See below for Video Mini Lessons, Online Exhibits, Lesson Plans, and Pandemic Primary Source Sets.
Virtual Field Trips - Maine Historical Society offers free virtual field trips via Zoom for K-12 classrooms. Each field trip experience can be adapted for students of all grade levels and to fit within a time frame best suited for a school or classroom's unique needs. To learn more about the virtual field trip experiences below or to schedule one of these experiences for your classroom or school, contact Kathleen Neumann at kneumann@mainehistory.org.
A Visit to the Wadsworth-Longfellow House – Join an MHS Educator for a recorded visit to the Wadsworth-Longfellow House with a live discussion of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, his poetry, and what life was like in Portland, ME for his family in the 19th century. The lesson explores the themes of how places change over time and how Longfellow found inspiration for his creativity in the world around him. Lesson includes a recorded 12 minute tour of the first floor of the Wadsworth-Longfellow House, live discussion, reading poetry, and examining historic artifacts, images, and spaces.
Maine at the Moment of Statehood – Join an MHS Educator for a recorded visit to our exhibit State of Mind: Becoming Maine with a live discussion about what life was like in Maine in 1820 and the symbols that were chosen to represent Maine when it became a state. The lesson explores the themes of how symbols are used and why symbols are chosen to represent a place and group of people, and what statehood would have meant to different people living in Maine in the early 19th century. Lesson includes a recorded 8 minute tour of a portion of the exhibit State of Mind: Becoming Maine, live discussion, and examining historic artifacts, images, and spaces
Paul Revere and his Midnight Ride – An MHS Educator works with students to discuss who Paul Revere was and the event he is best remembered for: "the Midnight Ride" memorialized by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in his famous poem. The lesson also explores the themes of how moments in history are remembered and how people today can get the word out about ideas and messages that they think are important. Lesson includes discussion, a slide show with images, and reading poetry and primary sources.
Delicious History – An MHS Educator works with students to explore the differences and similarities between food and cooking in the United States in 1821 and 2021. The lesson also includes a peek into the kitchen of the Wadsworth-Longfellow House and a comparison of the tools and technology available today versus what was available 200 hundred years ago. The lesson also explores the themes of where our food comes from, the relationship between where we live and what we eat, and how changes in technology impact food choices. Lesson includes discussion, a slide show with images, and reading primary sources and examining historic artifacts and spaces. The lesson also includes an option for a hands-on food preparation activity (scheduler is responsible for providing and distributing necessary supplies).
City by the Sea - An MHS Educator discusses and explores with students what it was like to live in Portland, ME during the age of sail and to make a living by or on the sea. This field trip examines navigation, different types of ships, flag signaling, and explores the themes of how technology developed for live on and near the sea, and how life in Portland was and still in connected to the sea. Lesson includes discussion, a slide show with images, and primary sources. The lesson also includes an option for a hands-on scrimshaw carving activity (scheduler is responsible for providing and distributing necessary supplies).
Learn about Maine history and try an activity in ten minutes or less!
Video Mini-Lessons
Visit the Video Lesson Transcript Library for transcripts of our Virtual Learning Hub videos. Updated frequently.
A Letter about Influenza & Measles, 1815
How did infectious diseases affect 19th century Mainers? A Bowdoin College student wrote home about his experiences with influenza and measles in October, 1815.
Longfellow Poetry: The Rainy Day (1842)
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote this enduring poem in his family home in Portland. How would you express your feelings about a rainy day in a poem?
William Ourcadie's Suffrage Cartoons
Maine had the opportunity to vote for women's suffrage in September 1917. How did suffrage supporters get the word out about their cause?
What is the meaning behind the imagery in the Maine State seal? How would you redesign the state seal today?
Why do we call Maine "Maine," and what other names have people given to this region?
Voting for Maine: The Coasting Law
What was the Coasting Law of 1789, and how did it affect the way people voted for Maine statehood before 1820?
Voting for Maine: The Maine-Missouri Question
After the final vote for Maine statehood, a conflict arose in the US Congress. How would you have voted?
Henry's House: A Room of His Own
Learn about Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's favorite secret place to write in his Portland family home.
How have Mainers made their own ice cream in the past? Learn how to make some of your own at home!
Learn how Mainers made butter 200 years ago, and create some homemade butter of your own!
Online Exhibits and Response Questions
Did you know you can explore Maine Historical Society exhibits online? Check out some of our exhibits and then test your knowledge by answering the questions on the response sheets!
Maine Eats: For generations, people have combined available resources to create a uniquely "Maine" cuisine based on iconic foods like fish, blueberries, and potatoes.
Visit the online exhibit
Open the response sheet
State of Mind: The history of the region now known as Maine did not begin at statehood in 1820. How has the Maine we experience today been shaped by thousands of years of history?
L.C.Bates Museum, Fairfield, ca. 1945
Item Contributed by
L.C. Bates Museum / Good Will-Hinckley Homes
Visit the online exhibit
Open the 3rd-5th grade response sheet
Open the 6th-12th grade response sheet
Open the 9th-12th grade response sheet
400 Years of New Mainers: Since the first people--the Wabanaki--permitted Europeans to settle in the land now known as Maine, we have been a state of immigrants.
Visit the online exhibit
Open the response sheet
Making Paper, Making Maine: Paper has shaped Maine's economy, molded individual and community identities, and impacted the environment throughout Maine.
Visit the online exhibit
Open the response sheet
Lesson Plans
Enhance your classroom or home learning with one of our lesson plans or activities, created by MHS staff and Maine teachers for elementary through postsecondary learners.
Why is Maine the Pine Tree State? (Grades K-2)
Learn about and identify animals and plants significant to the state, and identify what types of environments are best suited to different types of plant and animal life. Includes a curated slideshow of images on Maine Memory Network.
Maine's Beneficial Bugs: Insect Sculpture Upcycle/Recycle S.T.E.A.M. Challenge (Grades 3 & up)
Use recycled, reused, and upcycled materials to create a sculpture of a beneficial insect that lives in the state of Maine. Contributed by Coreysha Stone, teacher at Chewonki Elementary and Middle School.
Primary Sources: Daily Life in 1820 (Grades 6-12)
Explore and analyze primary source documents from the years before, during, and immediately after Maine became the 23rd state in the Union. Includes a curated slideshow of Maine Memory Network items and discussion questions.
What Remains: Learning about Maine Populations through Burial Customs (Grades 6 & up)
Do you have an historic cemetery or graveyard in your town? Learn how to identify headstone iconography, and how historians can discover information about life in 17th-19th century Maine by analyzing different communities' burial customs. Includes a curated slideshow of Maine Memory Network items and an iconography worksheet that you can take along on a walk by your local historic burial sites.
Pandemic Primary Source Sets
Investigate pandemics through local historic images, documents, and artifacts. These resources and lesson plans were created by a collaboration between the Maine Department of Education, Maine Historical Society, Maine State Archives, Maine State Library, and Maine State Museum. View resources and lesson plans.
Browse more lesson plans in our Lesson Plan Library, or search for lesson plans by keyword, grade level, and content area.
You can also submit your own lesson plan or activity to Maine Memory Network! How do you bring Maine history to life in your classroom?
Friendly URL: https://www.mainememory.net/exhibits/distancelearning
