Colonial Williamsburg Teacher Institute
Participant Comments
"The Colonial Williamsburg Teacher Institute provided me with an opportunity that will greatly influence my teaching. While in Williamsburg, I experienced the daily lives of influential colonists and colonial leaders. I intend to take my experiences and bring them into my classroom to allow my students to experience life from the colonial perspective. After the Colonial Williamsburg experience my lessons and teaching in Early American History will never be the same". -- Rebecca Johnson, teacher, Sacred Heart Catholic School, Oklahoma City
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"One of my favorite activities during the teacher institute was visiting the trade shops in Colonial Williamsburg. The craftsmen were eager to share the way goods were produced in the 18th century. I also loved visiting Yorktown (site of the final battle of the Revolutionary War). To be able to walk across that hallowed ground reemphasized the sacrifice that was made for me and the future of my country. This was truly one of the greatest experiences of my life and especially my teaching training.” -- Kayleen Browning, teacher, Yukon Public Schools
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"I really enjoyed our day at Yorktown. The entire group of Oklahoma teachers learned the marching formation and how to load and fire a musket. I would have been so scared to have musket balls being fired at me. This drill really hit home because it wasn't someone else standing on the front line, it was me! It was amazing to be surrounded by military life and view the actual battlefield where Cornwallis surrendered to the Patriots.
My students will certainly benefit from this wonderful experience. Last year my students participated in a "Colonial Fair." They researched a colonial trade, made tools and memorized a speech to teach others about their trade. Student dressed in period costumes and we invited the school to view our fair. The Colonial Williamsburg experience will help me to better present and share information with my students for our Colonial Fair next year. I look forward to playing Colonial Games, dancing 18th century dances and teaching my students to march in formation. My students will also participate in an archaeological dig that will include artifacts from this time period. They will also spend a great deal of time learning about slavery and indentured servitude, as well as life on a plantation. My students will also learn about our early English government and be able to draw parallels to our form of government today. This experience has been one that will allow so may opportunities for my students to have hands on learning experiences. I cannot wait for school to begin again, so I am able to share with my fifth grade students about our country's amazing history." -- Randy Utt, teacher, Putnam City Public Schools
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“I never realized how close we came to not becoming a nation. Being a citizen of the United States means more to me now that I better understand the struggles that our founders overcame.” -- Lissa McMillan, teacher, Blair Public Schools
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“Though I had so many great experiences at the teacher institute, I have to say visiting Jamestown was my favorite. There we visited a Powhatan Indian village and learned about the daily life of an Eastern Woodland tribe, then we went to the James River and were taught about navigation and life on a cargo sailing ship in the 18th century. Finally, we visited the Jamestown Fort and learned about life in the fort.” -- Tonya Boyle, teacher, Broken Arrow Public Schools
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“One of the biggest highlights was going to Jamestown and seeing one of the first settlements in the Americas. I also enjoyed seeing where the Battle of Yorktown took place and taking a moment to reflect on what took place at that location and how it impacted the future of the United States. The teacher institute has provided me with new interactive teaching strategies to present the information to my students along with ideas to help students to develop a passion for the history of America.” -- Amber Spradlin, teacher, Choctaw-Nicoma Park Public Schools
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“It was amazing to see first-hand what our nation’s founding fathers went through to establish this great country. To walk the streets and battlefields that George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and other walked was incredible!” -- Kelli Henry, teacher, Choctaw-Nicome Park Public Schools
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“The Colonial Williamsburg Teacher Institute is a tremendous benefit to our state, our teachers and most importantly, our students. This opportunity has perpetually changed me as an Oklahoma teacher and a U.S. citizen. The experiences and memories I brought back with me are irreplaceable and will forever be cherished.” -- Holly Crawford, teacher, Fairview Public Schools
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“Nothing can replace the experience of actually being in the original locations of our first colonies. My students will benefit from my new knowledge and the resources with which I returned.”
