each lesson includes the Minnesota State Graduation standard that the lesson meets for teachers to keep track of. The author stresses the need for this to be adaptable for any classroom.

Research Methodology

Curriculum Development

Keywords

Curriculum, Teachers/ Teaching

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