The New York State Museum has gathered a rich selection of resources for educators to explore.

General Teacher Resources

Indigenous History and Culture

Pre-Revolutionary Colonial Era

Revolutionary Era

Slavery, Abolition and the Underground Railroad

Women’s Suffrage

Environmental Movement

Immigration

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Interpretive Themes

The New York State 250th Commemoration Field Guide offers six interpretive themes to consider. Focus has been given to the particular history of New York State, with the understanding that the state has many sites of revolutionary struggle beyond the American Revolution itself. By thinking about this commemoration beyond the American Revolution itself, we are able to consider the ever-evolving history of our state and nation over time.

• Indigenous History is New York’s History
• Choose Your Side
• Power of Place
• We the People
• Unfinished Revolutions
• Changing Interpretations of the Revolution

New York State’s 250th seeks to highlight and commemorate not just the roles of New York’s citizens during the Revolutionary War, but also the subsequent 250 years of action toward the ideals of our nation’s founding principles.

This guide for educators includes a variety of information, including classroom resources from the Office of Cultural Education at the New York State Education Department, in support of P-12 exploration related to this historic commemoration.

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Interpretive Themes

The New York State 250th Commemoration Field Guide offers six interpretive themes to consider. Focus has been given to the particular history of New York State, with the understanding that the state has many sites of revolutionary struggle beyond the American Revolution itself. By thinking about this commemoration beyond the American Revolution itself, we are able to consider the ever-evolving history of our state and nation over time.

• Indigenous History is New York’s History
• Choose Your Side
• Power of Place
• We the People
• Unfinished Revolutions
• Changing Interpretations of the Revolution

Although resources included in this guide are organized by interpretive themes, it’s important to note that many resources cross over several themes. This guide is meant to showcase classroom-ready support items from the Office of Cultural Education as a starting point to help teach the 250th.

In this interactive lesson, students learn about the economic and political status of American women in the early 19th century as a backdrop to the first women’s rights convention in 1848. At Seneca Falls, New York, the convention’s leaders issued the Declaration of Sentiments, a statement of women’s grievances and resolutions for change. Students will analyze the similarities and differences between the Declaration of Independence and the Declaration of Sentiments and then answer the lesson’s essential question: How did the Declaration of Independence inspire the women’s rights movement in the United States and influence the Declaration of Sentiments? (Grades 6-12)

Related Videos & Lessons

From PBS LearningMedia

In this interactive lesson, students will learn how David Walker, a Black abolitionist and author of the infamous publication Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World (1829), used the Declaration of Independence to promote his belief in radical resistance and the immediate abolition of slavery. (Grades 6-12)

Related Interactive Lessons:

Civil Rights Movement: The Declaration’s Influence | Interactive Lesson

Enslaved Women Seeking Freedom through the Courts | Interactive

From PBS LearningMedia

In this interactive lesson, students will learn about the ways in which various groups of people, including women, enslaved people, men without property, Jews, Muslims, and Indigenous people, sought to be represented in the values of the American Revolution that were embodied in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. When Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence that “all men are created equal,” it set the stage for unprecedented ways to imagine building a society, based on the principles of liberty and equality, where everyone could have a voice. (Grades 6-12)

From PBS LearningMedia

In this interactive lesson, students will examine the ways in which women contributed to the American Revolution. From leading economic boycotts, to fighting on the battlefield, to leading peace negotiations, women significantly contributed to both Revolutionary efforts and Loyalist causes in Revolutionary America. Students will learn about women’s economic, political, military, and social contributions as well as the personal stories of such women as Penelope Barker, Margaret Cochran Corbin, Phillis Wheatley, and Peggy Shippen. At the end of this lesson, students will be asked to write an essay to answer the essential question: In what ways did women contribute to the Revolutionary War effort, and why are their contributions important to fully understanding this period in history? (Grades 9-12)

From PBS LearningMedia

In this interactive lesson, students investigate how Haudenosaunees and Cherokees experienced the American Revolution and how their interactions with colonists shaped those experiences. Building on their understanding of various causes of the War for Independence, students evaluate the importance of land in the conflict from Native perspectives. Students explore the essential question: how did Native nations, including the Haudenosaunee League and the Cherokee Nation, experience the American Revolution, and to what extent was land central to their experience of it? (Grades 9-12)

About the Author
Meghan Selway is a freelance educator, former museum educator, 15 year classroom veteran teacher, professional development leader for teachers, and curriculum developer. She’s worked with school districts across California, PBS Learning Media, C-SPAN Education, the California History Project, the Autry Museum, and more. Her passion is to provide teachers with the resources and support to create lifelong learners in today’s youth.

From PBS LearningMedia

Learn what life was like for young children and everyday people before, during, and after the American Revolution through the experiences of Betsy Ambler, a young girl who came of age during the war. Students explore the challenges that children and families faced and how their lives were altered by the American Revolution. By engaging in this interactive, students consider the following essential question: how did everyday young people, such as Betsy Ambler, experience the American Revolution? (Grades 3-8)

From PBS LearningMedia