Curriculum Materials

Virtual Explorations Lesson Plans:

Turning Point Lesson:

Students will be able to analyze how the Northern Campaign of 1777 failed for the British and explain how the Battles of Saratoga impacted the course of the American Revolutionary War through French involvement. They will also be able to summarize the meaning of the idiom "turning point" and apply it to the Battles of Saratoga.

Use the downloadable PDF linked below for the lesson.

Turning Point Lesson Plan

Decision Making at the Neilson House Lesson:

Students will be able to assess the items contained within the Neilson House and evaluate whether Benedict Arnold and Enoch Poor had what they needed to make effective command decisions during the Battles of Saratoga.

Use the downloadable PDF and the Virtual Tour linked below for the lesson.


Decision Making at the Neilson House Lesson Plan

Schuyler House Scavenger Hunt Lesson:

Students will be able to compare the domestic life of an upper-class 18th century family with what they know of their own modern life in the 21st century.

Through the scavenger hunt of the Schuyler House, students will examine:

  • how an 18th century family experienced life in their day including technologies, adaptations, and solutions for heating, lighting, and obtaining water

  • Phillip Schuyler's role in the local and regional economy

  • how the Schuyler's welcomed guests in their home with period entertainment and dining

  • how the life of the upper-class Schuyler family compared with that of their enslaved servants.


Use the downloadable PDF and the Virtual Tour linked below for the lesson.

Schuyler House Scavenger Hunt Lesson Plan
 
A red house sits on a hilltop surrounded by expansive views of hills, mountains, and fall foliage.
Neilson House Virtual Tour

Experience a virtual tour of the Neilson House.

A yellow house sits among green vegetation.
Schuyler House Virtual Tour

Experience a virtual tour of the Schuyler House.

 
National Park Service arrowhead on black banner, Text reads "Saratoga National Historical Park - Loyal to Whom - An Introduction"

"Loyal to Whom?"

A virtual, asynchronous, Distance-Learning based lesson (flexible enough for in-person learning!)

Grades 4 - 7

NYS Social Studies Framework and Common Core requirements met: see Lesson Plan.

Estimated Prep Time

2 hours

Estimated Lesson Run Time

45-60 minutes

Lesson document downloads:

  • Teacher Lesson Plan with full instructions on using the lesson, including options for in-person learning.
  • Student Activity Packet with activities and instructions for all parts of the lesson, and suggestions for additional, expanded learning opportunities.

Lesson videos:

5 total, see below -- all include Audio Descriptions (AD) and have available closed captioning (CC).

NOTE--closed captioning may be having technical difficulties. Closed Captioned videos will also be viewable on Park's YouTube channel.

To whom are YOU loyal?

When learning about the American War for Independence (American Revolution), it's easy to look back and think "Well of COURSE we'd become our own country!" But if we put on the glasses, so to speak, of those who lived here at that time and had to face that question of loyalty, we find the answers may not be so clear to see!

 
 
 
 
 
 

VIRTUAL TOUR and SCAVENGER HUNT

Want to tour the Battlefield, but can't actually be here? No problem! We have a virtual tour of the battlefield, AND a "Scavenger Hunt" for your students as they follow the tour.

E-mail our Education Specialist for the activity sheet.

 

TEACHER RESOURCE GUIDE

This set of ready-made resources is designed for use at the elementary and middle-school levels (grade 4-7). Click here to access a copy of the Teacher Resource Guide. For activities that require use of the audio tours, the best way to access them is by using this link to access our audio tours page. If this format is not working for you, please e-mail our Education Specialist.

 

Student Research Packet (Elementary level)

Are your students doing a research paper on the Battle of Saratoga or the American Revolution and you're looking for great material? We can help! Our Student Research Packet is full of pictures, maps, illustrations, and information about soldiers during the Battle of Saratoga, weapons of the American Revolution, uniforms, food, important people at the Battle of Saratoga, and more. And it's FREE!

We're not doing research for the students, but we are providing some excellent information...probably more than they'll need for their project.

Don't let "elementary" fool you! There's lots of great info in the Packet for middle-school level projects too.

We are currently redesigning our Student Research Packet for web compatibility, we apologize for the inconvenience. If you would like a copy of the current packet made available to you, please e-mail our Education Specialist.

 
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    Last updated: December 22, 2023

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    Mailing Address:

    648 Route 32
    Stillwater, NY 12170

    Phone:

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