2026 NCSS Teaching with Primary Sources Methods Academy - West

Registration to this event is free. Attendees will receive a certificate of completion. Register here.

Engage in inquiry using the C3 Framework and the Library of Congress’ digital primary sources at Auraria Campus in Denver, CO from July 8-9, 2026. National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) is proud to invite methods professors, doctoral students, and classroom teachers to a special free professional learning institute this summer!

The NCSS Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS) Methods Academy Institute brings together social studies methods professors, pre-service, and in-service teachers to pilot chapters from the newly released set of methods texts, Teaching with Primary Sources to Prepare Students for College, Career, and Civic Life.  Participants will have the opportunity to join a cohort of educators to develop and publish model curriculum inquiries that can be adapted for their methods courses and classroom curricula, using these free online texts and other Library of Congress resources.

 

Texts developed as part of the NCSS TPS project, Inquiry and Teaching to Prepare for Career, College, and Civic Life, generously supported by the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources grant.
 

Register Today! 
Event is sponsored through a grant from the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources program, and in collaboration with the Teaching with Primary Sources Western Region program, coordinated by Metropolitan State University of Denver, in support of Inquiry and Teaching to Prepare for Career, College, and Civic Life. Participants are responsible for travel and hotel arrangements.

Registration is FREE and spaces are limited. All social studies professionals are welcome. Sign-up now!

 

Agenda Overview

 

Wednesday, July 8 (8:30 - 5:00 PM CT): a high-level overview of the project, introduction of sample chapters from the methods text for instructional use with pre-service teachers, and in-depth how-to teach with primary sources for the Library of Congress using the online methods text under development.

Thursday, July 9 (8:30 - 5:00 PM CT): construct model curriculum inquiries using text chapters on how to teach with primary sources from the Library’s vast digital collections.

Attendees will:

• Receive an in-depth, high-level overview of the published texts.
• Explore the instructional use for curriculum integration.
• Construct social studies inquiries using digital primary sources from the Library of Congress.
• Get a certificate of completion for your time.

 

Methods Academy Facilitators
 

Tina M. Ellsworth, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor and Program Coordinator for Secondary Social Studies Education, University of Central Missouri.

Dr. Tina M. Ellsworth is an Assistant Professor and program coordinator of Secondary Social Studies Education at the University of Central Missouri. Dr. Ellsworth's scholarship focuses on history education, teaching with primary sources, inquiry-based practices, and pedagogical content knowledge for history education. Her work has been published in journals such as Social Education, The History Teacher, Social Studies and the Young Learner, and Social Studies Research and Practice as well as multiple chapters within a variety of books—including 3 chapters in the online methods text titled: Teaching with Primary Sources to Prepare Students for College, Career, and Civic Life. Prior to earning her Ph.D. in Social Studies Education from the University of Kansas, she was a high school social studies teacher in Missouri for 8 years. She resides just outside of Kansas City, MO with her husband and two children.
 

Corey R. Sell, Ph.D.
Professor, Elementary Education & Literacy

Dr. Corey Sell is a Professor and the Department Chair for the Elementary Education & Literacy Department at Metropolitan State University of Denver. Dr. Sell’s scholarship focuses on LGBTQ+ curriculum, inquiry-based pedagogy, and pre-service teacher pedagogical content knowledge. He has published work in journals such as Social Studies and the Young Learner and The Social Studies as well as multiple chapters within a variety of books—including 3 chapters in the online methods text titled: Teaching with Primary Sources to Prepare Students for College, Career, and Civic Life. Prior to earning his Ph.D. in Education from George Mason University, he was an elementary classroom teacher in Virginia for 12 years.