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Optional activities are self-paced ways to earn project hours and stipends. This page keeps you updated on available activities and your progress. All optional hours are totaled and added to the Spark platform at the end of the project year (August 2026), so they won’t appear there until then. In the meantime, click the link below to track your progress. You may only earn up to 24 optional activity hours.
Bob and Marion Teacher Institute Online Seminars
Bob and Marion Teacher Institute Online Seminars
Earn your SPARK professional development hours the Colonial way—by joining these engaging, free, live workshops from The Bob and Marion Wilson Teacher Institute! Register for each event below, attend, and receive a certificate to email to Dr. Rebecca Roach at Rebecca.Roach@uswep.org . Your hours will be credited as “Optional Activities” at the end of the project year. Check the project invoice for stipend details.
Join Colonial Williamsburg and Fort Monroe for an exploration of freedom seekers during the American Revolution and the Civil War. Through primary sources and ready-to-use activities, participants will examine how the pursuit of liberty changed over time and how acts of self-liberation link these two pivotal eras. This timely session, offered ahead of Black History Month, provides resources for teaching the stories and impact of freedom seekers. SPARK participants will receive 1 professional development hours once they have submitted their certificate of completion.
Join Colonial Williamsburg and Fort Monroe for an exploration of freedom seekers during the American Revolution and the Civil War. Through primary sources and ready-to-use activities, participants will examine how the pursuit of liberty changed over time and how acts of self-liberation link these two pivotal eras. This timely session, offered ahead of Black History Month, provides resources for teaching the stories and impact of freedom seekers. SPARK participants will receive 1 professional development hours once they have submitted their certificate of completion.
Join the Bob and Marion Wilson Teacher Institute for an online talk with Colonial Williamsburg historian Dr. Derek Litvak on the development of slavery and the law from the arrival of the first Africans in Virginia through the 18th century. The session will examine the evolution of race-based chattel slavery and the experiences of enslaved people in 17th- and 18th-century Virginia. Participants will receive 1 opitonal activities hour.
In this online program, participants will explore how the debates of the 1787 Constitutional Convention can inspire respectful, meaningful conversations today. The session begins with strategies for teaching civil discourse, followed by a breakout activity using primary sources from the Federalist and Anti-Federalist debates. Led by Joe Schmidt, Executive Director of K–12 Education at Colonial Williamsburg, this program offers practical resources for bringing civil discourse into the classroom. Participants will receive 1 optional activity hour.
How do we define “civil disobedience,” and is it the same as defiance? Join Dr. Kelly Brennan, Colonial Williamsburg historian, to explore historical stories that challenge and deepen our understanding of the concept. Educators from the Center for Civic Education and the Teacher Institute will then discuss classroom applications. Participants will receive 1optional activities hour.
Join the Bob and Marion Wilson Teacher Institute and Monticello during Civic Learning Week to explore the ideas and individuals that shaped the First Amendment. Examine how Constitutional ratification debates and the ideas of Jefferson and Madison led to our rights to freedom of religion, speech, and expression. Participants will receive classroom-ready strategies to connect these 18th-century debates to civic life today and will earn 1optional activities hour.
Join Dr. Jeffery Nokes, historian and BYU professor, for an online workshop connecting historical inquiry and civic learning. Using colonial Virginia documents, Dr. Nokes will model strategies for analyzing primary sources and show how to adapt them to foster historical thinking and civic education in the classroom. Participants will receive 1 optional activities hour.
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