Lesson Plans

The first time we know of that New Philadelphia was in school curriculum was when schoolteacher Thelma McWorter, Frank and Lucy’s great-granddaughter, who was raised in New Philadelphia, brought the story (with documentation) to her students in Chicago Public Schools.  It is also now taught in college archaeology courses thanks to work led by University of Maryland and University of Illinois. Here is some curriculum material you can use and adapt:

• New Philadelphia: A Multiracial Town on the Illinois Frontier (National Park Service’s Teaching with History Places)
• McGraw Hill Education’s work for Chicago Public Schools, telling the story and doing a simulation.
• National Park Service’s H/our History, which is a shorter version of the Teaching with History Places materials.

Try them and see what fits you best!