Historic Cherry Hill
Programs
On-site Programs
Cherry Hill is a house full of stories! Unique and engaging on-site school programs draw on the museum's rich collection of primary sources. Programs are designed to meet New York State Learning Standards in social studies, English language arts and the arts. Cost: $2.00 per student; adults free. Albany city schools FREE.
The Cherry Hill Case (grades 4 and 5) Seasonal program.
Students become detectives of history and investigate six people who lived at Cherry Hill from 1860-1884. Working in cooperative groups, students gather evidence from historical records, objects, architecture and the landscape. Classroom teachers cover pre- and post-visit lessons in a Teacher's Guide. Teacher Workshop offered in the spring.
Click here for visuals for teachers presenting Lesson 1 from the Teacher's Guide.
Voices from the Hill: 1787-1963 (grades 4 and 5)
Described as "groundbreaking," this new program uses primary sources and the Reader's Theater model to explore the theme of change in America. Students become both performers and the audience as the skits give "voice" to Van Rensselaer family members, servants, immigrants and other real people who lived in the past. The program emphasizes people's often conflicting views about social, political and technological change.
Here's what teachers have to say about Voices from the Hill:
The most effective part of the program was the way the students were interactive in the learning process. Often the children just walk through a museum and get nothing from it. The kids came away from this field trip talking about the different parts they played.
You have a model lesson - exemplar! Best I have participated in and I've taught for over 30 years! I would send everyone to your program.
Cherry Hill Murder Investigation (grades 7 and 8) Seasonal program.
Students investigate a notorious 1827 crime and become personally involved in the process of interpreting the past. Activities include examining the scene of the crime, re-enacting the murder and tracing the killer's footsteps. Additional activities help students understand how the choices of the major people involved in the events were affected by the social and economic conditions of the period.
Click here to sign-up, order, or request more information
Teaching Units
Students become historians in their own right, working with Historic Cherry Hill's document-based teaching units in their classroom. Using facsimiles from the museum's vast manuscript and photograph collection, the teaching units help children interpret primary sources and give them skills in answering Constructed Response and Document Based Questions on the Social Studies Assessment. Both teaching units have won awards from the American Association for State and Local History.
Different Voices, Different Truths: The 1827 Murder at Cherry Hill
(grades 7 and up) Click here for more information
Kittie Putman and the Cherry Hill Household: 1860-1884
(grade 4 and up) Click here for more information