Everett’s Parlin Elementary School 5th grade students (left to right) Diana Lemus, 10, Dakota Woodfill, 11, and Jason Louis, 11, play parts in a reenactment of the Battle of Bunker Hill along with Freedom Trail Player® Nate Gundy during their recent Freedom Trail® Foundation Scholars program. City of Everett schools’ program visits are sponsored by Distrigas of Massachusetts, and the program, as a whole, is presented by the Foundation and Massachusetts Teachers Association with support from the Massachusetts Society of the Cincinnati.
“Lobsterbacks, go home! Lobsterbacks, go home!” chants will be heard from down the hall as Everett’s Parlin School 5th graders take on roles during their Freedom Trail® Foundation Scholars program on Friday, February 10 at 9:00 a.m. and 10:15 a.m. at 587 Broadway Street. Presented by Distrigas of Massachusetts in partnership with the Freedom Trail Foundation, this interactive history program helps educate school children in and around Boston and throughout Massachusetts.
Now in its fifth year, the program takes our nation’s history and fight for freedom to the classroom and has impacted the lives of over 10,000 students. The Freedom Trail Scholars program is a one-hour traveling educational tool consisting of two actors taking on multiple roles to bring the major events of the American Revolution in Boston to life. The program incorporates students into the program, where they interact with the performers, read portions of important documents and declarations, and react to the historic events. A question and answer session follows the presentations. Teachers also have access to the Freedom Trail Scholars resource guide (lesson plans) and quizzes to evaluate the effectiveness of the program. Designed to match Massachusetts’ curriculum standards, it is an effective and fun way to help students learn and remember our history.
Ms. Loney, a teacher at the Phineas Bates School in Roslindale said of the program last year, “The program was right in line to what I’ve been teaching thus far. It also leads up to where I’m heading with my teaching of the subject in social studies. The children loved the actors, their stunts and lively way of presenting the material. It was very enlightening, interesting, and kid friendly. Overall, a very good show!”
Thanks to the Massachusetts Teachers Association and the Foundation, the Scholars program will make many exciting visits in 2012 in partnership with sponsors such as John Hancock Financial Services, Massachusetts Society of the Cincinnati, and Distrigas (City of Everett Schools). Organizations and companies are encouraged to sponsor Scholars program visits to schools in the communities they serve.
For additional information regarding the Scholars program, including school visits and community support, please call The Freedom Trail Foundation’s Angie Jepson, Scholars Program Manager, at (617) 357 – 8300 extension 203 or visit HYPERLINK “http://www.thefreedeomtrail.org” www.thefreedeomtrail.org.