School Programs
BRING YOUR CLASS TO THE HISTORIC WALT WHITMAN BIRTHPLACE.
Class trips enrich classroom instruction and create life-long learning experiences! Students will get to meet a published poet, write creative poems, tour Walt’s birthplace, explore our Interpretative Center exhibits, hear Walt’s voice, and see Walt’s teacher’s desk!
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Journey Through Time
Secondary students “Journey Through Time” in multiple ways on their field trip to the Walt Whitman Birthplace State Historic Site. In their poetry workshop, students learn about free verse, or non-rhyming poetry, that Walt popularized 150 years ago through reading Walt’s poetry and discussing his other poetic elements—metaphors, word repetition, and list poems. Students discuss the meanings of Walt’s poems and what makes them relevant today. Using his poem as a model or prompt, students write their own free verse poetry. They may possibly write two poems! Sharing their poetry in an oral presentation concludes their Journey Through Poetry workshop.
Next, they “Journey” to the past by watching a historic video about New York immigration and Whitman’s experience growing up in New York. After the time travel of the video, students view the updated timeline exhibit panels which depict the journey of Walt from his birth to his first publication of Leaves of Grass in 1855.
Students continue their “Journey Through Time” with a tour of the historic Birthplace built by Walt’s father in 1810. They will learn of the life and times of young Walt who was born in the house on May 31, 1819, over 200 years ago.
Estimated time: 2.5 hours
Monday – Friday ……………………Minimum Fee $150
$8.50/student ………………………..(December and January)
$9.50/student ………………………..(all other months)
To register for the program, contact our Education Director at 631-427-5240, ext. 113 or email educator@waltwhitman.org
We have created a new program that focuses on civic-mindedness and which explores the rights and duties of individuals in a community. The program uses Whitman’s poems as a starting point for discussion at the Birthplace. Walt’s America was new and full of possibilities as an inclusive and diverse country which required, in Walt’s view, democratic participation of all individuals. Back in the classroom, students may work on a civic action that relates to the program.
Students will watch a 10-minute video about Whitman’s pioneering poetry, celebrated worldwide for its democratic outlook and new, distinctly American style.
Students read The Sleepers, O Democracy, and I Hear America Singing by Walt Whitman and discuss the concepts of empathy, democracy, and civic-mindedness. Students discover that we have a responsibility to everyone in the community, especially to those who do not possess a voice. Students write a poem about various people in their lives and neighborhood in the model of Whitman’s poems. Students tour the authentic 19th c. farmhouse in which Walt Whitman was born and may view the updated timeline exhibit panels which depict the journey of Walt from his birth to his first publication of Leaves of Grass in 1855.
Upon conclusion of the program, the discussion may continue in the classroom as curriculum and resources will be shared with the teachers, reinforcing their historic site visit. Students discuss how the United States government at all levels has structures to allow them to fulfill the functions of making, enforcing, and interpreting laws. Students create a list of their local representatives and newspapers, how to contact them, and their functions. They identify a local problem/issue/person that needs their help and draft a letter discussing the support of an issue or asking for a solution to a problem. Letters are shared among the class, mailed, and any replies will be shared to see the impact.
Estimated time: 2.5 hours
Monday – Friday ……………………Minimum Fee $150
$8.50/student ………………………..(December and January)
$9.50/student ………………………..(all other months)
To register for the program, contact our Education Director at 631-427-5240, ext. 113 or email educator@waltwhitman.org
This program evokes the connection between Walt Whitman and his personal
experience with the Civil War, how it impacted him, influenced his poetry, led to
his great compassion for others and why he was known as the Poet of Democracy.
Whitman often spoke of the importance of the Civil War in Leaves of Grass. In
addition, he penned “Drum Taps,” a sequence of 43 poems about the Civil War
which explored his emotional experience of the Civil War of excitement, doubt,
direct observation, compassion, and involvement with wounded soldiers. Walt
spent a year with wounded Civil War soldiers, writing letters for them. Walt also
had a deep admiration for President Lincoln.
On school visits, students tour the authentic 19th c. farmhouse in which Walt was
born. In the modern Interpretive Center, students watch a 10-minute Poetry
Foundation video about Whitman’s pioneering poetry, celebrated for its distinctly
American style. Students will read excerpts from his poetry related to the Civil
War, including “O Captain! My Captain!” and “Beat! Beat! Drums!” In addition,
they will read two letters that Walt penned on behalf of injured soldiers. Teachers
will select beforehand to write a poem or to write a letter for a person who could
use their help and support.
Estimated time: 2.5 hours
Monday – Friday ……………………Minimum Fee $150
$8.50/student ………………………..(December and January)
$9.50/student ………………………..(all other months)
To register for the program, contact our Education Director at 631-427-5240, ext. 113 or email educator@waltwhitman.org
This program uses an interdisciplinary approach—a combination of language arts and social studies. In a poetry writing workshop taught by a published poet, students are encouraged to explore the creative process by reading and writing poetry. They explore the meaning of words, build awareness of language, and enhance comprehension skills.
With a knowledgeable educator, students tour the authentically furnished 19th-century farmhouse, the Walt Whitman Birthplace, home of America’s great poet, born here in 1819. In the modern Interpretive Center, students view refreshed exhibit pictures of 19th century America, see Walt’s schoolteacher desk, and view an authentic printing press like one used by Walt. On the new large screen TV, students hear a recording of Walt’s voice reading his poem, “America,” and may view a video about colonial life on a farm.
Estimated time: 2.5 hours
Monday – Friday ……………………Minimum Fee $150
$8.50/student ………………………..(December and January)
$9.50/student ………………………..(all other months)
To register for the program, contact our Education Director at 631-427-5240, ext. 113 or email educator@waltwhitman.org
Monday – Friday ……………………Minimum Fee $150
$8.50/student ………………………..(December and January)
$9.50/student ………………………..(all other months)
To register for the program, contact our Education Director at 631-427-5240, ext. 113 or email educator@waltwhitman.org
