Educator Professional Development
Practical, ready-to-use professional development that helps Texas teachers strengthen history instruction with TEKS-aligned strategies, primary sources, and trusted TSHA resources.
Connection to Education
TSHA's educator workshops are built in close connection with our education mission: supporting teachers with high-quality historical content, proven instructional strategies, and ready-to-use classroom materials. Each workshop emphasizes inquiry, evidence-based analysis, and meaningful connections between Texas history and student learning. Participants leave with practical tools they can immediately implement—whether they teach middle school, high school, or advanced courses.
TEKS-Aligned Resources
All TSHA educator workshops are aligned with Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) standards and emphasize skills such as historical inquiry, evidence analysis, and critical thinking. Workshops integrate trusted TSHA resources alongside nationally recognized instructional frameworks, ensuring content is both rigorous and classroom-appropriate.
Educator Workshops
TSHA currently offers three core educator workshop tracks, each designed to meet different instructional needs while remaining flexible for classroom use:
Texas History Day & Junior Historians Workshop
This educator workshop empowers teachers to confidently support students participating in Texas History Day. The session provides practical guidance for mentoring students through research, project development, and competition preparation across all contest categories.
What Educators Will Learn
- Best practices for guiding student research and project development
- How to help students locate and evaluate high-quality primary sources
- Strategies for integrating Texas History Day projects into existing curriculum
- An overview of support opportunities through TSHA’s Junior Historians program, including stipends and funding opportunities
Classroom Impact
Teaching with Primary Sources Using the Handbook of Texas
This workshop helps educators strengthen history instruction through TEKS-aligned lessons that incorporate primary sources from the Handbook of Texas and instructional methods from the Library of Congress’s Teaching with Primary Sources framework.
Workshop Focus Areas
Participants explore practical strategies for helping students analyze evidence and build strong historical thinking skills using curated, classroom-ready resources. Topics may include:
- The Texas Revolution
- The Mexican American War
- The U.S. Civil War
- Key Texas court cases
What Educators Receive
- Ready-to-use lesson plans
- Curated primary source sets
- Strategies for inquiry-based instruction aligned with TEKS
- Classroom resources adaptable for diverse learners
Teaching with the Texas Almanac Workshop
This workshop introduces educators to practical, classroom-ready strategies for bringing the Texas Almanac to life. Participants explore real Almanac data, engage with hands-on activities, and learn how to integrate this trusted reference into meaningful instruction.
What Educators Will Explore
- Strategies for analyzing charts, tables, and historical information
- Approaches for differentiating lessons to support diverse learners
- Ways to integrate both print and digital Almanac resources into instruction
- Classroom-ready activities using Texas Almanac data
Takeaways
Want to bring a workshop to your district or campus or stay up to date with education initiaives in Texas history?
Reach out to learn more about scheduling, formats, and workshop options and subscribe to our education newsletter list.
