Lesson Plans

Accepting the Presidency

A primary source worksheet for students focused on close reading skills. Students are asked to use historical thinking skills to source an excerpt from George Washington's 1789 letter to Henry Knox about accepting the presidency. This resource was created by 2015-2016 Life Guard Teacher Fellow Marcia Motter.

The American Revolution's Legacy of Protest

This DBQ style lesson asks students to use multiple primary and secondary sources from the 18th-21st centuries to evaluate the statement: Americans feel that those in positions of authority tend to be tyrannical and unjust. This lesson was created by 2016-2017 Life Guard Teacher Fellow Michael Ellis.

Breaking and Mending the Two-Term Precedent

This set of five lessons analyze the debate over term limits in the Constitutional Convention, George Washington’s establishment of the two-term precedent for the presidency, and the connection between that precedent and Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s breaking of that precedent nearly 150 years later.

Civic Friendship

Explore with your students how George Washington’s first presidential cabinet was created and how its members’ varying political views and compromises affected their decision-making. Through analysis of primary source excerpts and small groups, this resource illustrates the value and productivity that came from civic friendship and civil disagreement in the past, and invites them to reflect on their responsibilities today.

The Concept of Ownership

This DBQ style lesson asks students to use multiple primary source objects from Mount Vernon’s collection to explore the concept of ownership and what it can tell them about enslaved people in the 18th century. This lesson was created by 2016-2017 Life Guard Teacher Fellow Michael Ellis.

The Death of Martha Washington

A primary source worksheet for students focused on close reading skills. Students are asked to read and analyze an obituary for Martha Washington printed in the Augusta Herald on June 9, 1802. This resource was created by 2015-2016 Life Guard Teacher Fellow Marcia Motter.

Disease During Wartime

A lesson plan that draws a connection between the threat of smallpox during the Revolutionary War and the influenza pandemic during World War I. In this lesson, students will utilize educational technology to consult primary, secondary, and tertiary sources in the completion of a webquest. Writing across the curriculum is a large focus of this lesson. Students will make interdisciplinary connections between history and science (specifically biology). This resource was created by 2013-2014 Life Guard Teacher Fellow Hannah Markwardt. 

Farewell Address: Giving Advice and Leaving a Legacy

This lesson examines George Washington's advice in his Farewell Address in order to understand the context and rationale for it. Students are asked to create their own farewell address that offers advice to students in next year's class, specifically referencing a growth mindset. This lesson was created by 2016-2017 Life Guard Teacher Fellow Joanne Howard.

First in Industrialization

A lesson that draws a connection between the innovative steps that George Washington took as “first farmer” and the wave of changes that comprised the American Industrial Revolution. Students will explore information from sources such as text, video, and drawings. Students will make interdisciplinary connections between history and science/engineering. This resource was created by 2013-2014 Life Guard Teacher Fellow Hannah Markwardt. 

Following in the Footsteps of their Fathers

This DBQ style lesson asks students to use multiple primary and secondary sources to evaluate if the Southern secession movement in the 19th century was an extension of the ideals of the American Revolution. This lesson was created by 2016-2017 Life Guard Teacher Fellow Michael Ellis.

George Washington's Life in Color

Four seasonal magazines use inquiry, cross-curricular connections, and coloring pages to explore color through the landscape George Washington loved, the home he built, the army he led, and more. Students learn how Washington’s world encompassed the full spectrum of colors by examining 18th-century life and material culture. This resource was created by 2016-2017 Life Guard Teacher Fellow Lynn Miller.

Path to Patriot

This integrated lesson connects the concept of informed civic agency to the life of George Washington as he changed from serving the British military in the French and Indian War to fighting against them in the Revolutionary War.  It allows students to see themselves as citizens that have the agency to solve problems in our world today.

Leadership: Sorting it Out

Let your students take a look at the leadership qualities of George Washington and the establishment of the first cabinet. By sorting and categorizing primary source excerpts in group-generated categories, students are offered an opportunity to associate character, virtues, and values with traits of good citizens and leaders today.

The Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association: The Possibilities and Debates in a Civil Society

Just like Ann Pamela Cunningham, the founder of the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association and defender of George Washington’s legacy, students can use persuasive language to motivate others to care about an important civic challenge they hope to address.  Through the analysis of a primary source and a civics activity, this learning resource empowers students to see themselves as citizens whose voices matter and who have the agency to collaboratively confront problems in our world today.

