Lesson Plans

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.

These scaffolded Activity Suggestion Sheets give quick, grab-and-go activities for you to implement into lesson plans. The sheets cover the facts, logistics, and stories of the Revolutionary War, as well as George Washington's leadership in battle.

These sheets were created by 2023 LifeGuard Teacher Fellows Trevor Bliss and Shawnel Padilla.

A lesson plan to help students gain an understanding of the lives of the enslaved people on Mount Vernon.  The students will use a primary source document, entitled the French’s Slave Census 1799, to research an enslaved individual in order to answer questions and write an introduction about the person. This lesson was created by 2017-2018 Life Guard Teacher Fellow Donella Smither.

These scaffolded Activity Suggestion Sheets give quick, grab-and-go activities for you to implement into lesson plans. The sheets cover the different roles, responsibilities, and impacts of women in the 18th century, and are perfect for incorporating women's history throughout your curriculum. 

These sheets were created by 2023 LifeGuard Teacher Fellows Pam Stafford and Kate Van Haren.

A graphic organizer to help guide upper elementary students in analyzing and evaluating secondary source material as historic resources. This worksheet was created to accompany Mount Vernon's animated presentation Yorktown: Now or Never.

Did you know George Washington loved hoecakes for breakfast? Work together to cook a historic recipe in your kitchen. Here are other recipes you can try at home.

Did you know there were spies in the Revolutionary War? Download these activities to become one of Washington's agents, decoding and sending messages. Make the messages extra secretive by writing them with invisible ink.

George Washington wrote out the Rules of Civility to practice his penmanship and learn how to be a proper gentleman. Hornbooks were used to help children memorize important things, such as the alphabet or sayings that they needed to remember! You can make your own hornbook.

Artists painted George Washington’s portrait many times during his lifetime and after. Some portraits show scenes from Washington’s life. Explore your creativity by downloading these templates to create your own portrait, along with your own dollar bill, Mount Vernon postcard, horse puppet, quilt block, and fan. 

Explore Mount Vernon’s website and virtual tour to complete bingo! Play in a group or by yourself.

There are many shapes and colors on the Mansion. Use the virtual tour to find more shapes you can find!

Students will examine excerpts from different primary source documents to understand the importance that Washington placed on being proactive about personal health. After the examination, students will create their own health diaries, like Washington.

An inquiry-based module that provides primary and secondary sources to help students answer the question: Why was ice cream an exclusive treat at Mount Vernon long ago? Using a familiar sweet treat as an entry point, students research and analyze the lives of enslaved individuals, as well as the specialized skills and objects that went into serving a single dish of ice cream. Source materials include farm reports, material culture objects, rooms, maps, and biographies. This project was developed in partnership with McGraw Hill Education. 

This infographic tells the stories of people who fought in the American Revolution through visuals, graphics, and primary sources. It reads at an upper-elementary level, perfect for struggling readers, emerging English speakers, visual learners, or the average student. 

Created by LifeGuard Teacher Fellows Shawnel Padilla and Trevor Bliss.

This lesson compares the lives of Frank Lee and Doll, two individuals who were enslaved at Mount Vernon. It provides simplified biographies and guiding questions.

Find a book about horses, pigs, sheep, or cows - all animals at Mount Vernon! - and use this book report to record your findings.

Learn about the people who lived and labored at Mount Vernon with this helpful notetaking guide geared towards all learners.

These grab-and-go activity suggestions support instruction in colonial textiles and foodways, using archaeology and other primary sources to demonstrate different aspects of colonial life.

These activity sheets provide grab-and-go activity ideas about the foundation of the U.S. Constitution, government, and presidency. With different options for Elementary, Middle, and High School students, these activity suggestion sheets have something for every grade level. These sheets were created by 2024 LifeGuard Teacher Fellows Emily Finch and Tamera Johnson.

Use this helpful notetaking sheet to have young students record observations about an archaeological artifact.