Kids & Family

WMHO Relaunches Distance Learning Program

New-look "Windows Through Time" program also honors the legacy of Anna Smith Strong, the only female spy in the Culper Spy Ring.

The is no stranger to distance learning. For the past 15 years, it has offered a program called "Windows through Time: Journals of Revolutionary War Spies," with students from classrooms all over the U.S. participating.

But on Monday, the WMHO relaunched a fresh, new version of the program that uses interactive technology to engage students in a "reader theater" experience.

The program's initial focus was on a traditional lesson setting in which an actor/educator taught students about the Culper Spy Ring via a distance learning connection.

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"We decided, after seeing that, to turn the tables and put more of the responsibility for the knowledge on the students," said Lauren Kaushansky, whom the WMHO credits for helping develop the new approach to the program.

"In the course of developing the play, we asked 'How can we possibly engage them [the students] more?'" said Kaushansky, a professor in Stony Brook University's Professional Education Program who teaches in the Department of History. "That interaction ups the bar for the students. It engages them beyond just the academics."

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In the reader theater experience, actress/educator Megan Martin portrays Anna Smith Strong, the only female member of the Culper Spy Ring. Anna worked in the tavern of Joseph Brewster, who is portrayed by WMHO education manager Deborah Boudreau. Anna's role in the spy ring was to use special patterns of laundry on her clothesline to deliver messages.

The WMHO staged the new version of the distance learning program for a New Hampshire elementary school on Monday morning. Set in 1776, students read from their scripts as Martin and Boudreau asked them questions and guided a debate over the principles of the American Revolution. In the past, students in Arizona, California, Tennessee and other states have taken advantage of the program.

"The best thing would be to have them come to the Brewster House, but this is the next best thing to being here," said Gloria Rocchio, president of the WMHO. "This is living history."

Martin said she enjoys acting in the program because of the experience it delivers for the students. "It's a huge creative process," she said. "It tells a true story about unsung heroes of the American Revolution. I feel like it gives all these children a chance to see how this country developed."

Boudreau spoke to the interdisciplinary merits of the program, which has elements of not only history but also geography, literature, and science. Historical figures represented in the program include Thomas Paine, Benjamin Franklin, Benedict Arnold, and others.

"The program is so thick and dense with curriculum content and plot development," Boudreau said. "It has twists and turns that challenge the kids to stay on their toes. This is really tapping into their learning interest."


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