George Washington, Public Space, and National Identity

Washington has been a symbol of the United States since the moment of its founding. Students explore the value of civic conversations about historic symbols in monuments of George Washington in our world today. Through the analysis of primary sources and a creative civics activity, this learning resource empowers students to see themselves as citizens whose voices matter and who have agency to participate in civic conversations.

George Washington, the Farewell Address, and National Unity

Are you looking for a way to incorporate civics into your high school classroom? This learning resource connects the concept of informed civic agency to George Washington’s significance as a visionary for the nation’s future.  Through primary source analysis and a creative civics activity, this resource empowers students to see themselves as citizens with responsibilities to engage in civic participation and who have agency to research and collaboratively participate in civic disagreement.

Washington and Mount Vernon as National Symbols of Liberty and Enslavement

This learning resource connects the concept of informed civic agency to George Washington’s significance as a national symbol in rhetoric. Two leading 19th-century African-American orators provide different perspectives on George Washington’s legacy in the century after his death. Through the analysis of primary sources and a creative civics activity, this learning resource empowers students to see themselves as citizens whose voices matter and who have agency to collaboratively confront problems in our world today.

U.S Policy with Indian Nations

How did the United States government develop policies towards Indian nations during George Washington’s presidency?  How were Indian societies and cultures affected by U.S. policies?  This integrated lesson explores how the United States government, American citizens and Indian nations asserted rights to their lands during Washington’s presidency.  Students will study the changing landscape of our nation and who benefited from and was harmed by these changes.

Colonial Encounters: George Washington and Native Americans

This lesson examines the views that a young George Washington had towards Native Americans as he traveled the “Ohio Country.” Students are asked to critically analyze and evaluate the views of George Washington through his various diary entries and letters from 1748-1754.

What's the Deal? Native American Policy During the Confederation Period

This lesson begins with George Washington’s letter to James Duane. In it, Washington outlines his ideas for a Native American Policy. Next, students are placed in the role of Native Americans living within the boundaries of a newly created United States under the Articles of Confederation by critically analyzing two peace treaties from 1784 and 1785, and are asked, “What’s the Deal?”

President Washington's Native American Policy

This lesson takes students through President George Washington’s first years as President as he and Secretary of War Henry Knox craft the first president’s Native American Policy. Students are asked to critically analyze President Washington’s policies and the tangible symbols of those policies, the peace medals.

Infographic: Women in the 18th Century

This infographic tells the stories of three different women who lived at Mount Vernon in the eighteenth century 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 LifeGuard Teacher Fellows Kate Van Haren and Pam Stafford.

The Inauguration of George Washington

A primary source worksheet for students focused on close reading skills. Students are asked to read and analyze George Washington's diary entry from April 16, 1789, the day he left Mount Vernon for his inauguration in New York City. This resource was created by 2015-2016 Life Guard Teacher Fellow Marcia Motter.

Integrating Women's History in the Founding Era

This set of five lesson plans use Martha Washington as a case study to integrate women's history into the events of the American Revolution and the New Nation historical eras. This lesson was created by 2017-2018 Life Guard Teacher Fellow Bonnie Belshe. 

The Journal of Major George Washington, 1754

A primary source worksheet for students focused on close reading skills. Students are asked to read and analyze an advertisement George Washington wrote after his report to Governor Dinwiddie was published in 1754. This resource was created by 2015-2016 Life Guard Teacher Fellow Marcia Motter.

Map of Mount Vernon

A primary source worksheet for students focused on close reading skills. Students are asked to use historical thinking skills to source a map of George Washington's five farms. This resource was created by 2015-2016 Life Guard Teacher Fellow Marcia Motter.

Martha Washington's Letter about the Presidency

A primary source worksheet for students focused on close reading skills. Students are asked to read and analyze a letter written by Martha Washington to her nephew John Dandridge about the presidency. This resource was created by 2015-2016 Life Guard Teacher Fellow Marcia Motter.

The Only Unavoidable Subject of Regret: The Founders' Failure to End Slavery

This DBQ style lesson asks students to use multiple primary and secondary sources to evaluate the statement: Ideals and moral concerns regarding human equality and the evils of slavery espoused over the course of the Founding Era were impossible to carry out and enforce due to the economic necessity and racial dynamics of slavery. This lesson was created by 2016-2017 Life Guard Teacher Fellow Michael Ellis.

Presidency Comparison

A primary source worksheet for students focused on close reading skills. Students compare how both George and Martha Washington felt about General Washington becoming the first President of the United States. This lesson builds on the George Washington's Letter to Henry Knox about the Presidency and Martha Washington's Letter about the Presidency worksheets, which are included in this PDF lesson plan. This resource was created by 2015-2016 Life Guard Teacher Fellow Marcia Motter.

