Historic Ephrata Cloister announced the release of a new series of virtual school programs designed to bring the museum into the classrooms and homes of students. These programs provide a substitute for in-person field trips to this National Historic Landmark while the site remains closed during the pandemic. The series, titled "Obed's Classroom," draws its name from Brother Obed, Ephrata's first schoolteacher who offered lessons to children starting in the mid-1700s. The four virtual lessons, designed for children in grades three to five, each last about 30 minutes and explore different aspects of the community's history.

Teachers have the flexibility to schedule the lessons as a full unit in one day or as four separate virtual visits at different times. Each lesson can accommodate up to 30 students. A packet of essential questions, background information, and follow-up materials accompanies each lesson. Teachers are required to attend a brief preconference visit with the museum educator prior to the first live classroom visit to review the technology and the classroom procedures.

Each of the lessons combines live narration, photographs, object show and tell, and activities for students to do on their side of the computer screen as history comes right to their desk. One lesson looks at the place where the town of Ephrata began, examining the disciplined daily life of Ephrata's first residents. Another lesson explores the printing of books in early Ephrata. The examination of Colonial medical practices challenges students to compare modern health care with the past, making some connections to current medical concerns. Finally, a look at the ways young people received an education at home, as apprentices, and in more formal schools provides a brief lesson in a foreign language, math, and reading, all drawn from original sources. The four separate lessons can be viewed in any order with some elements interlaced between the different classes.

The full series of lessons is available for a set fee, with a discount available for two or more classrooms in the same school. Readers may contact Michael Showalter at mishowalte@pa.gov to schedule this new virtual experience for a classroom. To learn more, readers may visit http://www.ephratacloister.org.