Maine Humanities Council

National Endowment for the Humanities

The NEH offers “the best of the humanities on the web” for teachers at EdSITEment. Lesson plans and links are categorized by subject area and grade level. Search the main NEH page for seminars and workshops for teachers, grant opportunities, and updates on the We the People initiative.

Lesson Plans

The Smithsonian and PBS are two excellent sources for lesson plans in the humanities. Many of the museums and historical societies in Maine have also developed lesson plans. See, for example, the three arts-integrated curricula from the Portland Museum of Art and the growing collection of web-based curricula from the Portland Harbor Museum.

Children’s Literature

The Council’s Born to Read program has a list of children’s literature resources such as the Cooperative Children’s Book Center and “Book Links” magazine. It also offers a new book list on a different theme every month. Another well-regarded children’s literature resource is The Horn Book.

Networks

The Maine Humanities Council is part of the Maine Social Studies Network (the other members are listed below). Similar networks of teachers in the state include the Maine Council for English Language Arts and the Maine Classical Association.

Libraries

Many Maine schools are lucky enough to have their own libraries and/or media centers. Don’t forget public libraries, though, with their unique collections and events. Online, explore MARVEL!: Maine’s Virtual Library, which provides free access to newspapers, encyclopedias, and databases from Maine and beyond.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The Maine Humanities Council is proud to have one of the nation’s experts on Longfellow, Charles Calhoun, on staff. Read his biography of the poet, then bring your students to the Wadsworth-Longfellow House in Portland. The Maine Historical Society’s comprehensive Longfellow page includes curricula developed by teachers in the Council’s two-year “Longfellow & the Forging of American Identity” program.

Wabanaki Studies

The Maine Department of Education has compiled resources to help teachers comply with LD291, the legislative act that requires Native American Studies to be incorporated into the curriculum in all Maine schools. In addition, the Maine Humanities Council funded a series of workshops and curriculum kits developed by the Penobscot Nation Cultural and Historic Preservation Department.

Maine Encyclopedia

This collection of 1,800 articles on Maine places and people was edited by James S. Henderson, Ph.D., director of the Maine State Archives. It is available in every public library in Maine, as well as many schools.

Founded in 1822, the Maine Historical Society is the third oldest state historical society in the United States. The MHS is located in Portland, but its education and outreach programs have a statewide reach. It is the force behind the Maine Memory Network.

Since 1977, the World Affairs Council of Maine has been a leader in public education around international affairs, foreign policy, and other world issues. The WAC collaborates each year on the Camden Conference, which students can attend at a discounted rate.

• Holocaust & Human Rights Center of Maine
• KIDS Consortium
• Maine Council for the Social Studies
• Maine Department of Education
• Margaret Chase Smith Library
• Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center
• Maine Geographic Alliance
• Old Fort Western
• Penobscot Indian Nation Cultural & Historic Preservation Department
• Penobscot Marine Museum
• Maine Law & Civics Education