We had our first Colonial Williamsburg Electronic Field Trip last week and the kids enjoyed it immensely. We learned that the negative campaigning tactics of today are nothing new.  That surprised us!  The first bitter election was in 1800 between Democratic-Republican Thomas Jefferson and Federalist John Adams.  Then tensions increased when Thomas Jefferson tied with his Vice-Presidential candidate, Aaron Burr!  Because of this the 12th ammendment to the Constitution was ratified.  Although we had studied these topics a few weeks ago, we had not made the connection with negative campaigning of today. 

We began the week by reviewing this historic election in the Teacher Notes provided by EFT.  Since much of it was review, we were able to whiz through that and focus on some new vocabulary and ideas that were presented.  The notes took us through a brief history of elections in Colonial America, and I realized I had a Colonial Williasmburg Journal with great pictures of the CW actor/interpreters reenacting the election process...the very thing we were talking about.  So I pulled the journal out and we looked at all the pictures (and of course looked to see if we could recognize anyone from our previous trips.)   

Another topic of the EFT was the voting qualifications in Colonial America.  I began this by asking the kids if they remembered our trip to Colonial Williamsburg when we were sitting in front of the Courthouse. Someone came out and told us we could be part of the jury for the trials coming up.  We all stood. Then he called out the qualifications to be on the jury. We sat when we didn't qualify.  Out of our large group, only a handful were "in".   Hmmmmmm, the point was well made. Those of us who had to sit certainly felt historically excluded.  These are the same qualifications for voting in the eighteenth century: white male, property owner, Protestant, over 21 years of age.  The kids remembered and that prompted discussion.

Then we looked at two sets of original source documents, provided by "The Will of the People" EFT.  First we studied actual documents that showed  how discriminated groups of voters worked to gain the right to vote.  We also learned when the right was granted with a Constitutional Ammendment.  Then the kids got to play an interactive game at "The Will of the People" web site on their computers, about the history of voting rights.

After that we looked at another set of historical documents and analyzed negative campaign tactics.  Because we did not live in the time period  of these papers, we could easily detect the bias and slander.

Before the day of the actual Electronic Field Trip, we previewed the videos.  I am glad we did, because the kids were able to ask all of their questions and comment about everything they saw.  We also got to look over the script to answer any other questions we had.  Best of all, we got to pause and review any parts we missed because we were laughing so hard!  The script writer and actors competently took a negative topic and lightened it up with some terrific humor!  The kids tried finding some of the humorous stuff in the script but it wasn't there.  We've done a bit of theater and I know that with a group of clever people, once they get together and get on a roll, one never knows where it will go!  We wondered if this happened with the production of this video.  

The videos added a new dimension to the concepts we had studied. We recognized some of the actors from our previous trips!  (In the credits, my daughter found the name of the Patrick Henry we met in 2004.  He plays someone else in "The Will of the People" and it was fun to finally find him!  So that's what he looks like without a wig!  LOL)  

Of course, Thomas Jefferson was played by the same actor whom we got to meet in Colonial Williamsburg in 2004 (but we couldn't find him on our recent trip a few months ago).

He did an excellent job, as always!  When I saw this video, I got to thinking that this actor must like kids.  When we met him in 2004, it was at Kimball Theater at a program for kids.  Thomas Jefferson spoke specifically to the kids and answered only their questions.  He did have to raise his eyebrow a few times when parents snuck in a few questions via their kids.   And no, I wasn't one of them!  lol   Then Poplar Forest has a special program called "Conversations on Democracy" where this same actor portrays Thomas Jefferson.  He and various historical figures answer questions for students.  During this video as well, Thomas Jefferson acts with a brother and sister, teaching them about elections.  Thomas Jefferson engages well with the kids, respecting them, and patiently answering their questions, often times with humor.

On the day of the Electronic Field Trip, I tuned the computer to the video streaming and Colonial Williamsburg had beautiful classical music playing.  I kept that low and in the background while the kids knocked out some math.  When we heard the music stop, we knew it was time for the Electronic Field Trip. What a good excuse to put math to the side! 

