Wow, what a day! We heard an incredible lecture this morning by Dr. Pauline Maier. I was intrigued before the lecture even began since we read her book, and it only got better as she began to speak!! Everything she said just made what I read in her book more meaningful. I loved the last thing she said, Thomas Jefferson wasn’t the creator of the Declaration, it was the creation of the American people. How true that is! She also said that students need to actually read the Constitution and study the content-if they don’t learn it in the classroom they won’t learn it. That just put it into perspective that it is my job to teach the students about how our country started and really read these documents and talk about them- not just read over them. If it isn’t taught to them, how will they every think critically and be able to analyze some of the most important documents in the history of our country.
In the afternoon the Historical Society went over some documents with us and then showed us the most meaningful website I have seen. I can’t believe we will have access to all of the documents that are on there. Not only will my students hear about these documents, but they will also have the opportunity to see them too. This is one source I am very excited to use, and I know my students will benefit greatly from it. I very much appreciate all the hard work they did that we will be able to use!
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Today we got to continue our adventures through historic Boston along the Freedom Trail. Our first stop was at Paul Revere’s House. I really enjoyed the book we read- Paul Revere’s Ride by David Fischer- so I was really excited to spend the morning focussed on him. Even though he is famous for his Midnight Ride, there is so much more to him (I never knew he was a dentist!). The activity we did where we focussed on primary documents/artifacts was a great way to really see who Paul Revere was. This is a great activity to do with students to really allow them to get a feel of who these revolutionaries were. Every day I think of new ways/ideas to help teach history to my students. Even though I am in Boston and getting to see all of these places firsthand, I am constantly thinking of ways that I can bring all of this back to Colorado so my students can get as excited about the Revolutionary War as I do- I can’t wait to share all of this with them!
After we toured Paul Revere’s house (hard to believe we were actually in his house where he lived!) we walked through the streets of the North End to Old North Church. I loved the old cobblestone streets, it was just like you were in colonial times. It was also pretty fascinating to see the Old North Church. I have read about the church and the lanterns a million times, but now I actually got to look up to the steeple and see where the lanterns were hung- hard to believe!
After a great lunch at an Italian restaurant in the North End we made the trek across the bridge to the Battle of Bunker Hill Monument. How fitting that the first organized battle in the war for Independence gets such a great monument overlooking the city on a hill. Even though the museum across the street wasn’t finished yet, it sure was fun to get to see it before anyone else (I even saw an article about it in the paper when we returned). They have done a wonderful job there. I even walked up all of the steps to the top of the Monument- more exercise then my tired body wanted, but it was a great view from the top and I get to say I have been to the top of this huge monument!
We ended our day by making a quick stop at Old Ironsides, what a beautiful ship!
It was another great and funfilled day in Boston!!!
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