Putting Up Resistance

This DBQ style lesson asks students to use multiple primary and secondary sources to evaluate the statement:  Non-violent opposition proved to be the most productive method of effecting change during the Revolutionary Era in America. This lesson was created by 2016-2017 Life Guard Teacher Fellow Michael Ellis.

The Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior

A primary source worksheet for students focused on close reading skills. Students are asked to rank ten modern rules of civility alone and in small groups before completing a short activity sourcing and rephrasing George Washington's version of the Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior. This resource was created by 2015-2016 Life Guard Teacher Fellow Marcia Motter.

Thanksgiving Proclamation of 1789

A primary source worksheet for students focused on close reading skills. Students are asked to read and analyze George Washington's Thanksgiving Proclamation of 1789. This resource was created by 2015-2016 Life Guard Teacher Fellow Marcia Motter.

The Most Famous Founder and an Unfamiliar Founder: George Washington and his Neighbor, George Mason

This high-school lesson explores the relationship between George Washington and George Mason. The two were neighbors, living ten miles apart, and had a strong friendship until the Constitutional Convention. This lesson explores the steps to Revolution, the debates around the Constitution, and Federalist/Antifederalist objections.

This lesson was created by 2017-2018 Life Guard Teacher Fellow Teresa Osborne

The Truth About the Cherry Tree

This lesson explores George Washington's legacy through a growth mindset by allowing students time to research and know George Washington by analyzing myths about him and exploring why those myths were created. This lesson was created by 2016-2017 Life Guard Teacher Fellow Joanne Howard.

An Unalterable Affection: Did George Washington Have a Soft Side?

This DBQ style lesson asks students to use multiple primary and secondary sources to evaluate the statement: George Washington was a stern and unknowable man, always in complete control, with little tolerance for sentimentality or familiarity. This lesson was created by 2016-2017 Life Guard Teacher Fellow Michael Ellis.

Virtual Tour Activities

Use these pages alongside the Mount Vernon Virtual Tour to learn about George Washington, Mount Vernon, and 18th Century life.

These sheets are created by LifeGuard Teacher Fellows Mari L. Harris, Jennifer Schmidt, and Jamie Brown.

Washington at War

These scaffolded Activity Suggestion Sheets give quick, grab-and-go activities for you to implement into lesson plans. The sheets cover the facts, logistics, and stories of the Revolutionary War, as well as George Washington's leadership in battle.

These sheets were created by 2023 LifeGuard Teacher Fellows Trevor Bliss and Shawnel Padilla.

Washington Survives Braddock's March

A primary source worksheet for students focused on close reading skills. Students are asked to read and analyze George Washington's letter to his brother John Washington written after Braddock's defeat in 1755. This resource was created by 2015-2016 Life Guard Teacher Fellow Marcia Motter.

Washington's 1799 Will and Testament Concerning National Education

A primary source worksheet for students focused on close reading skills. Students are asked to read and analyze a section of George Washington's 1799 Will and Testament concerning the creation of a national university. This resource was created by 2015-2016 Life Guard Teacher Fellow Marcia Motter.

Who Are We?

A lesson plan to help students gain an understanding of the lives of the enslaved people on Mount Vernon.  The students will use a primary source document, entitled the French’s Slave Census 1799, to research an enslaved individual in order to answer questions and write an introduction about the person. This lesson was created by 2017-2018 Life Guard Teacher Fellow Donella Smither.

Wisdom Through War

This DBQ style lesson asks students to use multiple primary and secondary sources to support the historian Joseph Ellis’ statement: Instead of going to college, Washington went to war.  And the kind of education he received…left scars that never went away, as well as immunities against any and all forms of youthful idealism. This lesson was created by 2016-2017 Life Guard Teacher Fellow Michael Ellis.

Women in the 18th Century

These scaffolded Activity Suggestion Sheets give quick, grab-and-go activities for you to implement into lesson plans. The sheets cover the different roles, responsibilities, and impacts of women in the 18th century, and are perfect for incorporating women's history throughout your curriculum. 

These sheets were created by 2023 LifeGuard Teacher Fellows Pam Stafford and Kate Van Haren.

Timelines and Washington's Complex Views on Slavery

This integrated lesson connects the civic concepts of A People with Contemporary Debates & Possibilities and We the People to the life of George Washington and his varying views on enslavement.  It allows teachers to support students’ ability to engage in the difficult conversations that are necessary to support a diverse democratic society and reflect critical understanding of how our shared history and experiences contribute to contemporary society