History Education

Students can explore the role of a museum curator and learn about the role objects play in storytelling by using a pre-curated packet of collections objects to create a mini-exhibition about the chosen topic. The example below focuses on the American Revolution. 

This flexible activity can be adjusted to include content and standards for public, private, or homeschool classrooms and is scaleable for grades four and up. Secondary students can go beyond simple object selection by creating exhibit labels and titles using the worksheets in the instruction packet or looking on our website to find content from different time periods.

• Image Packet
• Image Descriptions
• Instructions
• Example Exhibit 

Between the end of The Revolutionary War and the outbreak of The Civil War, more than a million Virginians left the state. This interdiscplinary lesson plan in line with VDOE standards of learning for fourth-sixth grades uses the journal of a young woman from Southwest Virginia to bring to life a personal account of westward movement in the first half of the 19th century. Incorporating english language arts, history, science, math, critical thinking and decision making skills, many of the activities can be scaled to work with a variety of grade levels and classroom styles. 

• Westward Movement Student Activity Packet  
• Westward Movement Teacher and Template Packet
• Elizabeth Ann Cooley McClure Journal Transcript

In May 2022, the Virginia Museum of History and Culture opened an exhibition titled Our Commonwealth. This exhibit takes a fresh approach to Virginia’s history by encouraging people to think geographically – how do different cultural regions of Virginia and their landscapes impact how people work, live, and play? In this lesson, students will explore the definition of community and curate their own version of Our Commonwealth by researching & collecting stories they think best represent their school, city, or region.

In 1849, John Robertson Maben traveled from Rockbridge, Virginia to California in search of gold. In a series of thirteen letters sent to his wife, Maben gives vivid details about the places and people he encounters, the hardships he must overcome, and the triumphs he celebrates along the way. Follow along his epic journey in this self-guided program designed to help students practice analyzing primary sources.  Will John Maben be successful in his quest? Click the link below to find out.

Interested in having this program facilitated by a VMHC educator instead? Book a guided HistoryConnects program here.

These thematic kits help students analyze and interpet primary source material from our collections through context, guiding questions, and digitized primary source material. The majority are designed for grades 4 and above, though individual sources, objects, and themes within the packets are scaleable for younger grades. 

This showcase includes images from our collections that can be used to address themes in post–1865 Virginia and American history that address historical themes such as education, industrialization, urbanization, transportation, the changing roles of women, the development of Jim Crow, and the civil rights movement.

Our youngest learners can become comfortable working with primary sources through the activities below! 

• The Famous Faces of the Suffrage Movement video takes early elementary students through the Women’s Suffrage Movement. Students will examine why their lives were different, and why fighting for the vote was so important. Download the worksheet to follow along with the video! 

   

• The Exploring Our Community: Civics in the K-2 Classroom lesson helps early learners understand concepts like community, past vs. present, wants vs. needs, and goods vs. services. 

• Explore Determined: The 400-Year Struggle for Black Equality lesson plans created in collaboration with Justice in the Classroom. The 8 lesson plans are designed for middle and high school students. View Here.

• Explore the Dr. Carter G Woodson Collaborative lesson plans created in collaboration with VDOE, teachers and museums across the Commonwealth. These lessons plans range K-12. View Here.