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Lesson Plans

Teacher Fellow Created

The American Revolution and Suffrage

This DBQ-style lesson asks students to examine suffrage-era primary sources to understand the role of revolutionary rhetoric in the thoughts, actions, and goals of the women’s movement.

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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.

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Be Washington: Genet Affair

This lesson was created to be used with Mount Vernon's Be Washington interactive experience. Students will analyze advice given to President George Washington during the Genet Affair crisis in 1794 through the use of primary and secondary sources.

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Be Washington: Newburgh Conspiracy

This lesson was created to be used with Mount Vernon's Be Washington interactive experience. Students will analyze advice given to General George Washington during the Newburgh Conspiracy crisis in 1783 through the use of primary and secondary sources.

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Be Washington: Whiskey Rebellion

This lesson was created to be used with Mount Vernon's Be Washington interactive experience. Students will analyze advice given to President George Washington during the Whiskey Rebellion crisis in 1794 through the use of primary and secondary sources.

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Breaking and Mending the Two-Term Precedent

This lesson draws a connection between George Washington’s establishment of the two-term precedent for the presidency and Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s breaking of that precedent nearly 150 years later. In this lesson, students will analyze multiple primary and secondary sources, both collaboratively and independently. Discussion and debate is a large focus of this lesson. Students will make interdisciplinary connections between history and government/civics. This resource was created by 2013-2014 Life Guard Teacher Fellow Hannah Markwardt.

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A Classroom Constitutional Convention

This lesson helps students understand the confusion and difficulties of the Constitutional Convention. Students will be separated into groups where they have to create a new form of government for their classroom that is more "democratic" than its current "monarchy" where the teacher as at its head. They will then reflect on how easy or hard it was to create a new form of government and convince others of their opinions.

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The Constitution as a Job Description

In this lesson, students are asked to use Article 1 and Article 2 of the Constitution and George Washington's notes on his personal copy of the document to create a job description for the President of the United States in 1787.

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The Constitutional Convention through Biography

This lesson outlines a role-playing activity intended to help students better understand the perspectives of individual delegates at the critical point when they were debating representation at the Constitutional Convention.

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Establishing the Presidency

A lesson plan that facilitates discussion amongst students about the challenges George Washington faced as the first President of the United States.

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George Washington and Civic Virtue

A lesson focused on George Washington’s character and civic virtues. Students examine the connection between these virtues and fostering a democratic and free society in the United States.

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George Washington Quotes

This classroom resource directly supports the video A More Perfect Union: George Washington and the Making of the Constitution. Use this reference sheet to draw attention to evidence on the state of the government under the Articles of Confederation using George Washington's own words.

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George Washington's Foreign Policy

A lesson that asks students to connect George Washington’s Farewell Address to later presidential foreign policy messages. As a group, the class will discuss the influence Washington’s message had on the nation and posterity. Working in groups, students investigate excerpts from later presidential foreign policy messages and compare and contrast these with Washington’s Farewell Address. A Socratic Seminar analyzing past U.S. foreign policy also asks students to chart a course for future U.S. foreign policy.

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Key Concepts of the Constitution

This lesson supports the video A More Perfect Union: George Washington and the Making of the Constitution. After viewing the video, students use image-based flashcards to practice and demonstrate their understanding of the key concepts of the Constitution presented in the video. Visual cues provide new routes for student understanding of these complex ideas. Key concepts addressed reflect the importance of compromise, the weakness of the union after the War for Independence, the importance of George Washington as a unifying figure during a fractious time, and the elements of government reflected in the first seven Articles of the Constitution.

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Oliver Evans' Patent

This activity exemplifies George Washington's appreciation for innovation and ingenuity. Students will examine Oliver Evans' Mill Patent, which Washington adopted in his own Gristmill, and analyze how those represent both Washington's and America's values at the time.

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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.

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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.

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Realpolitik in 1793

A lesson that draws a connection between the realpolitik practiced during the Nixon administration and George Washington’s foreign policy practices. Students explore the application of modern foreign policy styles to 18th-century diplomatic situations and make interdisciplinary connections between history and government/civics. This resource was created by 2013-2014 Life Guard Teacher Fellow Hannah Markwardt.

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Snuff Box and Hogshead

This activity compares two containers of tobacco- one on the production side and the other on the consumption side to show how tobacco was made and sold in the Colonies and in England. Students will analyze a snuff box and hogshead as well as British advertisements for tobacco and snuff to understand the importance of tobacco to the 18th century. It also shines a light on how slavery was the foundation of Colonial and English economy, government, and lifestyle.

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Using Political Cartoons to Understand History

A lesson that uses political cartoons to engage students in a deeper understanding of George Washington's presidency. Students examine political cartoons, created in 2005 by well-known political cartoonists from newspapers across the country for the Donald W. Reynolds Museum and Education Center at Mount Vernon, to explore issues related to the president's title, the Jay Treaty, and the debate surrounding a national bank.

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Washington to Wilson: Taking a Stance on Suffrage

Students will learn the arguments for and against suffrage using Washington as a basis. They will do independent research to understand both sides and argue their opinion before the class.

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Vocabulary of the Constitution

This lesson supports the video A More Perfect Union: George Washington and the Making of the Constitution. After viewing the video, students use flashcards, quizzes, interactives, and worksheets to study and demonstrate their understanding of advanced vocabulary.

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Hands-On History- Create-Your-Own Crafts

Artists painted George Washington’s portrait many times during his lifetime and after. Some portraits show scenes from Washington’s life. Explore your creativity by downloading these templates to create your own portrait, along with your own dollar bill, Mount Vernon postcard, horse puppet, quilt block, and fan.

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Lesson Plans

The American Revolution and Suffrage

The American Revolution's Legacy of Protest

Be Washington: Genet Affair

Be Washington: Newburgh Conspiracy

Be Washington: Whiskey Rebellion

Breaking and Mending the Two-Term Precedent

A Classroom Constitutional Convention

The Constitution as a Job Description

The Constitutional Convention through Biography

Establishing the Presidency

George Washington and Civic Virtue

George Washington Quotes

George Washington's Foreign Policy

Key Concepts of the Constitution

Oliver Evans' Patent

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

Putting Up Resistance

Realpolitik in 1793

Snuff Box and Hogshead

Using Political Cartoons to Understand History

Washington to Wilson: Taking a Stance on Suffrage

Vocabulary of the Constitution

Hands-On History- Create-Your-Own Crafts

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