Lesson Plan Topic

 I will be doing my lesson plan on “Growing up in Colonial America, A child’s perspepective.” A day in the life of a child in Colonial America.

1st order Document: John Adams Diary that he started when he was 11 years old: Source of the document the Massachusetts historical society website.

2nd order: There are other documents and letters both on that website and some of the other ones we were told about on the trip which have letters that were written by children as well as several pieces of artwork featuring children that I saw at the Peabody Essex museum that I could use.
Middle school level Brian Repola

Saying Goodbye

Although I am dead-Dog tired and miss my family badly I am sad and can’t believe this trip is over. Although I didn’t get to know all of you as well as I would have liked I did like getting to know you at least a little bit. You are a great group of teachers and I know for a fact your students are very lucky to have you as their teachers. Wow I can’t get over this trip and can’t believe everything that I got to do and experience, I don’t think it will really hit me until I have been home for a few weeks and after I look at these pictures. I really think it will hitall of us when we get to teach our kids and use all this new information and resources that we didn’t have before. I can’t wait now to look in my text book and go wow I’ve been there oh and there oh and there too I also want to thank Jonathan, Matt, and Scott for all their hard work. To all of my new freinds I made on this trip take care, have a great summer and hopefully see you in Philly next summer!!!!!!!

The rise and fall of Industry in Lowell Mass.

Today was our last stop on this whirlwind tour of the Boston area. We got the opportunity to visit a town which had a lot of firsts in our country when it comes to industry. The thing that first struck me was just how many large buildings left over from the textile mills are still in town today. These buildings are massive in size and scope and I can see jsut building one of these mills let alone all of them must have been quite an undertaking. I enjoyed touring the museams as well as the video presentations, the streetcar/trolley ride and i especially enjoyed riding in the boat upto the lock house and the gate house. It boggles my mind to imagine 200 machines in one room and all running at once. Also after doing the little experiment with the hands on water system it’s impressive what they where able to create so long ago.

It’s a town that never gives up and keeps on recreating itself over and over again and I do hope eventually they find their nicch

There is one last thing I’d like to say, I know in our newspaper the subject of water especially in the fountain creek is always brought up when it comes to how clean it is and how contaminated it is. I have to be honest although our guide Seth says the river is considered to be a class b waterway I have a tough time believing it, the water looks pretty scary to me and after seeing all the trash both at the gatehouse and in town I’m notso sure how clean it really is and I question why its not cleaned up more regularly. I realize they use the water for generating electricty but they should clean up or tidy up or make the waterways less industrial and more natural and maybe even send water back in the Rivers original bed. I am not a tree-hugger but I do know that for as good as water has been to them and provided everything they needed maybe they should give back now to mother nature.

It’s the Declaration of Independence !!!!! not the Constitution

Today we were very fortunate to have Dr. Pauline Maier the author of one of our required books for this class American Scripture Present to us. She was an excellent speaker and once again I wasi n awe of the documents we had in front of us and that we had the opportunity to touch and hold. I did love her presentation and i did agree on many points that she made, but I didn’t agree on one point. I would be deeply saddened if we were to lose the actual original Declaration of Independence, not because it an old peice of priceless paper, but because of the fact I know some of the greates t Americans who ever lived signed that piece of paper and because we don’t have a picture or video actually seeing them do that the only thing we do have is that precisous piece of paper.

In the afternoon we went over some more primary resources and got a look at an amazing website they are working on and I was impressed and can’t wait to let me students at it.

I conclude today with this. In 200 hundred years will there be teacher’s like us looking at our blogs, and emails and jump drives and studying them as primary sources for what happend in the year 2007? Makes you wonder??????????

Freedom Trail part 2: Paul Revere, Bunker Hill, and Night at the Museum

Today was our second day exploring the Northern part of the freedom trail. We started out the day at the Paul Revere Home/Museum and got a chance to see the oldest and one of the most famous homes in all of Boston. I am once again so so grateful that before someone tore it down that the Rever home was saved from destruction. I enjoyed the educational presentation, as well as the tour of the house. We then proceede to the infamous Old North Church and got to see where Revere had his friend hang the two lanterns.  

