MassachusettsHISTORY EXPLORERS GRADES 3–8
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Quick glossary
evidence
Information from a source that helps us test a claim.
source
A document, object, image, or account we can examine.
inference
An explanation based on clues; it still needs checking.
migration
Moving from one place to another to live.
immigrant
A person who moves to another country to live.
estimate
An approximate amount, based on available information.
oral history
A recorded interview about someone’s memories and experiences.
community
People connected by a place, relationships, or shared activities.
ancestry
Family origins across generations.
primary source
Evidence created by someone who experienced a time or event.

Read · watch · investigate

Explore Boston’s Freedom Trail

What can streets, buildings, and memorials teach us about freedom?

Start here · grades 3–5
The Massachusetts State House, one of the Freedom Trail’s stops.
The Massachusetts State House, one of the Freedom Trail’s stops.

Boston’s Freedom Trail links 16 historic sites along about 2.5 miles. A red line helps visitors follow the route through Boston and Charlestown. It includes places from before, during, and after the Revolution. Walking order is not chronological order!

Visit the official Freedom Trail website ↗Open the official route map ↗Explore all 16 official sites ↗

Follow the 16 stops

Use these checkboxes as an on-screen exploration list. They reset when you leave this page. You can investigate a stop online without visiting Boston.

Choose a stop to investigate.

Watch, then locate

Pair The Boston Tea Party with Old South Meeting House. Connect The Midnight Ride to Old North Church and Paul Revere House. Then investigate Bunker Hill in Charlestown. Watch Liberty’s Kids

Look beyond famous names

Ask who worked, lived, worshipped, or was excluded at a place. Whose story does a marker tell? Whose story might need another source? Add Black history and women’s voices to your investigation. Black people & the Revolution

Your trail detective mission

Choose three stops: a home, a place of debate, and a memorial. Find one fact and one question for each. Is the building from the time of the event, or was it built later to remember it? Check dates instead of guessing.

Plan a visit with an adult

You do not need to complete the whole route in one day. Use the official map to choose a manageable section. Check each site’s current hours, admission, accessible entrances, restrooms, and school-visit information. Outdoor streets and indoor attractions have different access arrangements.

Sources, grown-up reading & teaching notes

These are original reading companions. Follow the sources to check a claim. External pages and recordings keep their own languages.

Take a virtual field trip

Context image for Faneuil Hall: a 360° visit. The visit page identifies the image.Faneuil Hall: a 360° visitBostonContext image for Outside the Old State House. The visit page identifies the image.Outside the Old State HouseBostonContext image for Bunker Hill: a view from the monument. The visit page identifies the image.Bunker Hill: a view from the monumentBoston
All field trips →

Investigate with an interactive

Topic illustration; not a screenshot of the activityThe coming of the American RevolutionRevolutionTopic illustration; not a screenshot of the activityBoston’s Underground RailroadSlavery & freedom
All history interactives →
Explore the six lessons →Image credits & sources →
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