History Outside the Walls of NHS

I recently conducted my first field trip as a teacher at Norton High School. Speaking for myself, I must say it was a pretty cool experience. Speaking for the students, I think (hope) they also really enjoyed it as well. Judging by the dozens of "thank yous" I received that day and the following days in school, I think most students really appreciated getting to learn outside the walls of the school and to see actual history in person. And going to Faneuil Hall for lunch and shopping with their friends afterwards also probably helped as well.

The trip included a guided tour of a section of Boston's Freedom Trail. Some sites we visited included Boston Common, the Granery Burial Ground, the State House, the Omni Parker House Hotel, King's Chapel, the site of the Boston Massacre, the "old" State House, Boston Latin School, and of course Faneuil Hall. Our tour guides were young, enthusiastic, and had plenty of interesting facts, many of which I was not aware of. Following the tour, students got to spend an hour or so on their own at Faneuil Hall for lunch.

I'd like to thank the students for their excellent behavior. Thanks also goes out to Mr. Shanley, Mr. Barth, Mr. Duff, Mrs. Taylor, and Mrs. Young for helping me out with the trip.

My next post will include information about another ongoing project with some of my students involving a tour they are conducting for 3rd graders on Norton town history.

In the meantime, let me know if you can think of any other great field trip ideas. I would like to formulate a trip for juniors who take U.S. History II. Can you think of any cool ideas? The Holocaust Memorial and Battleship Cove are two that come to mind.