Education Program Update

Thank you for your interest in our education programming. We recognize the importance and value of educating students about colonial history accurately and in a manner consistent with current K-12 Connecticut curriculum standards. We are temporarily placing our programs on pause to revisit and refine the curricula of our educational offerings to better serve educators and students.  

Pre-School – Grade 2

Learn about cows and sheep – both important farm animals during colonial times. Visit a colonial kitchen, make butter, and get an opportunity to card wool – common everyday tasks for 18th century colonial children. A hands-on activity about cows or sheep can be added to this program.

Duration: 1 hour 

Grades 3 – 5

Examine early American life by visiting a colonial kitchen to learn about food production, preservation, and presentation, as well as how poor sanitation and improper care of food can lead to illness. Gain an understanding of medical practices during colonial times. Two hands-on activities accompany this program: butter making and creating a sachet or scent bag. Please note, this combines our programs formerly known as Foodways and Health & Medicine.

Duration: 90 minutes*  

*Program Add-On – Colonial Games: What Children did for Fun! (Additional 30 minutes)

CSDE Social Studies Standards:

  • Grade 5
    • Early Settlements
      • Analyze the reasons for the large number of deaths in the early settlements.
      • Evaluate the role of women in early colonial settlements.
    • 13 Colonies
      • Explain the role of indentured servants and slavery in the colonies. Explain the different forms that slavery took in different regions of colonial America.
  • Grade 8
    • Pre-Revolutionary America
      • Analyze social and family structures in pre-Revolutionary colonies in New England.

Learn about the life of an everyday Revolutionary War soldier and discover Samuel Webb’s important role. Besides examining items soldiers would have carried, learn about the General George Washington, Commander of the Continental Army, and see where he slept when he stayed in Wethersfield during the War. This hands-on activity includes writing with a quill pen. Please note, this combines our programs formerly known as George Washington and Sam Webb.

Duration: 90 minutes

CSDE Social Studies Standards:

  • Grade 5
    • 13 Colonies
      • Explain the different ways that various early colonies were settled.
    • American Revolution
      • Analyze the significance of the slogan, “no taxation without representation” in the American colonies.
      • Explore the major events that started the actual conflict between the British and the colonies.
  • Grade 8
    • Revolutionary War
      • Analyze the role and contributions of Connecticut in the Revolutionary War.
    • Slavery
      • Analyze the reasons for the existence of slavery in Connecticut during this era and the relative importance of slavery in the state.

Explore the labor-intensive process of producing textiles at home and other colonial trades. Hands-on activities include carding wool and making an item from punching tin. Please note, this combines our programs formerly known as Textiles and Apprenticeship.

Duration: 90 minutes

CSDE Social Studies Standards:

  • Grade 5
    • 13 Colonies
      • Describe the economic differences between the southern and northern colonies. Identify how the geographic characteristics of the two regions affected the economic conditions in the colonies located in these regions.
      • Explain the role of indentured servants and slavery in the colonies. Explain the different forms that slavery took in different regions of colonial America.
  • Grade 8
    • Pre-Revolutionary America
      • Evaluate the relative importance of various actions taken by British in increasing tensions between Great Britain and the colonists.
    • Revolutionary War
      • Compare and contrast the attitudes of merchants, shopkeepers, farmers, women, slaves, and freed blacks toward conflict with the British.

COMING SOON! Our museum educator will visit classrooms with a history trunk for this 60-75 minute lesson intended to provide an overview of George Washington through the lens of the “Myth,” “Man,” and “General” laying a foundation for students as they explore U.S. History. Students will complete a variety of activities as they develop an understanding of our first President, culminating with the impact of planning the Battle of Yorktown with Rochambeau at the Joseph Webb House.

Grades 6 – Up

Visit the 17th century Buttolph-Williams House, the setting for Elizabeth George Speare’s Newbery Medal-winning children’s novel, The Witch of Blackbird Pond. Learn about the lives of the people who inspired the beloved characters from the novel and then walk to the Ancient Burying Ground to visit their graves. Examine gravestone markings and discover their meanings. This activity involves walking on uneven ground. 

Duration: 90 minutes

Common Core State Standards for English/Language Arts:

  • Writing Standards for Literature 6-12
    • Grade 8
      • 2: Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot; provide an objective summary of the text.
      • 3: Analyze how particular lines of dialogue or incidents in a story or drama propel the action, reveal aspects of a character, or provoke a decision.

CSDE Social Studies Standards:

  • Grade 5 Themes
    • The Impact of Science and Technology on Society
      • Evaluate how science and technology changed everyday life for Americans.
    • Globalization and Economic Interdependence
      • Analyze the causes and effects of global economic and financial crises.
    • The Impact of Geography on History
      • Analyze the movement and settlement patterns of people who immigrated to the United States or migrated within the country.
  • Grade 5 Content
    • Early Settlements
      • Analyze the reasons for the large number of deaths in the early settlements.
  • Grade 8 Content
    • Pre-Revolutionary America
      • Analyze social and family structures in pre-Revolutionary colonies in New England.

COMING SOON! Engage with Museum staff to continue the conversation about slavery in a space that does not foster blame, shame, or guilt. Develop a deeper understanding into the lives of the enslaved in 18th century Connecticut, with particular focus on those who lived and worked in the Joseph Webb and Silas Deane Houses in Wethersfield.

Duration: 90 minutes

COMING SOON! Learn about the fascinating field of archaeology! Archaeology is a discipline combining the physical sciences, history, sociology, and other fields. While archaeology boasts a specialized vocabulary all its own, our program uses a less technical approach to ensure participants will better understand and appreciate the 17th century discoveries made on the Museum’s grounds – discoveries which have added another century to our timeline.  

This program will help participants learn and define what archaeology is, discover where archaeologists work, examine the tools archaeologists use and how they study the past, and understand the role historians play in discovering about the past. Begin to think like an archaeologist by using critical thinking skills to determine how tools were used in the past by considering size, weight, material type, texture, and other artifact features. Map and record an excavation unit layer while learning how to infer what activities may have taken place, who lived there, and in which time period.

CDSE Social Studies Standards:

  • Grade 5
    • The Impact of Science and Technology on Society
      • Evaluate how science and technology changed everyday life for Americans.
    • the Impact of Geography on History
      • Evaluate the decisions of people to use land, other resources, and the overall environment to meet human needs.
  • Grade 8
    • Pre-Revolutionary America
      • Analyze social and family structures in pre-Revolutionary colonies in New England.
    • Connecticut and Local Connections
      • Analyze reasons for economic growth in Connecticut in the 19th century and ways that Connecticut contributed to the growth and expansion of the nation.

COMING SOON! Duration: 45 minutes

CSDE Social Studies Standards:

  • Grade 5
    • 13 Colonies
      • Explain the role of indentured servants and slavery in the colonies. Explain the different forms that slavery took in different regions of colonial America.
  • Grade 8
    • Pre-Revolutionary America
      • Analyze social and family structures in pre-Revolutionary colonies in New England.
    • The Revolutionary War
      • Compare and contrast the attitudes of merchants, shopkeepers, farmers, women, slaves, and freed blacks toward conflict with the British.
    • Slavery
      • Analyze the reasons for the existence of slavery in Connecticut during this era and the relative importance of slavery in the state.

questions?

For more information, please email education@wdsmuseum.org.

become a member

Members enjoy special perks at all levels. Additionally, your member dues help fund Museum programs for all ages.