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The Civil War Soldier

Students will explore the everyday experience of a Civil War soldier, focusing on such aspects of camp life as clothing, food, and letters from home. From the perspective of those who fought, students will gain insight into the war and its consequences. This program involves the active participation of the entire class.

As a class, students will:
• Investigate the trials and hardships of a Civil War soldier;
• Examine similarities and differences of equipment used by the Union and Confederate soldiers;
• Draw their own conclusions of what it may have been like to carry these items during the four seasons of the year without modern transportation;
• Examine primary and secondary sources of objects and letters;
• Discuss the effect the war had on Virginians and the country; and
• Explore the contributions made by women, slaves, and children.

Cost: $50 for Virginia schools and $100 for non-Virginia schools
Grade Level: Fourth through sixth grade.
SOL/ CURRICULUM OBJECTIVE: History and Social Science: VS.1, VS.7, USI.1, USI.9, USII.3, VUS.1, VUS.7

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Pocahontas and the Powhatan Indians

When the English arrived in Virginia, they encountered a number of Algonquin-speaking Indian tribes organized into a chiefdom ruled by Wahunsonacock—known as Chief Powhatan to the English. One of Powhatan's many children was Pocahontas, who became a mythic figure for her "rescue" of John Smith and her marriage to John Rolfe. Much of what historians now know about the Indians we call "the Powhatans" is derived from English sources, as the Powhatans had no written language.

Using primary sources from the English who came into first contact as well as replica artifacts created by Mattaponi Indians, students will learn about what life was like in Virginia before the first English settlers made it their homes. Students are encouraged to identify the various natural resources used by Native American men, women, and children to make their tools and clothing. Students will also be engaged in a discussion about Pocahontas and the myths associated with her.

Cost: $50 for Virginia schools and $100 for non-Virginia schools
Grade Level: All ages.
SOL/ CURRICULUM OBJECTIVE: History and Social Science: VS.2, VS.3, USI.2, USI.3, USI.4
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An American Turning Point: The Civil War in Virginia

From 1861 through 1865, Virginia stood at the center of a military and social revolution. How we define freedom, liberty, patriotism, and nation today is directly related to the diverse experiences of the individuals who participated in the war.

This program will guide participants through a virtual tour of An American Turning Point: The Civil War in Virginia exhibtion and encourage students to consider how a single event, separated from us by 150 years, so fundamentally reshaped American society that its impact is still experienced today.

Cost: $50 for Virginia schools and $100 for non-Virginia schools
Grade Level: All ages.
SOL/ CURRICULUM OBJECTIVE: History and Social Science: VS.7, USI.9
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John Robertson Maben and the Search for California Gold

In 1849, John Robertson Maben traveled to California in search of gold. In a series of thirteen letters, Maben describes his travels to his wife, Sarah. These letters are especially vivid as Maben was witness to events both momentous and mundane. He wrote of the cholera epidemic of 1849, the great St. Louis fire that same year, and the excitement and brutality of the California gold fields. In this program, students will join Maben on his journey, interpreting his letters, tracing his travels on a nineteenth-century map, and examining the landscape.

Students will receive /download typescripts of letters and copies of select originals. The instructor will walk them through the letters, discussing highlighted passages, exploring the nature of westward expansion, and examining life on the 19th century American frontier.

By the end of the program, students will be able to:
• analyze and interpret primary source materials.
• distinguish between primary and secondary sources.
• use maps to identify location and estimate distances.
• understand the factors that led people to decide to move west in the mid-nineteenth century, specifically push/pull factors.
• understand some of the hardships that people faced as they moved west in the mid-nineteenth century.
• understand the role ordinary Americans played in the making of American history.

Cost: $50 for Virginia schools and $100 for non-Virginia schools
Grade Level: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. This program is also available for adult learners and library patrons.
SOL/ CURRICULUM OBJECTIVE: History and Social Science: USI.8 and VUS.6b

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Virginia and the Westward Movement

This program examines the nineteenth-century movement of Virginians to the West and their contributions to settling the American frontier. Using primary sources from Virginians who traveled west, along with reproductions of objects that might have been found on a settler's Conestoga wagon, students interpret the great migration from Virginia in the decades before the Civil War.

The instructor will lead a discussion centered on primary sources and images exploring the nature of westward expansion, and examining life on the 19th century American frontier. The discussion of moving west will include an examination of replica artifacts that might have been found on a settler’s Conestoga wagon.

By the end of the program, students will be able to:
• analyze and interpret primary source materials.
• distinguish between primary and secondary sources.
• use maps to identify location and estimate distances.
• understand the factors that led people to decide to move west in the mid-nineteenth century, specifically push/pull factors.
• understand some of the hardships that people faced as they moved west in the mid-nineteenth century.
• understand the role ordinary Americans played in the making of American history.

Cost: $50 for Virginia schools and $100 for non-Virginia schools
Grade Level: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. This program is also available for adult learners and library patrons.
SOL/ CURRICULUM OBJECTIVE: History and Social Science: USI.8 and VUS.6b

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Snapshots in Time: Virginia in the 20th Century

"Snapshots in Time" is an in-depth examination of digitized images from the Virginia Historical Society's collection that can be used to address themes in post–1865 Virginia and American history. These images address historical themes such as education, industrialization, urbanization, transportation, and the changing roles of women.

Students will be introduced to the idea of photographs as an important historical primary source. The instructor will lead them through several photographs, fostering a process of inquiry and providing background information. Students examine the changes that took place over the first half of the twentieth century.

By the end of the program, students will be able to:
• analyze & interpret primary source materials.
• identify & define primary versus secondary sources.
• track social changes in education, industrialization, urbanization, transportation, and changing social roles for women and African Americans in Virginia and the south in the early 20th century.
• understand the role ordinary Americans played in the making of American history.

Cost: $50 for Virginia schools and $100 for non-Virginia schools
Grade Level: All ages. This program is also available for adult learners and library patrons.
SOL/ CURRICULUM OBJECTIVE: History and Social Science: VS8.b, VS8.c, VS9.a, VS9.c, VS9.d, and VS10.c.

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