“One of the highlights of my week at the Teacher Institute was our visit to Jamestown, the Jamestown fort site and the Powhatan Indian villages. We were able to get aboard a replica of the boat, the Susan Constant, the largest of the three ships to make the original voyage. We could imagine what life might have been like for the passengers in 1607. We walked where the first settlers built their fort and saw many artifacts. We learned about all aspects of Powhatan daily life.” -- Cindy Murray, teacher, Coweta Public Schools
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“The Colonial Williamsburg Teacher Institute has been the best experience I have had as a teacher. To be able to see the places I teach in the fifth-grade curriculum, to work with the amazing staff at Colonial Williamsburg and to collaborate with my fellow Oklahoma teachers at the institute will significantly impact my teaching of the colonial time period. The weeklong institute started with a visit to Jamestown and ended at the Yorktown battlefield. I am truly inspired by the courage of the men and women who left their homes and fought for this country and those that continue to do so today. My love and gratitude for the United States has deepened from this experience. The institute provided many opportunities for me to grow more confident as a teacher and look beyond a textbook. My students will benefit from my focused enthusiasm for American history, especially the pre/post Revolutionary-war period. I am looking forward to making history come alive for my students! I strongly encourage all fifth-grade teachers to apply for this unique learning opportunity." -- Deana Rosenthal, teacher, Edmond Public Schools
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“My experience at the Williamsburg Teachers Institute will help me reach my students by providing me with a better understanding of Early American history. Having actually stayed in a historical home (Martha Washington's grandfathers house) and experiencing some of the obstacles that were faced during this time, I can expand my storytelling for many of my lessons with a much more personal understanding of what Early Americans faced at the beginnings of our country.”
“The highlight of my trip to Williamsburg was seeing the archaeologist digging to find more ruins of the original Jamestown site. How absolute amazing it was to stand and watch history being uncovered right before my eyes!” -- Dianna Morey, teacher, Lawton Public Schools
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"The Colonial Williamsburg Teacher Institute was truly the most unique, professionally, and personally rewarding educational experience that I have had in my 27 years of teaching. The resources, hands-on, visual, and educational experience I received have provided me with invaluable tools to share with my students, while providing endless enrichment to support our state objectives." -- Shari Bright, teacher, Moore Public Schools
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“Imagine eating at the same tavern frequented by George Washington! We had dinner at Christiana Campbell's Tavern where Washington visited 96 times. We were entertained by interpreters portraying common citizens and historical figures such as Thomas Jefferson.” -- Lois Sturch, teacher, Moore Public Schools
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"I would say that the most impressive thing about the trip was the amount of discovery still taking place at each site. We went to Yorktown, Jamestown and Colonial Williamsburg. At each location we witnessed continuing research by dedicated people excavating in heat and humidity that was record setting for the area. I came away with a much deeper understanding of our forbearers and the sacrifices they made to arrive here and eventually break away into an independent country. The enthusiasm for passing this experience on to my students is palpable. I have already written some plans for the coming school year and gathered materials. The generosity of those that helped send teachers on this trip is much appreciated.” -- John Cunningham, teacher, Moore Public Schools
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"This is my ninth year returning to Colonial Williamsburg, the second largest living history museum in the world. As a peer facilitator, the highlight of my week is seeing the teachers step out of the comfort zone of their daily classrooms to be immersed in history. No textbook can replace the daily hands-on learning experiences they receive at Colonial Williamsburg. Beginning on their first day at Jamestown where they step back in time to experience the ways of the Powhatan in the Yahacan Indian village and learn team building by making rope to that very last spine chilling moment at Surrender Field where the British laid down their muskets to surrender during the revolution, teachers experience our history as they have never experienced it before. The highlight of my week is to share in this excitement and to provide the teachers with lesson plans that will awaken the past in their classroom.
While visiting Colonial Williamsburg, teachers have the opportunity to exchange ideas with noted historians, visit re-created colonial buildings and houses, meet character interpreters and take part in reenactments of eighteenth century events. Every year I hear teachers comment that the Colonial Williamsburg Teacher Institute is the best professional development they have ever received. I am humbled and thank God each year for affording me the opportunity to lead our Oklahoma teachers in this exciting educational experience." -- Teresa Potter, teacher, Moore Public Schools