Website Spotlight: A Day in the Life of Thomas Jefferson

Website URL: http://www.monticello.org/site/jefferson/day-life-thomas-jefferson

Procedural Note: In each section below, there will be little black boxes to click on for other neat items: Dig Deeper, At-Home Activity, Fun Fact, Personality Profile, Design and Decor, and Modern Monticello.

Here are the sections:

A. I Rise with the Sun

http://www.monticello.org/site/jefferson/i-rise-sun

Jefferson's alcove bed
Record-keeping
Morning preparations
Mechanical inventions

B. Drudging at the Writing Table

http://www.monticello.org/site/jefferson/drudging-writing-table

A modern office
    Jefferson's copying machine
A full and genuine journal
Stepping away from the table

C. Our Breakfast Table

http://www.monticello.org/site/jefferson/our-breakfast-table

Fresh from the oven
Seated around the table
Jefferson the grandfather

D. To Labour For Another

http://www.monticello.org/site/jefferson/to-labour-another

Mulberry Row
Humming with Activity
Jefferson and Slavery

E. Attending To My Farm

http://www.monticello.org/site/jefferson/attending-to-my-farm

Touring the farm on horseback (be sure to read this section)

F. Museum...in the Entrance to the House

http://www.monticello.org/site/jefferson/museum-entrance-house

Arts and politics (be sure to read this section)

G. Dinner is Served

http://www.monticello.org/site/jefferson/dinner-served

Dined at the Presidents
Half-Virginian, half-French style
Vines and wines
Vegetables...constitute my principal diet

Self-service

H. When the Flowers were in Bloom

http://www.monticello.org/site/jefferson/when-flowers-were-bloom

(Read the parts that interest you)

I. A Delightful Recreation

http://www.monticello.org/site/jefferson/delightful-recreation

Music and games
Little circle of readers
A room for celebration

J. Sanctum Sanctorum

http://www.monticello.org/site/jefferson/sanctum-sanctorum

Architecture
Science
Accounting
Reading (don't miss this section)

K. All My Wishes End...at Monticello

http://www.monticello.org/site/jefferson/all-my-wishes-end-monticello

"I wish most to be remembered" (read this part for sure)

Website Spotlight: Benjamin Franklin

Website URL: http://www.benfranklin300.org/exhibition/_html/0_0/index.htm

Chapter One: Character Matters (1706-1723)

a. A Voracious Reader
b. Silence Dogood

Chapter Two: B. Franklin, Printer (1723-1748)

a. Way to Wealth
b. At Home in Philadelphia

Chapter Three: Civic Visions (1731-1751)

a. Improving the Self and Community

"As a lifelong learner, Franklin taught himself to read French, German, Italian, and Spanish, on top of the Latin he learned as a child."

b. Protecting the Citizens

Chapter Four: Useful Knowledge (1747-1785)

a. A Society of "Ingenious Men"
b. Shipboard Amusements [see "Swimming by Kite"]
c. Electrical Fire

Chapter Five: World Stage (1744-1787)

a. Forging Unification
[Albany Congress!!]
[Glass Armonica]
b. Declaring Independence
c. Forming Alliances
d. Mastering Diplomacy
e. Creating a Constitution

Chapter Six: Seeing Franklin (1787-Today)
His unfinished Autobiography

Website Spotlight: Colonial Williamsburg

Website URL: http://www.history.org/history/

Here is the short version of the exciting material on this website:

A. Meet the People
African Americans
http://www.history.org/Almanack/people/african/aaintro.cfm

B. See the Places:

Bruton Parish Church
http://www.history.org/Almanack/places/hb/hbbruch.cfm

Capitol
http://www.history.org/Almanack/places/hb/hbcap.cfm

Raleigh Tavern
http://www.history.org/Almanack/places/hb/hbral.cfm

C. Experience the Life:

Manners—Go to the George Washington portion of this section
http://www.history.org/Almanack/life/manners/rules2.cfm

Religion: Pay particular attention to this section, with its subcategories
http://www.history.org/Almanack/life/religion/religionva.cfm

D. Clothing:

Introduction
http://www.history.org/history/clothing/intro/clothing.cfm

Women's Clothing
http://www.history.org/history/clothing/women/index.cfm

Men's Clothing: read particularly the one about "wigs"
http://www.history.org/history/clothing/men/index.cfm


***************
Here is the longer version of what can be done on the Colonial Williamsburg
website:

Let's look at what is here.

