American History Comes to Life at Williamsburg
Looking for a way to supplement your American history studies? Try physically or virtually visit Historic Williamsburg in Virginia. Williamsburg, officially charter in 1722 was the center of political events in Virginia leading to the American Revolution and as such does a wonderful job in recreating every detail of what life was like in colonial times.
If you’re with a home-school co-op or a teacher who’d like to take advantage of their group programs, you’ll want to start planning your trip here. You may even want to check out their web cams to see what the weather or crowds are like before going.
But what if you live too far away? In that case, take a free guided virtual tour using their interactive map of Williamsburg. Just click on the “TAKE A TOUR” button on the upper right hand corner of the website and you’ll find tour links to historic points of interest such as museums, trades, the “African American Experience”, “The Revolutionary City” and more.
Do you want to go into more depth and bring the whole experience to life? That is, do you want to be able to show live television or computer broadcasts where students can ask questions of a historian via a toll free number and where you can have on demand 24/7 Year-round video clips/teacher resources/student activities etc., then check out their virtual field trip program. Homeschoolers can get reduced pricing by using the Home-school Buyers Co-op service. You can even send a card to all your friends telling them you just got back from your virtual trip to Williamsburg.
Students can reinforce what they’ve learned through virtual jig saw puzzles, games, other features, reading up on the key people of that time or viewing artifacts through the FREE virtual museum exhibits.
Lastly, teachers or students writing papers can view and download original documents that preceded the Declaration of Independence and even download the Declaration of Independence – unedited. The version Jefferson wanted to adopt before Congress began amending and editing.
Bringing history alive by taking advantage of the various programs will help students gain a greater understanding of the roll colonial Williamsburg took during the 18th century. They will see that Williamsburg was the center of government, education and culture in the Colony of Virginia and about the founding fathers who created the democracy in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the United States.
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