Freedom and Unity: The Struggle for Independence on the Vermont Frontier
NEH Landmarks of American History and Culture Workshop
A professional development opportunity for K-12 educators to learn how to teach with historic sites while meeting learning outcomes across the curriculum.
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:
Workshop Experience & Benefits
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).
Workshop Dates & Location
Two workshop sessions will be offered during Summer 2020 (for 36 teachers each):
- Workshop Session 1: July 13 – 17, 2020
- Workshop Session 2: July 27 – 31, 2020
Participants will stay in South Burlington, Vermont, and will attend workshop activities at 7 historic sites across the Lake Champlain region. A motor coach will provide transportation between the hotels and sites Monday – Friday.
Please see the sidebar menu for further details about the program of study and workshop logistics.
Stipends and Applications
Stipends of $1200 will be available for 72 participants.
Applications are due March 1, 2020. Please click here to learn more about eligibility and how to apply.
Please direct all questions to: 2020workshop@vtarchaeology.org
Sponsored by the Vermont Archaeological Society and funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.