Wethersfield Historical Society serves about 4,000 school children each
year with in-school and on-site programs designed for various age
levels, relating to many facets of Wethersfield history. One of the most
popular is the Witch of Blackbird Pond slide show and field trip.
The Witch of Blackbird Pond
Teacher's Resource Kit Available!
The Teacher’s Resource Kit uses maps, copies of original shipping documents
and early broadsides on witchcraft to help you transport your students to
Old Wethersfield when you can’t leave the classroom. There are bulletin board
art prints and articles to demystify Puritanism, the Charter Oak and West
Indies Trade. The kit retails for $10.00 plus $1.00 shipping and handling.
To obtain a kit, write or call the Society at 150 Main St., Wethersfield, CT 06109,
(860) 529-7656.
The Witch of Blackbird Pond
(Approx. Gr. 5)- Design your own day
with four 45 minute programs to choose from.
- Slide Program - A rich illustration of daily 17th century life in Wethersfield, including
trade, witchcraft, the Charter Oak.
- Step-on Bus Tour - Transport your
students to the sites in the story including a stop at Cove Warehouse.
- “The Story Detectives” - Students search original documents and other
primary material for evidence of the setting, character and plot in The Witch of Blackbird Pond.
- Ancient Burying Ground Tour - Students learn how to use gravestones to discover clues to colonial life.
Role Playing and Interactive Programs
Grades 5-8
- Burying Ground Adventure
- Students use gravestone art and inscriptions as a primary tool in discovering life in Wethersfield. (45 min.)
- The Civil War - A slide
program on the participation of Wethersfield and Connecticut in the War engages students through their reading aloud from letters. (45 min.)
- The American Revolution - Through this slide-illustrated program, students discover the impact of the War on life in Wethersfield and
Connecticut. (45 min.)
- Shall We Move to the Western Reserve? -
Students take on the role of a family member from Wethersfield in the
early 1800s and decide whether to move to Connecticut land that is now
in Ohio. (45 min.)
School Day, School Days
Grade 4
- Penmanship and Spelling in the One-Room Schoolhouse - Your students take the role of children in the Broad Street School of the 1890s! They practice
handwriting skills with quill pens or slate, engage in spelling bees,
and compare their experiences with those of their grandparents! (45
min., can be modified for Gr. 2)
Discovering Local History
Grade 3
- Wethersfield Architectural Walking Tour - Students learn to identify and compare several architectural features of early houses during their walk
in Old Wethersfield and learn about the Ten Adventurers.
- Wampum and
Wigwams - Students are introduced to Indian life in Wethersfield and
Connecticut through an examination of objects that reflect everyday life
among the Wongunk Indians.
- Family Life in Colonial Wethersfield -
Costumed family members describe their daily life and share objects with
students that contrast their lives with the Indians.
- Onion Maidens -
This 1968 children’s book based on Samuel Peter’s story about
Wethersfield’s “onion maidens” has been turned into a filmstrip.
Students get to plant red onion seeds or sets and take home a recipe for
red onion stew.
Hands-On Programs
Ages 2-5
- Shopping in Old
Wethersfield: Students unpack shopping baskets of objects that reveal
changes in daily life in Wethersfield. Three different programs are
offered for 1830s, 1850s, 1880s.
Pre-K Programs
- Cookies Over the Coals: Children compare the 1793
kitchen of the Capt. James Francis House with their own, cut out cookies
and bake them over the coals and eat them with juice. They also tour the
first floor of the house.
SCHEDULING INFORMATION
Many programs can be done in-school as well as
on-site here in Wethersfield. The in-school programs are available to
Connecticut students within a reasonable driving distance from
Wethersfield. The cost for most programs is $2 per student with a
minimum of $30, plus $.31 per mile. (Exception: Cookies Over the Coals,
on-site only, $4. per student.) For information and reservations, call
the Wethersfield Historical Society at (860) 529-7656 or write to: WHS,
150 Main Street, Wethersfield, CT 06109. Or send email to: Society[at]WethHist.org
Copyright 2007 Wethersfield Historical Society
most recent update 12/4/07 by Doug Simpson
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