Colonial Williamsburg Visit
Teaching American History Conference at
MSU-Moorhead, MN
February 12 & 13, 2008
DAY 1
8:00 a.m. Registration and Continental Breakfast
8:30 a.m. Introduction and Welcome
—Exploring Jamestown
—Meet an Englishman who traveled with John Smith to explore the Chesapeake Bay. Discover the challenges he faced living in this new land. Willie Balderson
9:15 a.m. Break
9:30 a.m. Missions to America
Discover the challenges of early English, French, and Spanish explorers and the challenges faced by Africans who came to the new world against their will. Bill Fetsko
10:45 a.m. Break
11:00 a.m. Using Primary Sources to Explore Native Americans in History
Discover ways to analyze and evaluate primary sources highlighting 17th -century Native Americans. Learn instructional strategies for use in your classroom to encourage students to investigate and bring the past alive. Molly Kerr
12:00 p.m. Lunch
1:00 p.m. Early Map Making
Meet an 18th-century surveyor and learn his trade. Willie Balderson
1:45 p.m. Break
2:00 p.m. Using 17th- and 18th-Century Maps to Explore the Virginia Frontier
Explore 17th and 18th-century maps using an interactive CD – ROM. The maps date from 1587 to 1782, and provide an intimate look at the struggles and ambitions of America’s colonists. Molly Kerr
2:45 p.m. Questions and Answers
3:00 p.m. Summarize and Conclude
DAY 2
8:00 a.m. Registration and Continental Breakfast
8:30 a.m. Introduction
Meet George Washington and discover how George Washington’s younger years shaped his future. Discuss his views of the early Republic and the forming of our nation. Kevin Grants
9:15 a.m. Break
9:30 a.m. Bringing History to Life with Biographies and Technology
Examine the daily lives of 18th-century Virginians from the gentry to the middling sort to slaves using a variety of primary sources, including resources available on the Internet. Molly Kerr
10:30 a.m. Break
10:45 a.m. Interpreting Controversial Issues: Daily Life of Free and Enslaved African Americans in the 18th Century
Examine the institution of slavery and its pervasive influence on the lives, fortunes, and values of both colonial Virginia and the entire nation. Participate in classroom strategies on ways to deal with the controversial nature of this subject. Shelia Arnold
12:00 p.m. Lunch - Multiple Cultures, Multiple Expressions: Eighteenth-Century Dance, Music, and Storytelling
Discover how the performing arts involve students in a variety of ways to learn about the social, political, and economic life of the eighteenth century. Sheila Arnold
1:00 p.m. Land of Diverse Peoples
Discover the contributions of the individuals who populated Colonial America, from the Native Americans who had lived here for thousands of years, to the African slaves who were brought here against their will, to the Europeans who came to settle a new land – all of whom contributed to making America a unique nation. Bill Fetsko
2:00 p.m. Break
2:15 p.m. Meet George Washington and Ona Judge
During George Washington’s career in public service, his opinions on the institution of slavery changed. Investigate his views on slavery and freedom as you witness a scene between Washington and Ona Judge, his wife’s slave, who successfully escaped to freedom. Kevin Grants and Sheila Arnold
3:15 p.m. Summarize, Questions and Answers
3:30 p.m. End