Lesson Plans

This activity sheet uses a primary source document to introduce students to critical thinking about the advantages and disadvantages of Washington becoming Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army. Students will learn about Washington's deliberation about taking on this leadership role, while extracting information from a primary source. 

A primary source worksheet for students focused on close reading skills. Students are asked to read and analyze George Washington's letter to his brother John Washington written after Braddock's defeat in 1755. This resource was created by 2015-2016 Life Guard Teacher Fellow Marcia Motter.

A primary source worksheet for students focused on close reading skills. Students are asked to read and analyze a section of George Washington's 1799 Will and Testament concerning the creation of a national university. This resource was created by 2015-2016 Life Guard Teacher Fellow Marcia Motter.

This activity puts Elizabeth Willing Powel's 1792 letter to George Washington asking him to serve a second term as President in conversation with Washington's 1796 Farewell Address. Students will analyze those two documents, find the main arguments in each, and then juxtapose them to the counterarguments of the other. Finally, students will evaluate what makes a good argument and learn how to create a debate. 

A lesson challenging students to analyze primary and secondary sources to answer the question How many enslaved individuals named Grace, Isaac, and Suckey were there at Mount Vernon from 1750-1799? Using information available to researchers and scholars at the Washington Library, students become historians as they work to answer a question that has no definitive answer. As an optional extension, students can create a biography about one of the individuals identified in their research. 

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.

This lesson supports the video A More Perfect Union: George Washington and the Making of the Constitution. After viewing the video, students use flashcards, quizzes, interactives, and worksheets to study and demonstrate their understanding of advanced vocabulary. 

A graphic organizer to help guide middle school 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.

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.

A post-distance learning program activity where students will explore three different Washington-owned chairs to explore different ways technology was used to solve problems in the 18th century. Students will explore simple designs, analyze the technology used, and compare them to modern inventions that make life easier today. 

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.

This infographic covers enslavement at Mount Vernon 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 2024 LifeGuard Teacher Fellows Kristin Pankey and Andrea Thompson

We learn about history from a lot of different sources. These can include written documents and artifacts. However, we also understand history from oral histories, which is the passing down of history through verbal accounts. 

For millennia, humans have used recipes as a way to pass on culture and history. Pepper Pot Stew started as a stew commonly made in Africa. However, it followed the Transatlantic slave Trade from Africa to the West Indies and North America. Recipes like this one are some of the many ways African culture influenced American culture. 

This guide helps students record and compare the stories of individuals who sought freedom from Mount Vernon.

George Washington was very interested in his family tree and kept notes on it in their family Bible. His records for his plantation also help us trace the families of some of the enslaved people who lived at Mount Vernon. Using this activity, create a family tree for yourself, a friend, or a historical figure. 

The Battle of Lexington and Concord took place on the morning of April 19, 1775. At the time, no one knew this marked the beginning of an eight-year war for independence. However, in the immediate aftermath and the centuries that followed, artists created songs, poems, paintings, and more about this famous event. In this activity, you can explore Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Concord Hymn" and practice writing your own poems. 

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

This infographic covers the basics of the formation of the U.S. Government 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 2024 LifeGuard Teacher Fellows Emily Finch and Tamera Johnson.

Spies in the American Revolution used tools like cipher wheels to secretly pass messages that were crucial to the war effort. One of the most important spies for the Continental Army was James Lafayette, an enslaved man from Virginia that served as a spy for the Marquis de Lafayette.

Use this activity to learn about James Lafayette, cipher wheels, and spies in the American Revolution! 

Did you know that horses are measured using hands? This measurement has been used for centuries! George Washington was an avid horseman and owned many horses during his life. One of Washington's horses, Nelson, was 16 hands high! 

This activity explores primary sources to deepen participants' understanding of the eighteenth century. It also encourages them to practice their measuring skills. 

Coats of arms have been used for centuries, especially by monarchs and prominent families in Europe. An important coat of arms present during the American Revolution was that of Louis XVI and his ancestors. As the King of France, his decision to aid the Continental Army was crucial to American victory. 

George Washington ran Mount Vernon in the same manner he managed the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War: through careful time management, a close attention to detail, and a taskmaster 's sense of duty. Thus it is no little surprise that Washington set his sundial at the heart of his plantation. Sundials were the most accurate tool in eighteenth century America for telling time. In this activity, you can make your own! 

At the end of the First Continental Congress, delegates planned to reconvene with the Second Continental Congress the following spring in case Parliament did not respond. However, as war had broken out in Lexington & Concord, they also became the head of
the war effort. Explore some well-known and not-so-well-known delegates to the Second Continental Congress through this matching activity.