We then went on to have a wondeful Italian lunch in North Boston which is known for its italian food and I’m glad we took part. Being that I am a quarter Italian I had to do it.

After we ate lunch we took the long and very cold walk up to the Bunker Hill Memorial. The lecture there was much too long but for as tired as I got during the lecture it doesn’t hold candel up to how tired I was after climbing tothe top of the memorial. Don’t get me wrong the view was awesome but I almost quit and went back down twice and my thighs are still killing me today. We then got a sneeek peek into the new Bunker Hill museum that wan’t going toope up until Thursday and we got to see it even before the Mayor of Boston did. It was very nice and I loved the walll that showed the art work submitted for other desigs for the monument that was turned down. I alos loved the oh, oh well the rest of you know what it called the little map with all the little people and the lights and the sound and the narrative in the words of one of the Bostonian kids who were at the Momument it was “Wicked-Awesome” and with the way kids like to build models i think a hands on project like this done by kids might be fun.

Next we got to go on a great sidetrip to the USS Constitution “Old Ironsides” and that was a treat. What an amazing warship it never lost a battle 33-0 thats quite a winning percentage . 

Lawrence and I ended or day by not going to the ballgame but by going to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and to make it even better it was completely free “Wicked-Cool”. They had an amazing collection of early American art, egyptian artifacts and pieces from all over the world. Lawrence and I had a great time and got to see some amazing pieces and it was a definite change of pace for us. We finished out the night watching the last 4 innings of the ballgame in a Restraunt near the ballpark  and caught the bus after the game. Way to go Rockies. Until tommorrow Brian

| View Show | Create Your Own

Day 9 Freedom Trail Part 1 and a Ferry Ride

I realize the point of this grant and this trip is to make us better teachers of U.S History and as I said before it has more then done that, but as i get more and more info on specific events I feel so bad for my prior studnets and fell they got the generic version of the Revolutionary War from me and now my future students will be getting the World’s greatest unit on this time period. My only concern is now that I have so much more info and resources that the Revolutionary war will take weeks to cover all of this new info, which I unfortunatley can’t be doing so I need to find a way to smuch all of this info into a managable amount of time. I digress and need to limit my runon sentences and get to the meat of the day.

To begin with I loved the lecture on the Boston Massacre by Dr Allison what an amazing lecture that was, I will try my best to emulate him when I teach my kids, I loved the way he painted a picture for us through his lecture, and he is very animated which I love. Next I got the opportunity to try my best to be Perry Mason and take on the role of a lawyer in a mock trial of the Boston Massacre.As I said before I have done this in the classroom and my kids loved it. I am so glad we got this lesson bcause unfortunately 4 years ago when I changed rooms at Vineland I lost the book that had those mock trials in itso it a treat to find at least one of them again. I also got a kick out of that debate in the Old South Meeting house, once again something I will be able to use somewhere along the road. We ended the day in another amazing site Faneuil Hall what a beautiful place.

 We finished out the day by opting to take the Salem Ferry home instead of the Bus. A great idea and an experienceI won’t soon forget. Hope you guys enjoy the pictures. Until tommorow.

| View Show | Create Your Own

Day 8 Massachusetts historical society

We finally got into downtown Boston Yeahhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  It took us several days, but today we finally got into dowtown Boston what a site and what a place. We started out with a lecture on the French Indian wars by Dr. William Fowler. He was an impressive speaker and I really enjoyed his knowledge of maps and geography. We then got a tour of the building and talk about seeing some paintings I had never imagined seeing and to realize that some of them were the originals that I saw as a kid in my old history texts is amazing. Next we got an opportunity to seesome primary documents that truly let us sense the feeling of the colonists at that time as well as the opinions of the newspapersin the Boston region. The highlights for me like many of you was seeing one of 25 original copies of the Declaration of Indpendence, what an honor. Then we got some explore time in downtown and that was fun looking forward to the Freedom trail tomorrow.

