Social Studies

Explore the recorded video of an event hosted by PBS and Florentine Films on 11/19/25 at NYU. THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION Campus Conversation Partnering with New York University for the in-person and livestreamed event, filmmakers Ken Burns and Sarah Botstein, experts Christopher Brown and Maggie Blackhawk, and moderator Patrick J. Egan will talk about the history, the film, and its relevance today. Intended for Higher Education Faculty and Students

Description

As part of the premiere week of THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, PBS invites college faculty and students to an hour-long virtual discussion during which filmmakers Ken Burns and Sarah Botstein, experts Christopher Brown and Maggie Blackhawk, and moderator Patrick J. Egan will talk about the history, the film, and its relevance today.

Panelists

• Ken Burns (Filmmaker)
• Sarah Botstein (Filmmaker)
• Maggie Blackhawk (Professor of Law, New York University)
• Christopher Brown (Professor of History, Columbia University)

Moderator

Patrick J. Egan (Professor of Politics & Public Policy, New York University)

Event in partnership with New York University, American Association for State & Local History, American Historical Association, and Council for Christian Colleges & Universities

What You Get?

 The entire conversation was recorded and is available for students, teachers, and the general public.  After watching, we hope you come away with new insights about the Revolutionary era and its continued relevance; ideas for how to use the documentary as a tool to spark discussions in your campus communities; and for teachers and professors, strategies on how to incorporate these history lessons into the larger educational experience.

• Screener Request Form: Continue the conversation in your classroom or campus community with this 36-minute clip reel for 5 clips.
• THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION Engagement Resource Center: Explore nine unique toolkits to engage a variety of audiences, including your campus community, with the “Revolution Reframed: Campus Engagement” toolkit.
• PBS Teach 250: Visit this central hub on PBS LearningMedia, designed for educators and future educators, to find Revolutionary era content, from PBS and local PBS member stations, for their classrooms. If you work with students in grades 3-12, consider watching this webinar that is intended for their grade levels

Interested in hosting your own campus screening event for THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION? Request a screening reel and find resources including discussion guides, event planners, and more at The American Revolution Engagement Resource Center.

Explore The American Revolution series with this on-demand archive from a virtual educator event from PBS LearningMedia: Connecting Students to Our Shared History: A Live Conversations with the Filmmakers Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein, and David Schmidt. The filmmakers behind THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION joined in a conversation moderated by Sharon McMahon known as “America’s Government Teacher.” You’ll hear how the film came to life, gather ideas for how to engage students in this shared history, and discover new ready-to-use classroom resources from PBS LearningMedia. This event video is for educators teaching social studies in grades 3-12, as well as other educators, including instructional coaches and curriculum specialists in social studies. This event may also be useful to anyone getting ready to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the creation of United States with children and youth.

Description

Participants will learn about the process of creating a historical documentary, consider the power of visual storytelling to engage with the past, and discover opportunities to use this film in the classroom with PBS LearningMedia’s newest collection Ken Burns in the Classroom: The American Revolution. The resources in the collection will support teachers in connecting students to the Revolutionary era and its legacies today in relatable and meaningful ways. This webinar is from 11/18/25.

What you’ll see:

• Hear from all three filmmakers about their experiences creating this documentary
• Consider how the perspectives of a wide variety of individuals from the Revolutionary era can help students connect to our shared history, 250 years in the making
• Discover more about the Ken Burns in the Classroom: The American Revolution Collection on PBS LearningMedia at pbslearningmedia.org/americanrevolution

What you’ll get:

• Access to insights from The American Revolution filmmakers
• Ready-to-use, curriculum-targeted, standards-aligned classroom resources 
• A more expansive view of the Revolutionary era and ideas for how to engage students in this shared history, supporting critical thinking skills and the ability to connect the past to the present

Timestamps:

0:00 Welcome!
0:34 The American Revolution Collection Trailer
1:35 Introduction to PBS LearningMedia
3:55 Why the Filmmakers Spent 10 Years on This Project
6:47 How Teachers Can Make the American Revolution Relevant to Today
12:03 How The Filmmakers Compiled the Stories of Lesser-Known Individuals
16:35 The 1778 Eclipse 27:55 Where the Filmmakers Found the Objects to Include
34:10 What Educators Can Expect from The American Revolution Collection
36:30 What It Means to Create a Patriotic Film About the American Revolution

About PBS LearningMedia
PBS LearningMedia, a partnership between PBS and GBH, is a transformative digital media platform for PreK-12 educators, providing free access to thousands of media-centric classroom resources from PBS member stations and esteemed partners. PBS LearningMedia delivers a dynamic mix of national and locally relevant content—including videos, interactives, lesson plans, teaching tips, and primary sources—that elevates classroom teaching and brings learning to life. Designed with teachers and subject matter experts, classroom resources are aligned to state and national standards and are compatible with the tools teachers use most, such as Google Classroom.