** CALL FOR PARTICIPATION: Congress in the Classroom® 2005 **

DEADLINE: March 15, 2005

Congress in the Classroom® --
http://www.dirksencenter.org/print_programs_CongressClassroom.htm --
is a national, award-winning education program now in its 13th year.
Sponsored by The Dirksen Congressional Center, the workshop is
dedicated to the exchange of ideas and information on teaching about
Congress.

Congress in the Classroom® is designed for high school teachers
who teach U.S. history, government, civics, political science, or
social studies. Forty teachers from throughout the country will be
selected in 2005 to take part in the program.

You will gain experience with The Center's educational Web site,
CongressLink - http://www.congresslink.org -- which features online
access to lesson plans, student activities, historical materials,
related Web sites, and subject matter experts.

Throughout the program you will work with national experts as well as
colleagues from across the nation. This combination of firsthand
knowledge and peer-to-peer interaction will give you new ideas,
materials, and a professionally enriching experience.

In sum, the workshop consists of two types of sessions: those that
focus on recent research and scholarship about Congress (and don't
always have an immediate application in the classroom) and those
geared to specific ways to teach students about Congress.

The 2005 program theme will be "Our New Congress -- the 109th."
Confirmed session titles are:

* A View from Capitol Hill
* The Importance of Teaching Democracy Appreciation
* George W. Bush's Second Term: What's in Store for Congress?
* Congress Has a Humorous Side
* How Congress Members Decide (Hint: It Looks Like a Game of
Billiards)
* Teaching Congress Through Visuals
* The Struggle to Reform Congress and Its Consequences
* The Civil Rights Act of 1964: Using Document Analysis to
Tell the Story
* How to Get Your Point Across to Congress Members
* The Dirksen Center Web Suite as a Resource for Teachers
* Congressional Insight: A Computer Simulation of a Member's First
Term in the House of Representatives, and more.

The workshop will take place from Monday, July 25 through July 28,
2005, at the Radisson Hotel in Peoria, Illinois. Teachers who are
selected for the program will be responsible for (1) a non-refundable
$135 registration fee (required to confirm acceptance after notice of
selection) and (2) transportation to and from Peoria, Illinois. Many
school districts will pay all or a portion of these costs.

The Center pays for three nights lodging at the headquarters hotel
(providing a single room for each participant), workshop materials,
local transportation, all but three meals, and presenter honoraria
and expenses. The Center spends between $25,000 and $30,000 to host
the program each year

Those teachers who are not selected for the program will have an
opportunity to register for the Web-based Congress in the Classroom
course.

The deadline for applications is March 15, 2005. Enrollment is
competitive and limited to forty. Selection will be determined by The
Center. Individuals will be notified of their acceptance status by
April 1, 2005.

Take a look at The Dirksen Center Web site -
http://www.dirksencenter.org/print_programs_CongressClassroom.htm --
to see what participants say about the program and to learn more
about the scheduled sessions and presenters.

If you are interested in registering for the Congress in the
Classroom® 2005 workshop, you can complete an online registration
form found at:
http://www.dirksencenter.org/programs_CiCapplication.htm.