Note: Prospective participants must apply for this workshop by March 1, 2020 through the Vermont Archaeology Society. Use the link below.
Course Details
| Course Name | Freedom & Unity: The Struggle for Independence on the Vermont Frontier |
| Instructors | Multiple educators from partner sites |
| Locations | Multiple partner sites including: Ethan Allen Homestead Museum Chimney Point State Historic Site Crown Point State Historic Site Arnold’s Bay Lake Champlain Maritime Museum Mount Independence Hubbardton Battlefield |
| Dates | Postponed to 2021 – Dates to be announced Fall 2020 |
| Credit | 3 optional credits through Castleton University |
| Tuition | Free |
| Size | 36 participants per session |
Course Description
In the summer of 2020, 72 educators will have the chance to immerse themselves in Vermont’s unique Revolutionary War history while gaining hands-on experience in the benefits of place-based education.
This workshop will feature an integrated program of place-based and participatory learning activities related to the events and personalities of the American Revolution at seven partnering historic sites in Vermont’s Champlain Valley:
- Ethan Allen Homestead Museum
- Chimney Point State Historic Site
- Crown Point State Historic Site
- Arnold’s Bay
- Lake Champlain Maritime Museum
- Mount Independence
- Hubbardton Battlefield
Workshop participants will follow a route, on land and water, from a yeoman Vermonter’s 18th century homestead to war, and back again. Along the way, they will encounter the landscapes, artifacts, sites, and primary sources that allow students to engage with the multiple stories and competing worldviews of frontier Vermont—and to relate them to the persisting tensions between rural and urban communities across contemporary America.
Using the backdrop of the area’s Revolutionary War Sites, teachers from a range of disciplines and grade levels (although focused primarily on grades 6-12) will delve deeply into place-based education. While on board the life-sized replica of Benedict Arnold’s USS Philadelphia gunboat and exploring the nation’s best-preserved Revolutionary War archaeological site at Mount Independence, teachers will learn firsthand the potential of place-based education at historic sites: to provide personally resonant experiences that serve as a foundation for understanding contemporary issues of regional, national, or global importance.
Additionally, participants will discover practical assignments and lesson plans for use in their own classrooms. During the week, participants will use the Vermont sites as a lens, looking back at their own schools and home areas to find the undiscovered gems in their own local histories.
Workshop participants will be eligible for continuing education units and may optionally take the workshop for 3 graduate credits (offered through Castleton University for $375).
For more information, stipend details, and instructions on how to apply, please go to: https://www.vtarchaeology.org/revsites/