Join the Massachusetts Historical Society and Concord Museum for a three-day workshop on the meaning of independence for diverse stakeholders in the Revolutionary Era, and the legacies that resulted from their work to achieve it. This workshop focuses on place-based learning and strategies for using primary sources in K-12 classrooms. This workshop seeks to explore the stories and lived experiences of communities who existed outside of U.S. governmental power structures in the late 18th-century New England region – including women, Black Americans, the Stockbridge-Munsee, and Wampanoag people.
We will analyze the various ways in which the Revolutionary War shaped the lives of these communities moving forward, and how they each sought to improve their conditions by direct appeals to the United States government. Primary sources will include petitions, military pension applications, first-person accounts, artifacts, maps, and more. They will practice object-based learning and practice close-looking techniques in museum galleries. Dr. Benjamin Remillard will join all three days of the workshop, which will include opportunities for reflection and lesson planning, to help teachers think about common themes that emerge from each site visit.
*Note for educators: This workshop will build on last summer’s workshop hosted by the MHS and Concord Museum, but may include some overlap of sources.
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Sessions will take place at the Massachusetts Historical Society, the Concord Museum, Royall House and Slave Quarters, and the Mashpee Wampanoag Museum and Old Indian Meeting House.
Each day will take place at the following site(s):
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Monday, July 13th: 9:00am-4:00pm
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Morning Session: Concord Museum (Concord)
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Afternoon Session: Royall House and Slave Quarters (Medford, MA)
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Breakfast and lunch will be provided.
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Participants will be responsible for their own transportation.
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Tuesday, July 14th: 9:00am-4:00pm
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Wednesday, July 15th: 8:00am-4:00pm
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Old Indian Meeting House and Mashpee Wampanoag Museum (Mashpee, MA)
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The MHS will provide bus transportation, water, and snacks. Participants will be responsible for lunch.
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Saturday, August 15: 10am-11:30am: Zoom session for educators to provide feedback to one another on final assignments.
Throughout the workshop, presentations and moderated reflection sessions by scholars, artists, local knowledge keepers, and MHS and CM Education staff will support teachers in identifying themes across the sites and days. Place-based learning and primary source analysis will help us to explore the various choices and decisions made by different communities and individuals in this time period, and specifically, the way that groups outside of the political sphere advocated for their rights. Our primary source work will be grounded in strategies for incorporating this history into U.S. History, Civics, and ELA classrooms.
The cost of this workshop is $100. This program is open to all who work with K-12 students. Teachers can earn either 45 PDPs or 2 graduate credits with Worcester State University (for an additional fee of $250).
We can provide lodging for two nights in the Boston area for up to two teacher participants who reside more than 75 miles from Boston. Please contact education@masshist.org for more information.