Lesson Plans

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.

A post- distance learning program activity for your classroom that uses Washington's library collection to understand his personal research and interest. Students will identify different subjects within his collection and compare them to the subjects studied within their own classrooms today. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

Have you ever looked at the top of the Mansion and noticed a bird? That's a replica of the weathervane that George Washington had made for his house! Using this activity, you can make a replica of your own. 

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. 

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.

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! 

George Washington's fireplace mantle in the New Room is decorated with carvings of farming scenes and livestock. He filled the New Room with these symbols to show his interest in agriculture to his visitors.  If you were to design your own fireplace mantle, what images would you use? What would it say about you? This activity gives you a chance to find out. 

As a teenager, George Washington copied the Rules of Civility and Decent Behaviour in Company in Conversation to practice his penmanship. The 110 rules covered many of the social graces of the time period. We have many of the same rules in society today. Complete this matching activity to learn some of the rules' modern equivalent. 

George Washington's name and face is all around us. Using this scavenger hunt, you'll be able to find him not just about Mount Vernon, but all over your neighborhood!