textbook assignments
![]() Elisa Carbone: Blood on the River
Blood on the River is based on the true story of Samuel Collier, a young man who serves as an indentured servant to John Smith in the Jamestown colonies. Participants will read the entire text, when finished they will follow the instructions provided below to write a brief summary, and create an illustration which includes a 10-15 word synopsis of their selected portion of the text. Illustrations and summaries will be shared during the field seminar. Due April 25th ![]() Stephen Waldman, Founding Faith
Participants will read Stephen Waldman's text "Founding Faith" They will write, and post a response essay addressing the following "Stephen Waldman attempts to tackle three key questions regarding Freedom of Conscience, specifically, why do we have religious freedom? How did it happen? How do we preserve and treasure it? Use evidences provided throughout the text to answer these three questions. Essays should include your own interpretation, beliefs, insights, ideas, and teaching strategies etc. related to the questions presented by Waldman in the text. Response essays must be posted on or before April 4th. Participants will respond to a minimum of three of their peer's posts within the Founding Faith blog on or before April 11th. ![]() Revolutionary Mothers
Assignment: Read the entire text. Use the content to create a Similarites and Differences activity. Select a minimum of five 'voices', individuals or groups of individals from the text to highlight. Select a Similarities and Differences activity (you may use one from the list provided and/or select one that best suits the assignment for you). Compare their stories using your selected format. If choosing your own format, be sure that the format compares and contrasts multiple voices from the text. When finished upload your final assignment using the link on the Revolutionary Mothers homepage on or before March 14th. Bring a hard copy of your comparative assignment to share during the field seminar ![]() Common Sense
Participants will understand the primary arguments for Revolution as enunciated by Thomas Paine in the pamphlet “Common Sense”. They will create a online pamphlet/ magazine or website that uses research based instructional strategies to identify his primary arguments and their relevance today* When finished upload your final assignment using the Common Sense homepage on or before May 23rd Bring a hard copy of your comparative assignment to share during the field seminar ![]() Kick Off Chalk Talk
Instructions: All participants will read David McCullough's "Knowing History and Knowing Who We Are", and listen to the podcast entitled "A Founding Contradiction: Thomas Jefferson's Stance On Slavery" The article and podcasts are accessible via the web link below. Each participant will identify 2/3 of their favorite quotes, ideas etc.. found within each of the readings and/or podcast and write why (briefly) this quote, idea appeals to them. In addition participants will respond to a minimum of three of their peer's posts within each online Chalk Talk. |
![]() Alan, Taylor, American Revolution: A Continental History, 1750-1804
Prior to the field seminar participants will read their selected portions of the text and identify the five-ten most significant events that occurred during the era they chose during the Pre-field Seminar February meeting. Participants will complete the forms entitled “A Timeline of the American Revolution”, FOR EACH SEPARATE EVENT highlighted. The form will be shared digitally on the website AND with all members of the seminar. Each event must include a headline, a synopsis, an evaluation and a video or photo that best encapsulates the event. Forms inputted online will be downloaded, evaluated and graded on May 9th. Completed timelines will be referenced during the field Seminar. ![]() David Waldstreicher: Slavery's Consitution
Participants will read David Waldstreicher's text "Slavery's Constitution" They will write, and post a response essay addressing the following What is Waldstreicher’s stance in the debate outlined above (see blog)? Specifically, according to him, how did slaveholders learn of their need to control the state, and how did that shape the Revolution, the drafting of the Constitution, and the ratification of the Constitution? Is his argument persuasive to you? Why or why not? Use evidences provided throughout the text to answer the questions. Essays should include your own interpretation, beliefs, insights, ideas, and teaching strategies etc. related to the stance presented by Waldstreicher in the text. Response essays must be posted on or before April 4th. Participants will respond to a minimum of three of their peer's posts within the blog on or before April 11th ![]() Revolutionary Characters
Assignment: Read the entire text. Use the content to create a Similarites and Differences activity. Select a minimum of five 'voices', individuals or groups of individals from the text to highlight. Select a Similarities and Differences activity (you may use one from the list provided and/or select one that best suits the assignment for you). Compare their stories using your selected format. If choosing your own format, be sure that the format compares and contrasts multiple voices from the text. When finished upload your final assignment using the link on the Revolutionary Characters homepage on or before March 14th Bring a hard copy of your comparative assignment to share during the field seminar
![]() Research Paper & Final Lesson:
Prior to the field seminar participants will select a subject related to the seminar, they will research, write and share a paper about their subject, including best strategies for teaching the subject in the classroom. Participants should prepare a lesson idea topic of their choice, related to the Founding Generations & Founding Principles Field Seminar using best strategies. Participants should be prepared to share their project with the directors for publication prior to the final meeting; as such, please ensure submitted work is not copyrighted. |

Reflective Journal
Participants will keep a journal of their personal reflections, learning, and experiences during the travel seminar. Reflective Journals will be completed during the seminar. They will be checked the final day of the seminar.
