Teachers to visit the Old State House and Old South Meeting House on October 19, 2006

On Thursday, October 19, 2006, participating teachers from Everett, Malden, Medford, and Revere, will meet with park rangers from the Boston National Historical Park at the Old State House and Old South Meeting House in downtown Boston. Here, teachers will visit and tour these historic sites famous for the Boston Massacre and the origins of the Boston Tea Party, respectively.

The day will look like this:
8:30 a.m. - meet at the Old State House in downtown Boston
9:00 a.m. - visit and tour the Old State House
11:00 a.m. - lunch
12:00 p.m. - visit and tour the Old South Meeting House on Washington Street, Boston
2:00 p.m. - Q&A and wrap up

Teachers will examine primary source artifacts and documents that are housed in these historic sites and will think about how these might be incorporated into lessons in which the teachers will create and implement in their classrooms.

Historian Seminar Series Begins with the Constitution

Voices Rising had the first of eight historian seminars today, hosted by Everett Public Schools at the Madeline English school. Bob Allison, project historian from Suffolk University led a primary source based discussion on the differing opinions held by colonists about the ratification of the Constitution. Teachers chose to focus on James Wilson's "Speech at a Public Meeting" (Philadelphia, October 6, 1781) and Mercy Otis Warren's, "A Columbian Patriot, Observations on the Constitution" (Boston, February 1788). Wilson's support for the ratification of the Constitution was contrasted by Warren's fervent opposition.

Minute Man National Historical Park in Lexington, Massachusetts

Image: Participating teachers from Everett, Malden, and Medford, are getting an experiential lesson on being a Minute Man at the Minute Man National Historical Park in Lexington, Massachusetts.

Minute Man National Historical Park offered a two-day "1775 Immersion" weekend for participating classroom teachers on September 22-23, 2006.

The weekend-long workshop began with a 25-minute multimedia presentation at the Minute Man Visitor Center off Route 2A in Lexington, Massachusetts. Teachers then trekked over to the Noah Brooks Tavern and performed a number of activities, which included making yarn and getting a lesson on what it was like to be on the front line getting ready for battle!

The following day, teachers visited other sites at Minute Man such as the North Bridge and Hartwell Tavern, and a walk along Battle Road.