To support Connecticut teachers as they implement the new SERC Black/African American and Latino/Puerto Rican Course of Studies, the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History has developed digital resource packs for teachers to use in their classrooms. These are designed to highlight Connecticut stories that provide local perspectives to the themes studied in the course. These digital resource packs are free to use and currently in the pilot phase. We would love your feedback!
What is a digital resource pack?
Each digital resource pack focuses on a specific topic and includes:
- A curriculum-aligned lesson plan
- Powerpoints, student handouts, and all necessary teaching materials
- Primary sources from the Connecticut Museum collection
- An engaging video that focuses on a specific aspect of Connecticut Black and Latino history and culture
Our 10 digital resource pack themes are:
- Slavery, Resistance, and the Laws of Connecticut
- “The Path of Safety”: Antebellum Black Community in Connecticut
- “But It Was True”: Reconstruction through Education
- Active Citizens: Civil Rights Workers of Connecticut
- Power and the People: The Black Panther Party in Connecticut
- Connecticut Tobacco: Migration and Immigration
- María Colón Sánchez and the Puerto Rican Day Parade
- “Because We Fought For It”: Puerto Rican Activism in Connecticut
- Rhythmic Resistance: Puerto Rican Bomba and Plena
- Art of Belonging: Shaping Puerto Rican Identity in the Diaspora
How do I access and pilot the digital resource packs?
- Fill out this form to become a pilot teacher and receive access to all 10 digital resource packs. For the pilot year, the digital resource packs are available from a shared Google Drive.
- After using a digital resource pack with your students, we ask that you please fill out our brief evaluation form. These evaluations will help us revise and improve the digital resource packs before they are published for the 2024-2025 school year.
- Once a month, you will receive an email from a Connecticut Museum staff person with a friendly reminder to complete your evaluation forms.
Questions about the project? Please contact Corinne Swanson, School Programs Manager, at cswanson@connecticutmuseum.org or call (860) 236-5621 x209.
About The Project
The Connecticut Museum of Culture and History received a Museums for America grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to fund this project in our efforts to develop these teacher materials. Once completed, these digital resource packs will be available online, free for all educators to use with their students. Our goal is that these packs will amplify the voices, history, and contributions of Black and Latino people in Connecticut, and support teachers in, as the Connecticut Social Studies Frameworks strongly suggest, “using local and state history wherever and whenever possible.” This project began in September 2022 and will be completed in September 2024.
