Sixth AnnualColonial America Conference

for Educatorsat Fort Ticonderoga

Deborah Clarke Mars Education CenterMay 16, 2014, 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Fort Ticonderoga hosts the Sixth Annual Colonial America Conference for Educators on Friday, May 16, 2014, from9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m in the Deborah Clarke Mars Education Center. This day-long conference focuses on theperiod 1609-1783 and features presentations by classroom teachers, museum educators, and archivists.

The conference takes place on the Friday preceding Fort Ticonderoga’s Nineteenth Annual War College of theSeven Years’ War, a weekend-long seminar focused on the French & Indian War (1754-1763). Educators attendingboth the Conference and the War College receive a discount on conference registration and are eligible to earnone graduate credit through the College of St. Joseph in Rutland, Vermont.

Conference registration fee of $40 ($35 for educators also attending the War College) includes a box lunch.

Conference Schedule8:30-9:00—Registration and Coffee

9:00-9:15—Welcome and Introductions

9:15-10:00—“Large Armies of foreign Mercenaries tocomplete the works of death, desolation, andtyranny”: A Review of German “Hessians” whoServed in the American War for IndependenceThis program will address the generalities of German“Hessian mercenaries” who served during the American Warfor Independence. Focus will be made on their nation statesof origin, organization, reasons for being involved in thewar, and their feelings concerning it. Centuries-oldstereotyping will be addressed. Primary focus will be onthose Germans who served in the Northern Campaign of1777. Eric Schnitzer has been the park ranger/historian atSaratoga National Historical Park for 18 years; among hisareas of study are the people—officers, men, andfollowers—who served in the Northern Campaign of 1777.

10:00-10:45—The American Revolution through BritishEyesThis session is about the often ignored lives of Britishsoldiers in North America and their stories. Using DonHagist’s non-fiction book, British Soldiers, American War:Voices of the American Revolution, participants will analyzeup to nine biographies with primary source case studies tolearn what life was like as a British soldier. Attendees willreceive traditional and common core lesson plan strategiesand formats to adapt to their classroom. Tim Potts hastaught middle level Social Studies for 24 years at the RobertJ. Kaiser Middle School in Monticello, New York. He is theimmediate Past President of the New York State Council for

Social Studies and was elected in 2012 to the steeringcommittee of the National Council for Social Studies. Timhas presented at numerous local, state, and nationalconferences on innovative ways to teach Social Studies.

10:45-11:00—Break

11:00-12:30—Historians in the Classroom: Creating

Authentic Learning Experiences with Document SetsThis session will demonstrate how to create authenticlearning experiences for students by grouping multipleprimary sources into document sets. The document setformat consists of an essential question, historicaldocuments related to the essential question, and anassessment of student learning. This workshop will walkparticipants through a series of document sets that explorethe causes, effects, and significant events of the AmericanRevolution. Participants will be given the opportunity tocreate their own document sets, essential questions andassessments. Copies of document sets will be given to allattendees. Julie Daniels is the coordinator of educationalprograms at the NYS Archives; Jessica Maul is an educationconsultant at the NYS Archives Partnership Trust.

12:30-1:15—Lunch Break

1:15-2:00—Colonial Tea PartyHave you ever thought about what it would be like to go backin time to ask King George III how he felt when the colonistsrefused to pay his taxes, or ask John Burgoyne how he couldhave made his famous plan work? Your students will havethe chance to do just that in the Colonial Tea Party. In thisworkshop, two team teachers (one English and one SocialStudies) will walk attendees through the process of

Colonial America Conference for Educators Registration FormComplete the registration form below and return to: Educators Conference, Fort Ticonderoga, PO Box 390,Ticonderoga, NY 12883

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Confirmations will be sent by email.Fort Ticonderoga may include my name andcontact information on a handout listingparticipants.

Registration FeeAttending just the Colonial Conference, $40Attending the Colonial Conference and the WarCollege, $35 (War College Registration Formand fee submitted separately)

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Fort Ticonderoga Association ensures that present and futuregenerations learn from the struggles, sacrifices and victoriesthat shaped the nations of North America and changed worldhistory.

www.fort-ticonderoga.org

preparing students to conduct research on colonial figures,historical events that took place between 1763 and 1783,and the time period in general. Students will be engaged inreading leveled historical novels from the RevolutionaryWar period to examine the factors leading up to the waritself from numerous perspectives. Then, students will selecta historical figure who they will portray in the tea party.Leading up to the tea party, students will conduct researchand complete several activities, including a charactersketch, a colonial figure poster and poem, several historicaljournal entries, and a culminating letter of reflection afterthe tea party. So get ready to go back in time and help yourstudents understand the dynamics of this tumultuous timeperiod. Seth Harris teaches 7th grade social studies and ErinMailloux teaches 7th grade English at Shaker Junior High

School in Colonie, New York.

2:00-2:45—Early Colonial New York throughDocuments and Physical Resources: New France, NewAmsterdam, and the Iroquois ConfederacyThis session focuses on the early colonial relationshipbetween the French, Dutch, and Iroquois as witnessedthrough primary sources. Special attention will be given tothe use of documents and physical resources that arerelevant to classroom instruction. Tom Henry is a retiredteacher from the Liverpool School District. He is a formerpresident of the Central New York Council for the SocialStudies and New York State Social Studies Teacher of theYear. He currently teaches history in the Syracuse chapter ofthe Oasis program. Bill Perks is currently a social studies

Teacher ScholarshipsSince 2001, Fort Ticonderoga has providedscholarships for 60 teachers to attend the War Collegeof the Seven Years’ War. Teachers interested inapplying for a scholarship should download anapplication from the website at:www.fortticonderoga.org/learn/learning/war-college-2014.Applications are due by March 15, 2014.

teacher in the Marathon School District. He is formerly theDirector of Historical Interpretation at the St. Marie Amongthe Iroquois Living History Museum.

2:45-3:30—The French and Indian War in PennsylvaniaThis presentation will give an overview of the major militaryevents that occurred within Pennsylvania primarily from1754 to 1758. The start of the war, Braddock’s Campaign,and the Forbes Campaign will be the major focal points.David P. Miller has been employed with the PennsylvaniaHistorical and Museum Commission since 1998 and servedas the Director of Education at Bushy Run Battlefield for 11years.