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Interactive Lesson: Meaning of Democracy During the Founding Era

In this interactive lesson, students step into the Founding Era to explore multiple perspectives and hopes for American democracy. Students identify the hopes and ideas for American democracy for different groups and individuals such as the Haudenosaunee, Phillis Wheatley, James Forten, Abigail Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, George Washington, and Benjamin Rush. They also explore the key principles of American democracy each group or individual championed and examine how each group or individual’s desires revealed the limitations of democracy during this time. (Grades 6-12)

Students synthesize their knowledge by writing a response to the essential question: What did democracy mean to Americans during the Founding Era?

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About the Author: About the Author:
Passionate about fostering critical thinking, media literacy, and informed citizenship, Mary Kate Lonergan spent 16 years teaching middle and high school social studies before taking her current role, where she serves as the Social Studies Curriculum Specialist at Fayetteville-Manlius Central Schools. She emphasizes media literacy as a core element of the social studies curriculum. Lonergan is a KQED Media Literacy Innovator, acts as a Teacher Collaborator and consultant with Ithaca College’s Project Look Sharp, and served as a mentor-coach with the Media Education Lab’s MediaEd Institute. As a PBS certified media literacy educator, Lonergan has developed social studies and media literacy-centered lesson plans featured on PBS LearningMedia, including other Ken Burns films.

From PBS LearningMedia

Would You Have Joined The American Revolution?

It may seem obvious, but only 40-45% of colonists supported the cause. It’s not as simple as it may appear! Hear about the variety of possible perspectives of enslaved African Americans, Native Americans, women, white landowners and white laborers without property and how they might have looked upon the fight for independence from the British. From PBS Digital Studios: The Origin of Everything

The American Revolution Classroom Collection on PBS LearningMedia with Educator Guide

PBS aired The American Revolution, a six-part, 12-hour documentary series directed by Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein, and David Schmidt about the people who waged and witnessed a war that changed the world. Weaving together a wide variety of perspectives from soldiers, civilians, and leaders — famous and forgotten, young and old, native and newcomer, enslaved and free, rich and poor, Loyalist and Patriot — The American Revolution tells how, against all odds, 13 British colonies on the Atlantic Coast united in rebellion, won their independence, and established a republic that still endures.

PBS LearningMedia’s The American Revolution Classroom Collection harnesses the power of visual storytelling to bring the film’s insights, perspectives, and understandings to teachers and students in grades 3-12. Part of the Ken Burns in the Classroom hub, this robust collection offers more than 35 free, media-rich, and curriculum-aligned resources, designed by teachers and subject matter experts.

A detailed educator guide has been created to accompany the collection. The guide makes it easier to navigate this expansive collection and provides specific details about each resource so that educators can assess the best ones for implementation in their unique classroom settings.

Explore the Guide HERE

The Educator Guide includes:

  • An introduction to The American Revolution Classroom Collection, including how the collection was developed
  • List of the curriculum writers and expert advisers, most of whom also consulted on the film
  • A planning checklist providing guidance on how to bring the resources into your classroom, ensuring alignment to your curriculum
  • A quick guide to the full list of classroom resources, including links to all resources by topic coverage area with relevant grade bands and other details

Women of the American Revolution

Discover the contributions and experiences of women in the fight for American independence from Britain.

6 Founding Women of the American Revolution

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1. Abigail Adams: The Shadow Diplomat

Abigail Adams wasn’t just the wife of John Adams. While her husband was off in Philadelphia or Europe, Abigail Adams was running a mini-empire. She managed the family farm, navigated complex wartime economics, and raised children, all while serving as John Adams’ most trusted political adviser. When she told him to “Remember the Ladies,” she wasn’t making a polite request — she was warning him that a government without the consent of the governed (including women) was inherently unstable.

Resources:

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2. Mercy Otis Warren: The Pen as a Sword

I view Mercy Otis Warren as the “propagandist in chief.” In an era where a woman’s political opinion was seen as a social defect, she wrote scathing satirical plays that turned public opinion against the British. Because her gender would have caused men to stop reading, she often published under a pseudonym. She later wrote a massive, three-volume history of the American Revolution, only to have male historians dismiss it for decades.

Resources:

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3. Phillis Wheatley: The Intellectual Revolutionary

Phillis Wheatley’s story is a master class in resilience. As an enslaved Black woman, she had to defend her own intelligence before a panel of distinguished men who didn’t believe she could possibly write such sophisticated poetry. She broke through the triple-barrier of race, gender, and status, using her work to point out the glaring hypocrisy of colonists crying for liberty while keeping people in chains.

