Educational Resources


Educational Resources about Vermont Archaeology & History

Powerful History: The Archaeology of Native People in the Champlain Lowlands A free PDF publication available from VELCO.

Lake Champlain Voyages of Discovery: Bringing History Home, Champlain. An educational package for teachers and students to stimulate curiosity about Lake Champlain’s history. Use alongside Champlain: The Lake Between documentary available online at PBS.

Teacher Resources by the Vermont Historical Society. A number of educational programs, opportunities, and resources for students to learn about Vermont history, both inside the classroom and beyond. Check out their Archaeology Alive! and Abenaki in Vermont History Kits.

Vermont Archaeology Heritage Center, Barre. The central warehouse for artifacts and archives of Vermont’s past. The center is open to the public to explore our 13,000 years of history through exhibits, workshops, and lectures. Often has volunteer and internship opportunities available, which may be appropriate for advanced high school students and undergraduates.


Visitor Center at Mount Independence in Orwell, Vermont

Field Trip Opportunities in Vermont

Chimney Point State Historic Site, Addison. An 18th century tavern hosts indoor and outdoor exhibits related to Vermont’s Native American, French, British, and early American histories. Onsite interpretation and field trip activities.

Mount Independence State Historic Site, Orwell. The best-preserved Revolutionary War era archaeological site in the state, if not the country. This fort played a critical role in the American Revolution. Visitor’s Center with interactive exhibits and film, interpretative trails, and onsite field trip activities.

Ethan Allen Homestead Museum, Burlington. Living history site that immerses visitors in 12,000 years of history in Vermont’s Intervale.

Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, Vergennes. Explore Vermont’s history through the underwater archaeology of Lake Champlain’s many shipwrecks.


General Educational Resources

Project Archaeology Curricula and Professional Development for Teachers. Includes several curricula for grades 3-12 that meet Common Core standards. Contact VAS President Angela Labrador, a Project Archaeology Master Teacher, to learn more about the Project Archaeology program.

Archaeology Lesson Plans and Classroom Activities from Archaeolink Links to many archaeology, anthropology, and history lesson plans. Teachers can search for those that fit their purposes.

EDSITEMent! by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Lesson plans, curricula, and teaching guides for many humanities subjects.

K-12 Activities & Resources by the Society for American Archaeology. Many curricular resources for a variety of grades.

Native Knowledge 360° Education Initiative by the Smithsonian. Provides educators with new perspectives on Native American history and cultures. Most Americans have only been exposed to part of the story, as told from a single perspective through the lenses of popular media and textbooks. NK360° provides educational materials, virtual student programs, and teacher training that incorporate Native narratives, more comprehensive histories, and accurate information to enlighten and inform teaching and learning about Native America. NK360° challenges common assumptions about Native peoples and offers a view that includes not only the past but also the vibrancy of Native peoples and cultures today.

Online resources for teaching archaeology by the Joukowsky Institute. Links to numerous websites with educational resources.

Thanksgiving Education Initiative In 2016 a concerned group of archaeologists, parents, and educators came together to compile resources for teachers and parents about Thanksgiving. This site has information for parents and may resources for teachers of all age groups.

Teacher Resources by the National Park Service. Guide to using archaeology as a teaching tool in the classroom. 

Teaching Resources by the National Museum of Natural History. Numerous resources related to human evolution, forensic anthropology, climate change, environmental history, and popular subjects such as mummies.