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

Lesson Narrative (5Es)

This learning experience is inquiry-based and built on the 5E model. Students will be engaged by thinking about forgotten historic figures. Students will explore and explain Anne Pamela Cunningham's “To the Ladies of the South" letter, which rallied women to help preserve George Washington's Mount Vernon. Student understanding will be evaluated through the creation of their own persuasive letter. Finally, learning can extend by having the students actually publish their letter through social media or newspaper outlets.

Engage:

• Tell the students to think about a historic structure, event, figure, or issue that they think is unfairly neglected. Ask: what would it look like to adequately commemorate this history in your community?

Explore:

• Have the students read Ann Pamela Cunningham’s letter to the “Ladies of the South.” How did she connect her community to the goal of preserving Mount Vernon as a crucial civic project?
• Ask: what do you find effective/ineffective of her work?

Explain/Evaluate:

• Have the students create a type of communication to raise awareness, funds, and enthusiasm for the neglected historic event/issue/figure/structure that elevates this history.
• Tell the students to think about the audience they want to get on board—can they connect and motivate them?
• Who is included and excluded in the audience the students are addressing and the community they hope to serve?

Extend:

Students can have the opportunity to actually publish their communication in a school newspaper, Twitter or Facebook page, or address it to the school, local parks department, or whatever agency or office that might have authority over the preservation or creation of the historical site in question.