Welcome to our Education page for teachers. We’ve prepared sample lesson plans, suggested student projects, and a source evaluation worksheet especially for educators. We also have several helpful handouts and resources that guide you through our site.
Where to Start
Helpful Handouts and Resources
Why use diplomatic oral histories in the classroom? (pdf, doc)
Oral History Source Evaluation Handout (pdf , doc)
Suggested Student Projects (pdf)
Diplomacy Educational Resources (pdf)
Student Resource Page
History of U.S. Diplomacy Exhibit Materials (ADST/Cox Foundation)
U.S. Diplomacy: From its Beginnings to Today:
Booklet: HiRes, Small
Exhibit: HiRes, MedRes, 8.5×11
Example presentation of booklet and exhibit classroom use:
PowerPoint, Prezi, White Paper
Lesson Plans and Unit Studies
The Red Scare Unit Study (ADST/Cox Foundation)
The First Red Scare Lesson Plan (ADST/Cox Foundation) (pdf, doc)
The Second Red Scare Lesson Plan (ADST/Cox Foundation) (pdf, doc)
The Lavender Scare Lesson Plan (ADST/Cox Foundation) (pdf, doc)
Stand-alone Lesson Plans
Black Diplomats Break Barriers Lesson Plan (pdf, doc)
Codebreaker Betty Allan Lesson Plan (pdf, doc)
End of the Apartheid lesson plan (pdf, doc)
Fall of Communism in Europe/End of Cold War lesson plan (ADST/Cox Foundation) (pdf, doc)
The Greek Civil War lesson plan (ADST/Cox Foundation) (pdf, doc)
Suez Canal Lesson Plan (pdf, doc)
Tet Offensive Lesson Plan (ADST/USDC) (pdf, doc)
Looking to bring Diplomacy to your Classroom?
Here at ADST, we are creating a program that will help you bring diplomacy and the Foreign Service to your classroom. We can facilitate bringing in a former diplomat to give a presentation or as a guest speaker to talk about the Department of State, conducting oral histories, the Foreign Service, and their experiences within the Federal Government. If this is something that’s of interest, please reach out to [email protected] and we’ll work with you to make this possible.
A brief overview of our resources
PRIMARY SOURCES
Country and Subject Readers explore almost every country, international organizations such as the United Nations, and subject readers such as Women in the Foreign Service.
Oral Histories: Transcribed interviews of diplomats and their familiy members who represented America abroad.
Books and Memoirs: A collection of books and memoirs published by ADST and recommended books by diplomats that delve deeper into different subjects.
MOMENTS AND TODAY IN HISTORY AND NATIONAL HISTORY DAY
Moments in Diplomatic History: Moments highlight specific events drawing on recollections of the diplomats who were there.
Today in History: Want to know what happened today in history? Check out this page where we have a timeline of historic events for each day of the year!
National History Day: We work with NHD every year to create a webpage that addresses the year’s theme and our recommended resources.
AMERICANS ABROAD
African American Ambassadors: Celebrating African American Ambassadors and their stories
Latino American Ambassadors Highlighting Latino American Ambassadors and their stories.
Fascinating Figures: Diplomacy and foreign policy attract some of the smartest, most dedicated, and most interesting figures in every generation. ADST focuses on the fascinating people who have served the United States as diplomats.
MULTIMEDIA RESOURCES
Podcasts:In Their Own Voices (previously Poor Richard’s Podcasts), Partners in Diplomacy, and Modern American Diplomacy. Each of podcast series captures different points of view and focuses within the topic of Diplomacy.
Youtube Channel: Our YouTube channel features two series: Virtual Diplomatic Lunch series where we feature authors of diplomacy focused books, National History Day video detailing the importance of diplomacy and what ADST does, and Tales of American Diplomacy series which highlights incredible foreign service experiences.
Please cite our materials as follows: Foreign Affairs Oral History Collection, Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training, Arlington, VA, adst.org.