The video is broken down into 3 parts.  After each part, the cameras went to the studio where Thomas Jefferson, a historian from the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and a political science professor from nearby Christopher Newport University, answered questions that were called in from students across the country.  Some of this was funny to watch too. Thomas Jefferson acted perfectly innocent about how his supporters handled information about opponent John Adams, while the CWF historian begged to differ and told the other side of the story!  The political scientist related everything to this year's election...and some of that information shocked Thomas Jefferson!  I think they did an excellent job telling both sides of the story without bias.  

There were two sessions of the EFT, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. We watched both, since the questions would be different at each one. It was so much fun to hear the various questions and the actor/interpreters' reaction and answer to them.  A few days before when we had previewed the videos, the kids told Dad about how funny the video was.  He couldn't understand how they could be learning anything if they were having fun.  Well, during the afternoon's live broadcast, he came home early and had to pull up a seat and laugh (and learn...gasp) with us! ;)

After the sessions, I called to order a DVD.  The lady was very nice and asked me what I thought of the program. We talked for a few minutes about how wonderful and unique this particular EFT was.  The DVD should arrive in about 6 weeks, since it has to go through post production.  It will include the videos, the best of the questions and answers (I hope they include all of Thomas Jefferson's funny reactions!), closed captioning, and chapter titles for easy search.  Anything CWF does is quality, so I am content (though eager) to wait for it! 

My kids also had an opportunity to e-mail questions to Thomas Jefferson.    My daughter e-mailed two questions: 

"Dear Mr. Jefferson (we weren't sure if he was e-mailing as president or after), If Aaron Burr had been chosen President of the United States, would you have minded? Do you have any foresight in how his presidency would have been like? Thank you for teaching about the elections. Sincerely, _____"

She got a reply shortly before the Electronic Field Trip.  She enjoyed not only his answer, but was tickled when he signed it, "Your most humble servant, Th. Jefferson."

After the Electronic Field Trip, my son finally thought of a question.  He asked, "Mr. Jefferson,  Were you influenced by anyone to run for President or did you come up with the idea on your own? Thank you for taking the time to answer this question.  Inquisitively yours, __________"

My son had a blast reading the answer he received from Thomas Jefferson, which began "Master __________". The answer was very interesting!  I printed out copies of the e-mails for each of the kids to have as souvenirs.  It was the highlight of their week!  We are looking forward to the next one in November...Yorktown!

Now for those who would like to know how I organized our EFT information... 

In preparation for the Electronic Field Trip, I felt a little overwhelmed!  lol  There were many details to note, to see if my computer was set up properly for the live stream, remembering the time for the test stream,  remembering the time for the actual EFTs, correctly converting from Eastern Time to Central Time, and remembering how to access all the parts of the EFT.  I printed out the different pieces of information and put them in a general Electronic Field Trip binder for handy reference at any time.  To help me remember what this notebook is for, I got some scrapbooking paper that reminded me of some of the prints I saw in Colonial Williamsburg.  

Then I printed out "The Will of the People" pdf file of Teacher Notes and Student handouts and activities, phone numbers in case we called in a question, etc.  I put that in a seperate binder.  I also included my own copies of the e-mails between Thomas Jefferson and my kids!  ;)  To decorate this binder, I chose a French Toile since part of the contension the Federalists had with Thomas Jefferson was his love for France!

This week we are finishing unit 1 of TOG and will have our unit celebration this Saturday.  I also hope to focus on some more aspects of Thomas Jefferson's presidency, as a review, with some great videos I have gotten.  In addition, I hope to focus on Jefferson's restored friendship with John Adams. We will lighten up on math, Latin and science as needed to complete week 9 of TOG and finish our projects and rehearse!  Although the costumes are almost done, they have been quite the challenge!  Nevertheless, they are coming together!  Stay tuned!