2010 Trip to Washington DC

During the school year 2009-10 the 5th – 8th grade studied The American Revolution. We read and studied source documents and reenacted actual events that took place during that time in history. We watched and discussed documentaries and movies, dressed up as real famous people and attended a tea party in the midst of the war, studied and then wrote our own constitution, and visited the Colorado State Capitol. Mainly we heard stories, from both sides of the war, and learned as much as we could about what it must have been like to live then. We then transferred our understanding to the present to experience history as a living presence.

In April we all went to Washington DC for 6 days. We stayed in Arlington, within walking distance from the Arlington Cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial, which we visited as soon as we arrived (in the evening). We decided which memorials and museums we wanted to visit, and also spent time at Mt. Vernon, as we all wanted to see where George Washington lived. The students had also studied Shakespeare all year long, performing “A Midsummer’s Night Dream” at Christmas, and getting ready to perform an original musical rewrite of “Macbeth” in May. So we got all dressed up and went to the Folger Theater to see “Hamlet.” It was an amazing trip….not one argument, lots of laughter, collaborative learning, getting ourselves around on the metro, and getting deeper with our knowledge of American History. Below are some of the photos from our trip.