Lesson Plans

A lesson that engages students in an in-depth study of the manners and mores of late 18th century America. Students explore the personal rules of decorum by which George Washington lived and compare and contrast these to the rules they live by today. 

A primary source worksheet for students focused on close reading skills. Students are asked to use historical thinking skills to source a map of George Washington's five farms. This resource was created by 2015-2016 Life Guard Teacher Fellow Marcia Motter.

This activity has students examine Martha Washington's Bible as a primary source and then recreate Martha's family tree from clues like those in the bible. Students will learn to use fragmented information to create a larger picture, as well as use math to calculate birth and death dates. 

This activity gives students a chance to write their own interpretation labels for a primary source object. Students will be receive information on one of five aspects of Martha Washington's garnets and use that information to interpret the object. The class will then come together to discuss all aspects of Martha's garnets to show how many different stories can be told using one object. 

A primary source worksheet for students focused on close reading skills. Students are asked to read and analyze a letter written by Martha Washington to her nephew John Dandridge about the presidency. This resource was created by 2015-2016 Life Guard Teacher Fellow Marcia Motter.

An infograph created by the staff at the Washington Library that visually represents loyalists in America during the Revolutionary War, and where they migrated to following the war.  

A lesson that uses the weekly news show “Meet the Press” as a model for engaging students using primary sources. Students portray George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and the current President of the United States in a television interview. Students will develop answers to the host’s questions through primary sources research and current news articles.

A lesson that challenges students to use non-text-based sources to consider the essential question: What did George and Martha Washington want to convey to their guests in the New Room? After close examination and analysis of the architecture, paintings, and objects in Mount Vernon's New Room students debate whether George Washington created an autobiography through his home. 

This activity exemplifies George Washington's appreciation for innovation and ingenuity. Students will examine Oliver Evans' Mill Patent, which Washington adopted in his own Gristmill, and analyze how those represent both Washington's and America's values at the time. 

This DBQ style lesson asks students to use multiple primary and secondary sources to evaluate the statement: Ideals and moral concerns regarding human equality and the evils of slavery espoused over the course of the Founding Era were impossible to carry out and enforce due to the economic necessity and racial dynamics of slavery. This lesson was created by 2016-2017 Life Guard Teacher Fellow Michael Ellis.

A lesson that explores the creation of the Purple Heart military decoration, known during the American Revolution as the Badge of Military Merit. Students explore the historical and modern significance of this award created by George Washington.

This activity examines the more "gentlemanly" side of the Revolutionary War and the importance of appearance and discipline in the military. Students will practice analyzing Washington's Powder Bag and Puff and other primary and secondary documents to answer questions on life in the Continental Army. 

A primary source worksheet for students focused on close reading skills. Students compare how both George and Martha Washington felt about General Washington becoming the first President of the United States. This lesson builds on the George Washington's Letter to Henry Knox about the Presidency and Martha Washington's Letter about the Presidency worksheets, which are included in this PDF lesson plan. This resource was created by 2015-2016 Life Guard Teacher Fellow Marcia Motter.

This DBQ style lesson asks students to use multiple primary and secondary sources to evaluate the statement:  Non-violent opposition proved to be the most productive method of effecting change during the Revolutionary Era in America. This lesson was created by 2016-2017 Life Guard Teacher Fellow Michael Ellis.

A primary source worksheet for students focused on close reading skills. Students are asked to rank ten modern rules of civility alone and in small groups before completing a short activity sourcing and rephrasing George Washington's version of the Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior. This resource was created by 2015-2016 Life Guard Teacher Fellow Marcia Motter.

A worksheet encouraging students to read and source a newspaper article reporting on a celebration of George Washington's birthday from the Massachusetts Gazette from 1787. 

A primary source worksheet for students focused on using place as a primary source. Students will explore Samuel Vaughan's 1787 map of Mount Vernon to gain a better understanding of George Washington and the 18th-century world in which he lived. 

Mount Vernon’s Primary Source Sets contain documents, maps, objects, and images all related to a given theme. Each primary source includes a brief background for students and supporting content for instruction (additional background information, discussion questions, activity suggestions, and resources). Supporting content is available as one complete document for teachers. Use these sets as a whole collection, in small groups or pairs, or individually depending on classroom needs.

This activity uses the Slave Quarters at Mount Vernon to better understand the lives of the enslaved population who lived and worked on Mansion House Farm. Students will learn how to use place to examine American values and culture in the late 18th century. 

An infograph created by the staff at the Washington Library that visually represents information from George Washington's List of Enslaved People, 1799. 

This activity compares two containers of tobacco- one on the production side and the other on the consumption side to show how tobacco was made and sold in the Colonies and in England. Students will analyze a snuff box and hogshead as well as British advertisements for tobacco and snuff to understand the importance of tobacco to the 18th century. It also shines a light on how slavery was the foundation of Colonial and English economy, government, and lifestyle. 

This activity highlights the global economy that Mount Vernon was a part of in the 18th century. Students will use primary and secondary source to follow the process of how fish from Mount Vernon could become Solomon Gundy, a fish paste that was traditional in Jamaica. It also shows how George Washington was an active member of the slave trade and profiting off of the institution of slavery independent of him owning enslaved people. 

A primary source worksheet for students focused on close reading skills. Students are asked to read and analyze George Washington's Thanksgiving Proclamation of 1789. This resource was created by 2015-2016 Life Guard Teacher Fellow Marcia Motter.

This high-school lesson explores the relationship between George Washington and George Mason. The two were neighbors, living ten miles apart, and had a strong friendship until the Constitutional Convention. This lesson explores the steps to Revolution, the debates around the Constitution, and Federalist/Antifederalist objections.

This lesson was created by 2017-2018 Life Guard Teacher Fellow Teresa Osborne

This lesson explores George Washington's legacy through a growth mindset by allowing students time to research and know George Washington by analyzing myths about him and exploring why those myths were created. This lesson was created by 2016-2017 Life Guard Teacher Fellow Joanne Howard.

This activity explores two accounts of a meeting between the Iroquois Nation and the French before the French and Indian War. Students will analyze the sources of the two accounts and evaluate how truthful or biased they are to reconstruct what actually happened during that meeting. Students will consequently learn the difficulties historians have in interpreting history and increase their media literacy skills. 

This DBQ style lesson asks students to use multiple primary and secondary sources to evaluate the statement: George Washington was a stern and unknowable man, always in complete control, with little tolerance for sentimentality or familiarity. This lesson was created by 2016-2017 Life Guard Teacher Fellow Michael Ellis.

This activity explores how music was one of the main forms of communication on the battlefield. Students will work together to create musical signals that convey marching directions. They will then show how they work as a team to give and follow those commands as a well-organized military unit. 

A lesson that uses political cartoons to engage students in a deeper understanding of George Washington's presidency. Students examine political cartoons, created in 2005 by well-known political cartoonists from newspapers across the country for the Donald W. Reynolds Museum and Education Center at Mount Vernon, to explore issues related to the president's title, the Jay Treaty, and the debate surrounding a national bank.

Use these pages alongside the Mount Vernon Virtual Tour to learn about George Washington, Mount Vernon, and 18th Century life.

These sheets are created by LifeGuard Teacher Fellows Mari L. Harris, Jennifer Schmidt, and Jamie Brown.