HISTORY CAN BE FUN!
Have you been to one of our programs? Would you like to write to us and tell other students about your experience? You could write a poem or draw a picture and it might end up featured on this page! email us at society@wethersfieldhistory.org or send us a letter at: Education, Wethersfield Historical Society, 150 Main Street, Wethersfield, CT 06109
Read about history!
Have you read the Witch of Black Bird Pond or attended one of our programs? Do you like to read about history? Here are some book suggestions! Check out your local library, or ask a grownup for help buying the book.
The Witch of Blackbird Pond, written by Elizabeth George Speare, is based on Wethersfield’s past encounters with witchcraft. The novel unravels the life of 16 year old Kit Tyler, an orphan from the Caribbean who moves to Wethersfield, a Puritan Connecticut town. Kit befriends an Old Quaker woman known in town as the Witch of Blackbird Pond. As her friendship develops, so do accusations of witchcraft.
you can buy the book in our shop, make sure to ask a grownup for help http://www.wethersfieldhistory.org/shop/witch-of-blackbird-pond/
Lexile: 850
When The Shadbush Blooms, written by Carla Messinger and Susan Katz and Illustrated by David Kanietakeron Fadden, portrays the lives of Lenape American Indians in the past alongside the present. On the left page you can see the way the Lenape lived in history on the right how they live today. Although the Lenape did not live in Wethersfield, the local Wongunk tribe also used the Shadbush’s blooms to know when it was time to fish and used many similar tools. This book is recommended by American Indians in Childrens Literature (AICL) and the American Library Associations.
Lexile:NC660
Are you a student? Do you have a history book suggestion that you might like to recommend to other students? Send us an email at society@wethersfieldhistory.org
Scouts
Are you a Boy Scout or Girl Scout? Maybe you belong to a different type of scouting or 4H? Would you like to do a program with us? Talk to your leader or parents and have them visit the “For Teachers” page on our website. Our programs can help you work towards badges such as the Cadette “Trees” badge, or the Boy Scouts “American Heritage Badge.”
History Games
In the 1800’s and early 1900’s a lot of mail went by train. Wethersfield mail that was being sent long distances might have made its way to larger train stations to make its way across the country. Mail had to be sorted by hand. Do you have what it takes to be a mail sorter? Find out in this game from the American Postal Museum https://postalmuseum.si.edu/activity/mail_sorting/mail_sorting_game.html
How did people get around before cars? Have cars changed over the years. People all over the United States, including Wethersfield, Connecticut, needed to think of efficient ways to get around and transport goods. Did you know the Wethersfield once had a horse drawn trolley? Try these games from the Smithsonian to learn how people and objects moved around the United States through out time. http://amhistory.si.edu/onthemove/games/
Use your skills to decode colonial handwriting samples. Can you recognize the letters? http://www.reed.edu/handwriting/
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