In an effort to support social studies teachers,  Hays Consolidated Independent School District and San Marcos Consolidated Independent School District has joined forces with the History Department at Texas State University to offer week long summer institutes devoted to content development and curriculum integration within the field of American History. Each institute will focus on a particular time period with attention given to various political, legal, socio-economic and cultural topics that are aligned with Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills

A primary goal of the institute is to nurture the development of the 10 ‘historical thinking benchmarks’ as outlined by the American Historical Association as critical to the effective classroom instruction of history. 

• An analysis of primary and secondary sources
• An understanding of historical debate and controversy
• An analysis of how historians use evidence
• An examination of bias and point of view
• The formulation of questions through inquiry 
• An examination of how causation relates to continuity and change
• An understanding of the interrelationships among themes, regions and per iodization
• An understanding that although the past tends to be viewed in terms of present values, a proper perception of the past requires a serious examination of the values of that time. 

Funding for this educational partnership is provided by the Department of Education's Teaching American History Grant Program