Go to Colonial Williamsburg Teacher Resources
Go to History & Education:
History, Teachers, Publications, Research

1. Select "History"

A. Meet the People
http://www.history.org/Almanack/people/index.cfm

African Americans
Colonial Children
The Geddys: A Family of Tradesmen
The Randolphs: A Family of Influence
People of Williamsburg: Biographies
George Washington
Martha Washington
Thomas Jefferson
Patrick Henry
George Wythe

See the Slideshows listed at the bottom of the Meet the People web page

B. See the Places:

Check out these ones particularly:
Bruton Parish Church
Capitol
Courthouse
Governor's Palace
Magazine
Public Gaol
Public Hospital
Raleigh Tavern
Wren Building
George Wythe House

C. Experience the Life:
Each one of these categories has several submenus:

African American Experience
Animals
Christmas
Family
Food
Gardening
Manners
Politics
Tools
Trades

Religion: Pay particular attention to this section, with its subcategories
http://www.history.org/Almanack/life/religion/religionva.cfm

Religion in Early Virginia
Religion and Revolution
Definition of Terms
Statute for Religious Freedom
Bibliography
Lesson Plan: "Acrimony in Bruton Parish Church"

D. Clothing:
Several of these articles will interest you

E. Gardens

F. Fifes and Drums
Instruments
Costume History

G. Conferences, Forums, and Workshops

H. Animals

I. Tour the Town
http://www.history.org/visit/tourTheTown/

J. Send an E-Postcard


Kudos and website reviews:

Colonial Williamsburg
http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/7052/

Colonial Williamsburg
http://teachinghistory.org/history-content/website-reviews/23268

Best of History Web Sites: http://www.besthistorysites.net/

Website Spotlight: Spy Letters of the American Revolution

Website URL: http://www2.si.umich.edu/spies/index-about.html

Major categories are on the left sidebar:

1. Letters

Scan through this Gallery to see which ones interest you.

2. Stories

a. Concentrate on the section "The Infamous Benedict Arnold"

Read each of the articles, particularly the one entitled "Selling West Point"

b. Under "Women Spies," click on "Miss Jenny"

Read the article

3. Methods

Read each of the six items

4. People

Read the bio on Benedict Arnold

5. Routes (skip this section)

6. Timeline (this section is well done)

~~Kudos and Website reviews:

Spy Letters of the American Revolution
http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6076/

Spy Letters of the American Revolution
http://teachinghistory.org/history-content/website-reviews/23159

Best of History Web Sites: http://www.besthistorysites.net/


~~On my Learning Professor wiki, this website fits within the following U.S. History survey course module:
http://thelearningprofessor.wikispaces.com/Revolution

Website Spotlight: Boston Massacre

Website URL: http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/bostonmassacre/bostonmassacre.html

Introductory Note:

Welcome to one in a series of posts which spotlight quality websites that I use with my U.S. History survey course students at Azusa Pacific University to enrich the regular material in our learning modules.

In this post, I limit myself to those specific aspects of the website which I find fit particularly well within our face-to-face class sessions (each student is required to bring a laptop to class) or as the basis for the students' regularly-assigned written reactions.

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I ask the students to work through the following links:

Overview essay by Douglas Linder: "The Boston Massacre Trials: An Account"
http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/bostonmassacre/bostonaccount.html

Key Figures
http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/bostonmassacre/keyfigures.html

Two Private Hughs: Hugh White and Hugh Montgomery
John Adams
Crispus Attucks
Acting Governor Thomas Hutchinson
Captain Thomas Preston
Samuel Adams
John Hancock

Soldiers' Trial Account
http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/bostonmassacre/soldiersaccount.html

Summation of John Adams for the Defense
http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/bostonmassacre/adamssummation.html

Paul Revere's Engraving of the Massacre
http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/bostonmassacre/massacrereverelarge.jpg

Diary entry of John Adams concerning his involvement in the trial
http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/bostonmassacre/diaryentries.html

~~For reviews of this website:

History Matters (The U.S. Survey Course on the Web)
http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/4908/
TeachingHistory.org (National History Education Clearinghouse)
http://teachinghistory.org/history-content/website-reviews/14636

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Concluding Note:

I hope you will use this blog post in conjunction with both the modules on my Learning Professor wiki and the numerous other posts in my Website Spotlight series.

1. The website spotlighted in this post fits within the following U.S. History survey course module on the wiki:
http://thelearningprofessor.wikispaces.com/Revolution

2. The other blog posts in my Website Spotlight series--chronologically displayed by U.S. History survey course module-- can be found on this wiki page:
http://thelearningprofessor.wikispaces.com/WEBSITE+SPOTLIGHT