Archive for the ‘Classroom Resources’ Category

The history of the slaves that lived and worked at Mount Vernon is an integral part of the story that we tell. George Washington spent 40 years transforming a small farmhouse into the iconic mansion that stands today, as well as expanding his land to include five farms, a gristmill, distillery, and blacksmith shop. While Washington played a very active role in overseeing his farms and managing renovations on his home, he was no DIY-er. At Washington’s death in 1799, there were 316 slaves living and working at Mount Vernon, and it was these men, women, and children who made Mount Vernon a beautiful, prosperous plantation. To ensure that these individuals are not ignored in the classroom, we provide a range of lesson plans about slave life at Mount Vernon on our website. The elementary lesson “A Day at Mount Vernon” uses a story to show the connections between the Washington family and their slaves, the middle school lesson, “Washington & Slavery: 1799 Census” examines the slave census that Washington compiled shortly before his death, and the high school lesson, “George Washington Stood Here on the Issue of Slavery” examines the contradictions of being both a slave owner and a freedom fighter. Please leave a comment about ways that you teach about colonial slavery in your classroom!

Drumroll please… It’s time for the first ever official GWW contest! That’s right- we need a name for our new children’s website and who better to ask than the very teachers that will be using it this fall. The website will feature a 3-D virtual Mount Vernon estate that the player can explore while searching for objects and meeting the Washingtons, their grandchildren Nelly and Washy, Dr. Craik, Billy Lee, and many of the other people who lived and worked here. Two features of the game will be Harpsichord Hero (just like Guitar Hero except a bit more historic) and Bombarding Yorktown, where the player will help General Washington blow the British fortifications to bits (in a non-bloody way, of course).

Now for such an amazing online experience, we need a name that appeals to 5-year olds, 13-year olds, and 53-year olds. Prior suggestions have been “George Washington Rocks!,” “Washington’s World,” “Simulation Plantation,” “Tons of Fun with Washington,” and “Wii-shington.” Chime in if you like any of these, but if you have a new idea for a name, let us know! If we pick your name, we will send you a basket of our award-winning DVDs, curriculum kits, and teaching resources and provide one free videoconference of your choice this school year. The contest will end next week on July 31st (UPDATE: Deadline extended to August 8th!). And keep an eye out for the premiere of Harpsichord Hero next month only on GWW!

On May 9, 1754, the first political cartoon was published by Benjamin Franklin in his Pennsylvania Gazette. Most likely designed by Franklin himself, the snake cut into pieces represents Britain’s American colonies. The cartoon was a reminder that the colonies must unite to defend themselves as they entered the French and Indian War. The snake may have been chosen because of a popular superstition that a snake cut into pieces would come back to life if the pieces were joined before sunset. As the Revolutionary War approached, the cartoon became an American symbol for unity and love of liberty.

Political cartoons have become an increasingly appreciated teaching tool over the past decade. In 2005, Mount Vernon invited some of the nation’s most popular political cartoonists to draw cartoons to be displayed in our new Donald W. Reynolds Education Center. The high school lesson plan, “Using Political Cartoons to Understand Historical Events,” has students guess their own captions to accompany these cartoons. How do you use political cartoons in your classroom?

The Jay Treaty by Steve Kelley, The Times Picayune

A new project at the University of Virginia, the Civility Project, is encouraging young people to review George Washington’s “Rules of Civility” and create standards of social behavior for Americans of the 21st century. Students of all ages can read the “Rules” (available through the Papers of George Washington) and submit their own rule of civility. Miss Manners herself (otherwise known as Judith Martin) is even an adviser to the project.

The Mount Vernon Education Dept. provides several lessons that use these “Rules” to introduce students to the personal rules of decorum by which George Washington lived. The “110 Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation” that George Washington hand‐copied sometime before the age of sixteen- and that is sometimes sold today as George Washington’s “etiquette book”- was a school curriculum staple of a sort that was common in his day, and copying it may well have been nothing more than a way of practicing penmanship. Regardless, the “Rules” provide a window into the manners and mores of 18th century America and offer a wonderful opportunity for students to compare them to the rules by which we live today. The elementary lesson plan, Going By the Rules (by Teachers’ Institute alumnist Carol Scott), and the middle school lesson plan, Manners & Mores of Washington’s America (by alumnist Rene Lape) are great resources for using the “Rules” in the classroom.