Jackson Ward in Richmond, VA was one of the most active and well known centers of African American life in this country by 1920.  Other examples of cities such as this one include Alexandria, VA and Church Street in Norfolk, VA. African Americans were able to create vibrant communities with businesses, churches, and entertainment venues despite the challenges they faced in this country.

This capstone project can be used for students taking United States History to 1865 through Virginia and United States Government.  The project was written specifically for the state-developed African American History Elective course, but can be easily modified for any course.

This capstone project can be used for students taking Virginia Studies through Virginia and United States Government.  The project was written specifically for the state-developed African American History Elective course, but can be easily modified for any course.

This capstone project can be used for students taking United States History to 1865 through Virginia and United States Government.  The project was written specifically for the state-developed African American History Elective course, but can be easily modified for any course.

This capstone project can be used for students taking United States History to 1865 through Virginia and United States Government.  The project was written specifically for the state-developed African American History Elective course, but can be easily modified for any course.

This capstone project can be used for students taking United States History to 1865 through Virginia and United States Government.  The project was written specifically for the state-developed African American History Elective course, but can be easily modified for any course.

This capstone project can be used for students taking United States History to 1865 through Virginia and United States Government.  The project was written specifically for the state-developed African American History Elective course, but can be easily modified for any course.

This capstone project can be used for students taking United States History to 1865 through Virginia and United States Government.  The project was written specifically for the state-developed African American History Elective course, but can be easily modified for any course.

This capstone project can be used for students taking United States History to 1865 through Virginia and United States Government.  The project was written specifically for the state-developed African American History Elective course, but can be easily modified for any course.

This capstone project can be used for students taking Virginia Studies through Virginia and United States Government.  The project was written specifically for the state-developed African American History Elective course, but can be easily modified for any course.

This activity was originally developed by the teachers in the pilot program for the African  American History elective course (state-developed).  It can be modified for any American History course.

This capstone project can be used for students taking United States History to 1865 through Virginia and United States Government.  The project was written specifically for the state-developed African American History Elective course, but can be easily modified for any course.

Racism began to evolve during the second half of the 17th Century, around 1640.  African Americans made up a few thousand of the total population in the new colonies. Many of those early African Americans experienced life much like their fellow European settlers. The reversals they experienced were subtle at first but then became drastic. Those changes occurred because slavery was being used in the Caribbean to produce sugar so those ideas about labor traveled north easily.  It was also harder to import labor from Europe because the Civil War and the plague had reduced the population there. European colonists were realizing that enslaving African Americans would be more efficient and profitable. 

Students will learn about the Pamunkey Indian Tribe in Virginia and the tribe’s history of clay vessels. Students will learn clay hand building methods and hand-build a clay vessel that tells a story.

Students will compare Ancient Greek architecture with the innovative and abstract contemporary architecture of renowned famous female Iraqi architect, Zaha Hadid. Students will respond to a design challenge and create a small-scale 3-D building model employing vision and originality to showcase their most creative idea of form and function.

What would it be like living during the Harlem Renaissance? How would you feel if your family packed up and moved to another state? In this lesson students will discuss, visualize and create artwork inspired by the work of Jacob Lawrence and Romare Bearden.

Students will analyze Emanuel Leutze’s Washington Crossing the Delaware by hypothesizing the story the artwork depicts and then create a drawing illustrating an important event in their life.

This lesson plan is part of a multi-disciplinary unit that scaffolds the deeper-learning skills of early-elementary students through the examination of artifacts and cultural experiences throughout the history of Virginia. Through a forthcoming prerecorded webinar that will be linked to this presentation, two Virginia teachers joined by the Virginia Museum of History and Culture (Richmond, VA), provide a presentation on how to use this resource and to consider ways educators can collaborate with museum experts to broaden each student's critical thinking skills and enrich their historical understandings.

A multi-day lesson designed to integrate Geography and Literacy in an integrated humanities, history, or English setting. 

In this lesson students will investigate and describe the social and economic impacts and aftermath of riots of the 1960s using primary and secondary sources in a Google Hyperdoc.