Participants will keep a journal of their personal reflections, learning, and experiences during the travel seminar. Reflective Journals will be completed during the seminar. They will be checked the final day of the seminar.
Teachers please bring hard copies of the following assignments to the field seminar in june:
- Private Yankee Doodle- Guided reading notes. See below for more information.
- Revolutionary Characters- Similarities & Differences Activity. See below for more information.
- Revolutionary Mothers- Similarities & Differences Activity. See below for more information.
- Common Sense: Layered Pamphlet/ Magazine. See below for more information
- Bring your Reflective Journal provided by Driven2Teach
- Bring your Driven2Teach Mid-Atlantic Binder with copies of the handouts provided during the opening seminar
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Additional Texts recommended by our content experts
For excellent scholarship on the Jefferson – Sally Hemings thing both as a political scandal and as a reality, and the Hemings family in general, check out these two books by Annette Gordon-Reed: The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family (W.W. Norton, 2008); and Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy (University of Virginia Press, 1997)
For more on the Loyalists, this is the best place to start: Maya Jasanoff, Liberty’s Exiles: American Loyalists in the Revolutionary World (Alfred A. Knopf, 2011)
For more on the American Colonization Society, there’s a lot but this is a good place to start: Eric Burin, Slavery and the Peculiar Solution: A History of the American Colonization Society (University Press of Florida, 2005)
A good recent history accounting for a much fuller range of actors in the American Revolution than the well-known elite names is Woody Holton, Liberty Is Sweet: The Hidden History of the American Revolution (Simon and Shuster, 2021)
The First Emancipator: Slavery, Religion, and the Quiet Revolution of Robert Carter
In 1791, Robert Carter III, a pillar of Virginia’s Colonial aristocracy, broke with his peers by arranging the freedom of his nearly five hundred slaves. It would be the largest single act of liberation in the history of American slavery before the Emancipation Proclamation. Despite this courageous move–or perhaps because of it–Carter’s name has all but vanished from the annals of American history. In this haunting, brilliantly original work, Andrew Levy explores the confluence of circumstance, conviction, war, and emotion that led to Carter’s extraordinary act.
For more on the Loyalists, this is the best place to start: Maya Jasanoff, Liberty’s Exiles: American Loyalists in the Revolutionary World (Alfred A. Knopf, 2011)
For more on the American Colonization Society, there’s a lot but this is a good place to start: Eric Burin, Slavery and the Peculiar Solution: A History of the American Colonization Society (University Press of Florida, 2005)
A good recent history accounting for a much fuller range of actors in the American Revolution than the well-known elite names is Woody Holton, Liberty Is Sweet: The Hidden History of the American Revolution (Simon and Shuster, 2021)
The First Emancipator: Slavery, Religion, and the Quiet Revolution of Robert Carter
In 1791, Robert Carter III, a pillar of Virginia’s Colonial aristocracy, broke with his peers by arranging the freedom of his nearly five hundred slaves. It would be the largest single act of liberation in the history of American slavery before the Emancipation Proclamation. Despite this courageous move–or perhaps because of it–Carter’s name has all but vanished from the annals of American history. In this haunting, brilliantly original work, Andrew Levy explores the confluence of circumstance, conviction, war, and emotion that led to Carter’s extraordinary act.