I went to an orientation back in February and we were given a few books and a DVD that we are suppose to read and watch before our trip. I'm still working on that. At the time I was kind of bogged down with my GT endorsement and my math endorsement that I didn't have too much time to read. Now that it is summer I have more time, but my trip is very quickly approaching.
I thought I would give you a glimpse on what I have read/have to read for this amazing experience:
There were different novels that we could pick. My choice ...
I remember reading this book when I was in junior high or high school. I absolutely did not remember ANYTHING that happened in it. So much so that the whole time I was reading the book I kept asking myself, "when is Sam going to die already!?" Even with that, I really enjoyed the book. We even have a classroom set of it at school so I'm planning on having my students read it next year. I hope they like it as much as I did!
This was the first book I started out of the other readings. Now don't get me wrong, it's a really good book, but I struggled. It was hard for me with all of the Indian tribe and people names. They kind of all looked the same to me and then I was confused. And to be honest with you ... I kind of cheated a little. I read the whole thing, but I ended up getting the "young adult" version that my school library had. It really helped me out just in that I think it condensed some of the more difficult parts.
This is the book I am in the middle of right now. I really like it, but now I feel like I have to go read the Constitution word for word so I can see what actually made it into the document. I felt like I knew the story pretty well before reading this, but I love the view of what life was like for these men at the time while staying in Philadelphia and some of their individual concerns. Something new I learned -- there was a guy at the convention named Luther Martin. This made me chuckle a little. Maybe his parents had high hopes for him giving him a moniker similar to that of a man who changed religion. And then it made me think of Martin Luther King Jr. Funny how the names Martin and Luther have been given to people who have played such important roles in history.
This is the last book I have to read for my trip. I have to focus on just certain sections of it so I'm not too intimidated by the large text (I think I have to read the full thing by our follow-up in August). I'll let you know what I think after I've read it.
I also have this DVD series "Liberty" to watch. It's pretty good. I wish that it didn't use some of the language it uses. I think there are some valuable clips that I could show to my students, but with the language I'm not sure. I have one or two more discs left to watch. I was watching it with David, but since our schedules are so different it hasn't happened in a while and now I'm just to the point that I need to finish it. We are planning on watching the miniseries on John Adams this week as well!
Another book that they suggested we pick up was this one on the Freedom Trail. I ordered it through barnesandnoble.com used and it's a super informative book. It breaks down all of the places on the Freedom Trail and lets you know why they were/are significant. In the back it also has operating hours and costs for all of the locations (although that might be a little outdated).
Finally ... one of the things I'm super excited about for the trip that has its how historical value --
And that is probably about the view we'll have from our seats! LOL! I organized a group to go see the Red Sox play the Blue Jays. It's really neat because this is the 100 year anniversary of Fenway Park. Kind of neat to say that we were there. If only David could be with me too!
1 comment:
What a fun trip! I loved My Brother Sam is Dead. I have to admit that I'm jealous of all your trips :)
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