Home > Education > Resources for Teachers

Teachers Guide: The Story of Virginia, an American Experience
A teaching guide to our award-winning exhibition, The Story of Virginia, is available online. Included are 7 sections that trace Virginia history from prehistoric times to the present with text, classroom activities, and exhibition images. View the guide

Washington's Mentor: Gov. Dinwiddie's Correspondence, 1751–58
In the early 1880s, the VHS received an extraordinary collection of manuscript items relating to the service of Robert Dinwiddie as lieutenant-governor of Virginia. This new teacher's resource includes images and transcriptions of selected letters and questions to aid in classroom discussion.
Learn more

Witness to a Century: Guide for Discussion with Senior Adult Audiences
Produced by the Virginia Historical Society and Community Idea Stations, Witness to a Century documents the tremendous changes that took place in Virginia between 1900 and 2000 by using the words of those who experienced that revolutionary time period first hand—men and women 100 years old or older.
• Download teaching guide [PDF - 1.4 mb  Adobe Acrobat required]
• View clips from the documentary film Witness to a Century

Linking to Our Past: Documenting the African American Experience in Virginia
The VHS received a grant from The Links Foundation, Inc., to present online items from the Society's collections that pertain to African American history. Items include letters, diaries, broadsides, telegrams, government documents, paintings, prints, museum objects, and ephemera. Visit the site

Teaching Materials: Lee and Grant
Gallery activities for the past exhibition, Lee and Grant, helps guide students through the four sections of the exhibition.
View the Online exhibition  |  Download gallery activities [PDF - 212 kb  Adobe Acrobat required]

Teachers Guide: American Visions of Liberty and Freedom
Designed for teachers, this guide explores the central themes of the past VHS exhibition, American Visions of Liberty and Freedom. It contains curriculum outlines, classroom activities, and more than 80 iconic images. Learn more

E. Claiborne Robins, Jr., Teachers Institute
The Virginia Historical Society's annual E. Claiborne Robins, Jr., Teachers Institute was held July 13–17, 2009. This year's subject was "The Brown Decision in Virginia," an examination of the Massive Resistance response to Brown v. Board of Education. Learn more