Irvington MS Seventh Grade Field Trip to Philadelphia

Irvington Middle School seventh graders took an informative field trip to Philadelphia. Photos courtesy of Irvington Union Free School District

The seventh grade journeyed to the city of Philadelphia in April, where they extended their learning within their recent historical fiction and informational text units in ELA classes, and their study of colonial America, the American Revolution and the U.S. Constitution in social studies classes. Special thanks to social studies teacher Christina Mitchell and ELA teacher Kelly Kozak for their extensive planning for the trip.

After reading Laurie Halse Anderson’s novel, “Fever 1793,” in ELA classes, students explored the historic neighborhood featured in the book, ravaged by the yellow fever epidemic. On a guided walking tour, they visited the site of the president’s house, Christ Church Burial Ground as well as Benjamin Franklin’s gravesite, Franklin Court and B. Free Franklin Post Office. They also saw Independence Hall, the First Bank of the United States and the Betsy Ross house.

At the Museum of the American Revolution, students explored this exciting era in history. Through virtual encounters with objects, artwork, documents and stories, students experienced the Revolution through the lens of real people as they viewed the short film, “Washington’s War Tent.” With the help of the museum educator, they pondered questions such as “What was it like to live during the Revolution?”, “How did the Revolution survive its darkest hour?”, “How revolutionary was the war?” and “What kind of nation did the Revolution create?”

“This field trip to Philadelphia really brought both literature and history to life for the students,” Kozak added.

“The day also provided our class with many opportunities to make connections to today’s world, especially to the roots of our nation’s democracy,” Mitchell added.

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