Procedures

• SET UP

  This lesson offers several options for you to use with your students whether you are teaching in class, using a hybrid model, or engaging through distance learning. It can be completed in steps as a class or students can move at their own pace and complete the activities independently.

  You can post links to the videos in the lesson along with the related handout and engage in discussion to share responses on a discussion board or learning management system.

  You can also save and share the following Google resource for students to use with this lesson.

  Handout: Graphic Organizer (Google Doc).

  In Google, choose "File" then "Make a Copy" to get your own copy. You can make any needed adjustments in the instructions such as which activities students need to complete, when it is due, etc. and then make it available to them via Google.

• WARM UP

  Pose the following brainstorming questions to your students, directing them to record their responses in their graphic organizer, share with a partner, and then with the class if they choose.

  • Summarize the role(s) of historians.
  • What objects did people in the past leave behind for us to find?

• INTRODUCTION

  Play the following introductory video clip of Colonial Williamsburg curator Erik Goldstein talking about the work of historians William Louis Calver and Reginald Pelham Bolton at an event hosted by The Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia as part of their conference on artifacts from the Revolutionary War. Direct your students to answer the related questions on their graphic organizer and share their findings with a partner, small group, or the class when finished.

  Clip #1: Calver and Bolton (3:25).

  • Who was William Louis Calver and for what did he receive “some fame?”
  • Who was Reginald Pelham Bolton and for what does he leave a “legacy?” Explore one page of his book, Relics of the Revolution, at this link (Internet Archive) and summarize your findings.
  • According to Erik Goldstein, why did the two men become “besties?”
  • Based on the clip, what is History Written With Pick and Shovel? Explore one page of choice from this link (University of Virginia) and summarize your findings.
  • What is the purpose of today’s lecture, according to Goldstein?

• VOCABULARY

  Direct your students to their graphic organizers to view and define the vocabulary terms that will appear in the lesson in the chart in their graphic organizer handout. The vocabulary words are also listed to the right on this webpage. We recommend having your students define and present the terms in a jigsaw activity to save time.

  Depending on time and resources, you may consider having your students define and present the terms in a Frayer's Model activity, where each student takes one or two items. Students can then post their models around the room for reference throughout the lesson. Note: this is not an all-encompassing list of terms included in each video. We recommend you preview the video clips to determine any necessary additions/subtractions to this list for your specific students.

• BACKGROUND

  Direct students to the background section of their graphic organizers. Instruct your students to view the following video clip that provides background information on the geography and history of the Kingsbridge area of New York City. Direct your students to answer the related questions on their graphic organizer and share their findings with a partner, small group, or the class when finished.

  Clip #2: Kingsbridge (4:57).

  • According to Erik Goldstein, what area of New York City will be discussed during the lecture?
  • Based on the clip, why was the British Headquarters (HQ) far away from the city?
  • For what reason was the area named “Kingsbridge?”
  • Based on the clip, were the British defenses at Kingsbridge effective? Why?
  • Explore one of Reginald Pelham Bolton’s maps of Kingsbridge at this link (University of Wisconsin Milwaukee) and summarize your findings.

• EXPLORATION

  Direct students to the exploration section of their graphic organizers. Instruct your students to view the following four video clips that explore four Revolutionary War-era locations in New York City. Direct your students to answer the related questions on their graphic organizer and share their findings with a partner, small group, or the class when finished.

• Clip #3: 17th Regiment Hut Camp (10:39).

  • Based on the clip, how has the name of the site changed over time and how many regiments of soldiers were stationed there?
  • Describe the camp, as illustrated by John Ward Dunsmore and recorded by William Louis Calver and Reginald Pelham Bolton.
  • Why was the area a “perfect spot” for the British?
  • How has the area changed over time, according to Erik Goldstein?
  • Summarize what Calver and Bolton found during their excavation of the site and what these items suggest about the soldiers who were stationed there, as stated in the clip.

• Clip #4: Nagel House (4:30).

  • When was the Nagel House built, and why was it an “attractive spot” for British officers?
  • What objects were “uncovered” at the site by William Louis Calver and Reginald Pelham Bolton?
  • Based on the clip, who was present at the House during the Revolutionary War?
  • According to Erik Goldstein, what has since happened to the site of the House?

• Clip #5: Fort George and Camp (2:42).

  • According to Erik Goldstein, what purpose did the site serve in 1776?
  • Based on the clip, how was the site altered after capture by the British?
  • What presently sits on the site, according to Goldstein?
  • Describe the “bounty” that William Louis Calver and Reginald Pelham Bolton found at the site.

• Clip #6: Holland’s Ferry Landing (1:52).

  • Based on the clip, what was Holland’s Ferry Landing?
  • What did William Louis Calver and Reginald Pelham Bolton find that was “indicative” of a military presence there?
  • What evidence exists that the area was a “key strategic point?”
  • According to Erik Goldstein, what purposes did the Ferry serve for the British?

• ANALYSIS

  Direct students to the analysis section of their graphic organizers. Instruct your students to view the following two video clips that detail what happened to the artifacts that were recovered from the four sites. Direct your students to answer the related questions on their graphic organizer and share their findings with a partner, small group, or the class when finished.

• Clip #7: The Artifacts (5:55).

  • According to Erik Goldstein, did William Louis Calver and Reginald Pelham Bolton engage in their work alone?
  • Based on the clip, how many artifacts did Calver and Bolton discover and what often happened to these “relics?”
  • What happened in 1918 and how did this change the preservation of Calver and Bolton’s findings, according to Goldstein?
  • Based on the clip, where did many of the artifacts end up?
  • Who was Luis Fenellosa Emilio, and what role did he play in the preservation of Revolutionary War military buttons?

• Clip #8: Where They Went (3:53).

  • Based on the clip, what did Reginald Pelham Bolton contribute to the Dyckman Farmhouse?
  • What is the “showstopper” currently present at the Dyckman Farmhouse, according to Erik Goldstein? Explore one of the images in the scrapbook at this link (Dyckman Farmhouse) and summarize your findings.
  • What has been “reconstructed” in the garden behind the Farmhouse?
  • What is the Morris-Jumel Mansion, what connection does it have to Bolton, and what happened to the “relics?”
  • Where is the “lion’s share” of Bolton’s artifacts currently housed?

• REFLECTION

  Direct students to the reflection section of their graphic organizers. Instruct your students to view the following video clip that provides a wrap up to the lesson. Direct your students to answer the related questions on their graphic organizer and share their findings with a partner, small group, or the class when finished.

  Clip #9: Wrap Up (2:40).

  • Where is William Louis Calver’s button collection today, according to Erik Goldstein?
  • What has happened “within the last two years?”

• CLOSURE

  After your students are finished sharing their findings from the lesson, direct them to complete the final culminating writing prompt in their graphic organizers, and have students share their responses, comparing their perspectives with their classmates' perspectives: Having now learned about Revolutionary War-era artifacts in New York City, describe what they tell us about the past. Be sure to include evidence from the video clips in the lesson to support your argument.