Page content
Resize textResize textResize text largerEmail pagePrint pageShare this page
Colonial Williamsburg Teacher Gazette
December 30, 2004Volume 3, Issue 5

CONTENTS
Spies and Scouts, Secret Writing,
and Sympathetic Citizens

Primary Source

Teaching Strategy

Colonial Williamsburg Teaching Resources

Teaching News

Quote of the Month


The Next
Electronic Field Trip is

In the General's Secret Service
January 13, 2005


NEW!
2004–2005 Fall & Winter
Teaching Resources Catalog
2004-2005 Fall & Winter Teaching Resources Catalog

PSCU Financial Services Logo

2004–2005 Electronic Field
Trip Scholarships

 TOP STORIES
Spies and Scouts, Secret Writing, and Sympathetic Citizens

During the Revolutionary War, both the Americans and the British understood that victory hinged on sound political and military intelligence. To get it, they used espionage, counterespionage, diplomatic sleight-of-hand, propaganda, scouting, partisan warfare, code making, code breaking, sabotage, bribery, deception, and disinformation.

Learn More

Primary Source: Spy Letter

Espionage, intelligence gathering, or "spying" is a necessary and vital part of any war. While today's methods are more technologically advanced, those used during the American Revolution were no less effective in achieving their goal: providing valuable information about the enemy. Examine an encoded letter giving intelligence to the British that was intercepted by the Americans.

Learn More

Teaching Strategy: Espionage Techniques

All children are fascinated by espionage and spies (think Spy Kids and James Bond: 007). To spice up your unit on the American Revolution, try this "intriguing" activity.

Learn More

Colonial Williamsburg Teaching Resources for Your Classroom

Colonial Williamsburg offers a variety of quality instructional materials to help you teach students about life in early America, including:

 —Quill Pen, Ink Powder & Paper
 —Hands-On History: Soldier's Haversack
 —The World Turned Upside Down (CD)

Learn More

Teaching News

Thanks to everyone who stopped by the Colonial Williamsburg booth to say "hi" and meet Peyton Randolph at last month's 84th National Council for the Social Studies Annual Conference. The conference was held November 19-21 in Baltimore, MD. The conference theme was "Democracy and Diversity: Social Studies in Action."

Congratulations to the following door prize winners, who took home copies of Colonial Williamsburg's video series A Day in the Life:

Alex Mayo from Anchorage, AK
Sandra Uranga from El Paso, TX
Kimberly Pearre from Ellicott City, MD

Quote of the Month

"The necessity of procuring good Intelligence is apparent & need not be further urged—All that remains for me to add is, that you keep the whole matter as secret as possible. For upon Secrecy, Success depends in Most Enterprizes of the kind, and for want of it, they are generally defeated, however well planned . . ."

--George Washington
in a letter to Colonel Elias Dayton
July 26, 1777

For more information about Colonial Williamsburg teaching resources, visit our Internet site at: http://www.history.org/teach

If you would like to be removed from future mailings, please send a message to teachistory@cwf.org with the subject heading "unsubscribe."

The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 134 N. Henry St., Williamsburg, VA 23185