Whats missing????????  well now you can see even Mr. Computer geek is human I had no batteries yesterdayso I have no pictures or slideshows or videos to share . So until tommorrow take care. Brian 

Day 7 Lexington and Concord

We started out the day with a tour of the Hancock-Clarke house, Our guide was excellent and to be quite honest the best of all the guides we had in Lexington at least. He had amazing story telling skills and much knowledge of the items in the house. I could almost picture Hancock refusing to leave without his salmon dinner coming with him. I read Lawrences post before writting my own for this day, and he is right we did walk today on some of the most important sitesin our countries history ans every story needs a good begining and today we got a great one on the Revolutionary war. The Minute men memorial, Bloody Angle, and the old North Bridge were all places which all lived upto their billing at least for me.

As I continue into the revolutionary war I am faced with an internal dilema that I never really thought of until we started getting such an indepth lok into this. One my farthers side of the family my grandmother was a “Blue Blood” and her family dated back to the Daughter’s of the American Revolution. on the other side of my family my mother is English and from London and she believes she did have some family in the British military and its very possible one of my ancestors on that side of the family may have been a Redcoat. So wouldn’t it be Ironic if at some point during the Revolution by sides of my family meet up on the batle field. I will have to look into this.  More on this later. Brian

| View Show | Create Your Own

Day 6 Old Sturbridge Village (Swedish Chef’s and Whip Cream)

Wow, Wow, Wow, what a place!!!!! What a fun day. Let me Digress and explain my excitement. Since I was a little kid not much older then my son Kyle I have been going around colorado to different tourist attractions that deal with our history. Some are very good and do look authentic but none hold up a candle to Sturbridge Village. What a great place and how I wish I could bring my kids to a place which truly does put education first and bring history to life. The program they have here is one I wish places like Buckskin Joes or Bent’s fort would take a page from. Either of those places could build an education center and do similar things with kids like they do here.

| View Show | Create Your Own

My day at the village, I can’t help but think of being at my grandparent’s watching Little house on the Prairie ( I know your saying why did you watch that, it was better then bubbles and Lawrence Welk don’t tell me none of you don’t know exactly  what I’m talking about) when I saw the working Saw mill, that was just amazing as was the other mills they ran for us today.

The best part of the day was Getting to cook using a fireplace like they did in the 1830’s  and boy did our group have fun. From bad sweedish chef impersonations to whip cream going everywhere the laughs and the food were great. Thanks for another great day everyone. Brian

Day 5 Maine: Forts, Lighthouses and Lobster

 
| View Show | Create Your Own

Today we got a chance to get out of Salem and Mass. and go on up to Maine to see some Colonial settlements that I never even knew about until today. To begin with one thing I would be sharing with my students geography wise is how much closer the states are here in this part of the states. It was amazing to me that we drove in three different states Mass., New Hampshire and Maine in less then two hours time. In Colorado you can drive for 10 hours and still be in Colorado.

 I loved the time we spent at Fort William Henry and could have spent hours there. What a beautiful sight and Dr.Harris thank you so much for letting us visit and eat lunch at the Light House, what a treat and talk about beautiful. Although we did see some  multimillion mansions across the bay Pemaquid Maine still seems untouched by time and it wasn’t hard to imagine and see in my imagination those first fishermen there.

 I loved the cannons and guns and feel of old fort Western Although it unrelated I felt like I was in the movie the last of the Mohicans. I enjoyed the walk along the Kennebec River I can’t get over all of the water out here.

 Although I did not shop in Freeport Maine I do have to say I did have an Authnetic Maine Lobster dinner and the food and friends were wonderful.  Another great dayon a trip that is so much more then just Boston. Enjoy the pics below.

Brian