Resource: The Poetry and Legacy of Phillis Wheatley – For Grades 9-12

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4. Betsy Ambler: The History Keeper

Betsy Ambler stands as a testament to the countless women whose courage, compassion, and quiet leadership were just as essential to the American story as any battle won. Only 10 years old when the war started, Ambler documented her experiences through letters shared with her family and friends after the war that tell the tale of her coming of age during a pivotal moment in history. She went on to cofound the Female Humane Association of Richmond, one of the first women-led charitable organizations in Virginia. 

Resource: The Experiences of a Young Girl During the American Revolution: Betsy Ambler – For Grades 3-8

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5. Deborah Sampson: The Ultimate Disrupter

Deborah Sampson didn’t wait for permission to serve. She disguised herself as Robert Shurtliff and fought in the Continental Army for over a year. At one point, she was wounded and actually removed a musket ball from her own leg with a penknife to avoid a doctor discovering her secret. She eventually won a military pension, proving that a woman’s place was wherever the fight for freedom happened to be.

Resource: Women and the American Revolution | Interactive Lesson – For Grades 9-12

Watch a clip on PBS.org: Treasures of New Jersey Presents: Grit & Grace – Revolutionary Heroines

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6. Sybil Ludington: The Teenage Hero

Everyone knows Paul Revere, but Sybil Ludington rode 40 miles, twice as far as Revere, through the rain and dark to alert the militia when she was just 16 years old. While Revere got a famous poem and a place in every textbook, Ludington’s ride was largely ignored for nearly 200 years.

Watch a clip on PBS.org: The Midnight Ride of Sybil Ludington

from Women of the American Revolution and the Timeless Fight for Recognition by Chayanee Brooks

Nature: Becoming Elephant: The Orphans of Reteti “Graduation Day” • WXXI-WORLD + The PBS app

In the remote wilds of northern Kenya, follow the remarkable journey of orphaned elephants at Reteti, the first community-owned elephant sanctuary in Africa.

Nature: Becoming Elephant: The Orphans of Reteti “Graduation Day” airs Sunday, April 19 at 8 p.m. on WXXI-WORLD and streaming live on the PBS app.

Raised by Samburu keepers who act as surrogate parents, these elephants, many rescued from poaching, drought, or human-wildlife conflict, are nurtured back to health and prepared for life in the wild.

From tiny calves taking their first bottle to older elephants practicing the skills needed for their release, the two-part series captures intimate moments of struggle, healing, and transformation. Meet characters like Long’uro, a calf who lost his trunk to a hyena attack, and Kelele, whose illness nearly derails his future. With the help of a whole community rallying behind them, witness a powerful tale of healing, hope, and the deep bond between people and animals.re. 

In this episode, Graduation Day, the sanctuary prepares to release its oldest orphans into the wild, a baby elephant is rescued from a waterhole. An orphaned zebra finds hope, and Long’uro and friends learn how to survive the challenges of the dry season.

WXXI Internships – Learn more

WXXI offers a variety of internship opportunities, providing students hands-on experiences in digital content creation, marketing, broadcast, business administration, and more. Check out the summer internship opportunities below, and click on ones you are interested in to access the complete internship description and application process.

Summer Internships Available:

THE ROUTE Intern
Shadow The Route Music Director and gain behind-the-scenes experience in music programming, on-air preparation, and broadcast operations at a public radio station. Click here for the full description and to apply.

WXXI Classical Music Intern
Learn about the general operations, programming and production, marketing and outreach of a classical public media station, and the skills needed to create and present content on air, for the website, and through social media. Click here for the full description and to apply.

Marketing & Creative Services Intern
Join WXXI’s Marketing & Creative Services Team to learn about the inner workings of promoting the great work public media does in the Rochester and Finger Lakes area. Click here for the full description and to apply.

Application requirements:

  • Online Application
  • Cover letter and Resume
  • Academic Letter (1-2) from School or Professional Recommendations from Work

Environmental Education Resources

Dive into environmental projects and education.

Climate and Our Planet

Climate and Our Planet PBS LearningMedia Collection

Learn More
Molly of Denali logo and characters in front of the trading post

Molly of Denali: Games, Videos, Podcast & Activities

Learn More

Antiques Roadshow “250 Years of Americana” • WXXI-TV + The PBS app

Watch ANTIQUES ROADSHOW 250 Years of Americana for discoveries reflecting 250 years of American art, artifacts, crafts and collectibles. One valuable treasure reaches $300K! Finds include a flag quilt circa 1880, a Tiffany Studios turtleback glass shade circa 1915 and an 1884 Edison light bulb.

Antiques Roadshow “250 Years of Americana” Length: 60 Minutes airs Monday, April 20 at 8 p.m. on WXXI-TV and streams live on the WXXI and PBS apps.

Preview:

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