Fellows will receive and review three American Institute for History Education CD-ROMs each year. Each CD corresponds with the topics of the respective colloquia or summer institute. The AIHE CD-ROMS are a rich resource, with each containing twelve elementary lessons, twelve middle school lessons and twelve high school lessons that directly correspond with the topics discussed by historians at the Fellowship sessions. The CD lessons can be easily infused into any American History curriculum. The lessons are also complimented by the lessons that teachers create in the Fellowship and by Cicero tm.

The first CD is entitled The Roots of the American Nation. The Roots of the American Nation explores various aspects of pre-Revolutionary political thought and traditions. On this CD, the article “Binary Paideia throughout History” investigates the tradition of republican government back to the ancient Greeks and Romans up to the teachings of John Locke. Corresponding lessons connect the ancient traditions with the modern understanding of republican government, through the use of the Binary Paideia approach to teaching history.

Other sections of The Roots of the American Nation CD explore examples of English antecedent primary documents and some colonial charters that greatly contributed to the American understanding of government and the understanding of natural and traditional rights of citizens. The CD also reviews examples of colonial social and religious culture. The Roots of the American Nation CD gives Fellows an overview of the colonial period that will greatly enhance their students’ understanding of subsequent historical events, such as the Revolution, the Declaration of Independence, and the creation of the U. S. Constitution. In addition, all (including those teachers not in the Fellowship) consortium American History teachers will have access to the lessons online. Later replication sessions will show all consortium American History teachers how to use the CD-ROMs.

Other CD-ROMs cover the Birth of Liberty: The Declaration and the Revolution; The Creation of the United States: The Constitution; Antebellum America: The Agrarian South and the Industrial North; The Civil War; Immigration, Industrialization, and World Power; World War I; World War II and The Cold War and Terrorism.