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"From your wonderful storytelling I learned something about myself, too. I need to be more open to girls doing boy things. Thanks."
Zack, Los Angeles 5th Grader |
Many
teachers told me that this was the best and most informative inservice
workshop they had ever attended (and the most fun!)."
West Virginia Principal |
"You
have an incredible presence on stage, both as teacher and storyteller.
I found your history lesson before the show enjoyable and informative,
and loved how you involved (and handled) the children. Your piece is so
well written, and your performance of it so skillfull. I was amazed at
how rapt you held all of us, kids and adults alike." Antonio Sacre, storyteller, solo performer, author |
Students and Adults

| Revolutionary Women (4th Grade to Adult)
Revolutionary
Women is a one-woman, interactive play that explores the issues and
events that led to the American Revolution. The play examines
women's rights and roles in colonial America, and their contributions to Revolutionary War effort. Audience members meet and converse with three women;
Jane Walker, a camp-follower, forced by poverty to accompany her husband to war (fictitious composite character)
Elizabeth Thompson, loyalist spy (actual person)
Deborah Samson, who disguised herself as a man, enlisted and fought for 1.5 years before she was discovered (actual person)
CLICK HERE for more information about "Revolutionary Women"
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Character Interpretations (4th Grade to Adult) Meet a person of the past. Characters include, but are not limited to:
| 1750s:
Indentured servant ELIZABETH SPRIGGS discusses the hardships of her servitude and the actions that caused her to become an indentured servant. She is hearing rumors about a war against the French and their Indian allies.
1760s:
JOHN CLAYTON, internationally known colonial botanist, talks about his work documenting American plants and his correspondence with other botanists and collectors in Europe and America.
ELIZA LUCAS PINCKNEY, who, as a teenager, established indigo production in South Carolina, is concerned about aspects of the Treaty of Paris, which recently ended the French and Indian War. Certain elements of that treaty have angered and disillusioned British Americans who fought.
1770s:
�������������������������������������������������������Revolutionary Women������������������������������������������������������� The three characters listed under �������������������������������������������������������Revolutionary Women�������������������������������������������������������, above, can appear individually for more in-depth discussions.
WILL SPRINGATE, a gardener and convict servant, is being held in the Public Gaol after running away from his master. Learn about life for indentured servants in Virginia.
JOHN FARQUHARSON, a Scotsman, once gardener to Virginia�������������������������������������������������������s last Royal Governor, Lord Dunmore, now serves Virginia�������������������������������������������������������s first elected Governor, Patrick Henry. Hear his views on American gardening and independence.
FRANCES CARTER, wife of a member of the Virginia Governor�������������������������������������������������������s Council, shares her views on motherhood, housewifery, religion and the rumors of possible war with Great Britain.
1811:
When ANN HILL�������������������������������������������������������s merchant-sailor husband was �������������������������������������������������������pressed������������������������������������������������������� into the British Navy, she and her children lost their home. They now take in laundry to make ends meet. Although Americans declared independence 25 years ago, the British still occupy forts in the west and kidnap American sailors with impunity. If President Madison doesn�������������������������������������������������������t step in, Mrs. Hill is ready to! (fictitious composite character)
1863:
CORNELIA MCDONALD, wife of a Confederate officer, lived with their children in Winchester, Virginia. Winchester was on the front line of the Civil War and changed hands more than 70 times. Mrs. McDonald struggled to feed her children and protect them from the horrors around them, while she reeled from the deaths of friends and family members. The McDonalds������������������������������������������������������� home was almost constantly occupied by one army or the other, until the family finally became refugees. Meet her as she tries to get her children to safety and find her missing husband.
1870s:
ALICE GRIERSON�������������������������������������������������������s husband, Benjamin, became famous for his diversionary maneuvers in Mississippi during the Civil War, which enabled Union forces to take Vicksburg. After the war he chose to command the 9th Cavalry, a Buffalo Soldier regiment, which effectively sidelined his career. Alice supported his views of the competence of African-American troops, and believed strongly in women�������������������������������������������������������s voting and reproductive rights. Alice addresses these, as well as Native American issues, the expansion of railroads to the west, and The Great Chicago Fire of 1871.
1880s:
FRANCES ROE spent twelve years (1870-1882) on western Army bases with her husband, a low ranking officer. Hear about life on base, her experiences with horses, buffalo hunts, servants, Indian encounters, Yellowstone, and more. For more mature audiences, only--many of her views are offensive by today�������������������������������������������������������s standards, but she accurately represents the views of many late 19th Century Americans.
1928:
AMELIA EARHART has just become the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean! Be part of the 1928Press Corps that interviewed her immediately following her first trans-Atlantic flight.
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Dress for Success������������������������������������������������������� (4th Grade to Adult)
Participants examine 18th century fashion, fabrics and trendsetters, and participate in a fashion show of 18th century styles.
Dance or Die������������������������������������������������������� (4th Grade to Adult)
When an 18th Virginia boy was afraid bad weather would spoil his party, his tutor, Philip Fithian, wrote �������������������������������������������������������...blow high, blow low, he need not be afraid; Virginians are of genuine Blood�������������������������������������������������������They will dance or die!������������������������������������������������������� In this program, participants examine colonial Virginians������������������������������������������������������� passion for dancing and learn the importance of music, dance and deportment skills in 18th century Virginia. By comparing European and African music and dance, they will discover traces of both in today�������������������������������������������������������s culture.
That�������������������������������������������������������s My Story������������������������������������������������������� (Grades K to Adult)
Visitors participate in stories from a variety of cultures and learn about the uses of storytelling throughout history to teach morals, values, manners, and survival skills.
Now and Then������������������������������������������������������� (Grades K-3)
Aimed at very young students, this program compares the 18th century world with the present. Young students handle artifacts of both eras and draw their own conclusions about how life has changed.
Darci Tucker, owner of American Lives: History Brought to Life�������������������������������������������������������, has been training teachers since 1995. She has an extensive background in Colonial and Revolutionary-era Virginia history, having taught history at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation for almost 20 years. She is on the faculty of the Colonial Williamsburg Teacher Institute each summer, and spends the school year traveling the country performing in schools nationwide. She is a frequent presenter at conferences and teacher workshops, and her clients include:
- The State University of New York, Cortland, School of Education
- The Mount Vernon Teacher Institute
- Los Angeles County Office of Education
- Cal State Long Beach
- Alameda County Office of Education, CA
- Hillsborough County Office of Education, FL
- San Diego County Office of Education
Acting Up: Character Interpretation in the Classroom Enhance student understanding and retention though biography-based teaching. When either teachers or students take on characters during a unit of study, student interest in that topic improves.
Storytelling in the Classroom
Improve literacy and increase interest in the classroom through folk tales, tall tales, anecdotes and personal stories. Learn how to tell, and how to get your students to tell, and write, stories!
Teaching Literacy Through Primary Sources
Kill two birds with one stone! Combine history/civics and literacy by using primary sources to teach literacy. Learn valuable techniques to choose appropriate sources and edit more difficult ones, so that even basic readers can tackle historical documents and win.
CONTACT US! American Lives: History Brought to Life P.O. Box 1857 Williamsburg, VA 23187
darci@americanlives.net
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