New York Explorers & the Triangle of Trade, Post Visit
This week-long unit gives students experience in research, round table discussions, and participation in a game highlighting the value of trade to the early New York colony.
Lesson Plans By Unit
From Barter to Big Business
Economic Terms
Students learn the meanings of words related to economics and trade. Then, they make posters depicting one of the words learned. Students also describe their poster and display it as part of this unit's culminating project.
How to Read a Photograph: Pre-Visit
The ability to "read" and interpret primary sources can enhance our understanding of history and the work historians do. This lesson uses photographs to help students learn these skills. It can be used to introduce a visit to Philipsburg or Lyndhurst manor or can be taught independently.
Life and Trade on a Dutch Manor, 1750 -- Philipsburg, Trip 1
The objective of this lesson is to understand how trade developed in New York. By visiting a Dutch Manor, as it would have been in the 1750's, students gain an understanding of the times. Ideally, this is the first of two trips.
What is History: Philipsburg Manor, Visit 2
Over the last several years, Philipsburg Manor has been reinterpreted from the perspective of the enslaved Africans who made it work. In a second visit to Philipsburg, students can explore what we mean by "history" and how interpretations change over time. They will also seek answers to questions they have developed since the first visit and will take more pictures. It is helpful to do the reading photos lesson in this unit first.
Life at Lyndhurst, Trip
This trip is designed to give students an understanding of what life was like at Lyndhurst in the 19th century. Visiting an older manor, such as Philipsburg, allows students to compare and contrast this period with colonial times.
Upstairs, Downstairs, Lyndhurst Trip 2
It is difficult for students to understand just what life was like for people of a different time than their own. During this visit to Lyndhurst students are divided into boy and girl groups. These groups are further divided into wealthy and servant groups. Each child experiences the life of wealthy and servant children in a19th century manor.
Writing What We Learned: Post Visit
Students write about their visits to Philipsburg and Lyndhurst (see other lessons in this unit) comparing one site to another in a newspaper format. Creating The New York Gazette can be a culminating project for this unit.