Curriculum

This 10-week, multidisciplinary, Inquiry-Driven Social Studies Project places Sylvester Manor and the indigenous people of Shelter Island and Long Island at its center. Through two connected case studies and one culminating writing unit, and several onsite or virtual visits to Sylvester Manor for fieldwork, students are immersed in research about the history of the indigenous people of Long Island and the impact of European colonization of the American northeast. This shared research across the two case studies serves as a scaffold for students to prepare a final written product as an expert on a specific aspect of the Manhansett people’s way of life and the impact of colonization for them. As a way to showcase their learning, students take action to inform an audience beyond their school about what they learned through their research in a way that gives voice to the Manhansett people’s story about who they were and how they were impacted by European Colonization in the mid-1600’s.