Grades 7&8
Students examine letters and other primary sources to compare and contrast the experiences of two wards and domestic workers who grew up in Van Rensselaer households between 1850 and 1900. They tour the historic house, participate in a letter reading workshop, and interactive timeline activity to discover change over time, particularly for women and people of color. Students leave with materials to write their own postcards “19th century style.”
Research and planning for “Mining the Untold Stories” was funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) through the American Rescue Plan (ARP).