Format
1. The program begins with an introduction to the economic and government structure of colonial Virginia.
2. The educator and the audience will discuss the causes and results of the French-Indian war, and the effects on the North American colonists. Particular attention will be paid to the colonial response to the sugar, stamp, and tea acts.
3. The program will look at the creation of the Declaration of Independence and the Revolutionary War, with an emphasis of the Battle of Yorktown.
4. The educator will share and discuss the primary sources and replica artifacts associated with the Revolutionary War.
5. The audience will examine specific individuals and situations to promote an understanding of the wartime experiences of famous and everyday Virginians, and those who served in Virginia, during the war.
6. The program will end with time for a Questions and Answers period.
Objectives
The participant will:
- explain the difference between primary and secondary sources;
- identify the primary causes of the American Revolutionary War;
- identify the effects of the French-Indian war;
- identify major figures from the time period;
- understand the effect the American Revolutionary War had on the world
Standards Alignment
National Standards
Our programs are aligned with both national standards and Virginia Standards of Learning. While our programs can be tailored to suit learners of any age, they are initially designed for students in upper elementary and secondary schools.
National Standards
Topic 3: The History of the United States: Democratic Principles and Values and the Peoples from Many Cultures Who Contributed to Its Cultural, Economic and Political Heritage
Standard 4 : How Democratic Values Came to Be, and How They Have Been Exemplified by People, Events, and Symbols
COLONIZATION AND SETTLEMENT (1585-1763)
Standard 1: Why the Americas attracted Europeans, why they brought enslaved Africans to their colonies, and how Europeans struggled for control of North America and the Caribbean
Standard 2: How political, religious, and social institutions emerged in the English colonies
Standard 3: How the values and institutions of European economic life took root in the colonies, and how slavery reshaped European and African life in the Americas
REVOLUTION AND THE NEW NATION (1754-1820S)
Standard 1: The causes of the American Revolution, the ideas and interests involved in forging the revolutionary movement, and the reasons for the American victory
Common Core
Grade Two
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.3 : Describe the connection between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.4 : Determine the meaning of words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 2 topic or subject area.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.6 : Identify the main purpose of a text, including what the author wants to answer, explain, or describe.
Grade Three
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.1 : Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.3 : Describe the relationships between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text, using language that pertains to time, sequence, and cause/effect.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.7 : Use information gained from illustrations and the words in a text to demonstrate understanding of the text (eg, where, when, why, and how key events occur).
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.9 : Compare and contrast the most important points and key details presented in two texts on the same topic.
Grade Four
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.3 : Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text , including what happened and why, based on specific information in the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.4 : Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words or phrases in a text relevant to a grade 4 topic or subject area.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.6 : Compare and contrast a firsthand and secondhand account of the same event or topic; describe the differences in focus and information provided.
Grade Five
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.3 : Explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text based on specific information in the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.4 : Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 5 topic or subject area.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.6 : Analyze multiple accounts of the same event or topic, noting important similarities and differences in the point of view they represent.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.7 : Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating the ability to locate an answer to a question quickly or to solve a problem efficiently.
Grade Six-Eight
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6-8.1 : Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6-8.2 : Determine the central ideas or information of primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6-8.3 : Identify key steps in a text's description of a process related to history/social studies.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6-8.7 : Integrate visual information (eg., photographs or maps) with other information in print and digital texts.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6-8.9 : Analyze the relationship between a primary and secondary source on the same topic.
Grade Nine-Ten
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.1 : Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, attending to such features as the date and origin of the information.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.3 : Analyze in detail a series of events described in a text; determine whether earlier events caused later ones or simply preceded them.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.9 : Compare and contrast treatments of the same topic in several primary and secondary sources.
Grade Eleven-Twelve
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.4 : Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including analyzing how an author uses and refines the meaning of a key term over the course of a text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.7 : Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media in order to address a question or solve a problem.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.9 : Integrate information from diverse sources, both primary and secondary, into a coherent understanding of an idea or event, noting discrepancies among sources.
State Standards
Virginia Standards
Virginia Studies
VS.4 The student will demonstrate knowledge of life in the Virginia colony by
a) Describing how the culture of colonial Virginia reflected the origins of European (English, Scots-Irish, German) immigrants, Africans, and American Indians;
b) Explaining the reasons for the relocation of Virginia’s capital from Jamestown to Williamsburg to Richmond;
c) Describing how money, barter, and credit were used;
d) Describing everyday life in Colonial Virginia
VS.5 The student will demonstrate knowledge of the role of Virginia in the American Revolution by
a) identifying the reasons why the colonies went to war with Great Britain, as expressed in the Declaration of Independence;
b) identifying the various roles played by whites, enslaved African Americans, free African Americans, and American Indians in the Revolutionary War era, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, and James Lafayette;
c) identifying the importance of the Battle of Great Bridge, the ride of Jack Jouett, and the American victory at Yorktown.
USI.7 The student will demonstrate knowledge of the challenges faced by the new nation by
a)identifying the weaknesses of the government established by the Articles of Confederation;
b)describing the historical development of the Constitution of the United States;
c)describing the major accomplishments of the first five presidents of the United States.
Virginia and U.S. History
VUS.5 The student will demonstrate knowledge of the issues involved in the creation and ratification of the Constitution of the United States and how the principles of limited government, consent of the governed, and the social contract are embodied in it by
a)explaining the origins of the Constitution, including the Articles of Confederation;
b)identifying the major compromises necessary to produce the Constitution, and the roles of James Madison and George Washington;
c) examining the significance of the Virginia Declaration of Rights and the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom in the framing of the Bill of Rights;
d)assessing the arguments of Federalists and Anti-Federalists during the ratification debates and their relevance to political debate today;
e) appraising how John Marshall’s precedent-setting decisions established the Supreme Court as an independent and equal branch of the national government.
United State History to 1865
USI.5 The student will demonstrate knowledge of the factors that shaped colonial America by
a) describing the religious and economic events and conditions that led to the colonization of America;
b) describing life in the New England, Mid-Atlantic, and Southern colonies, with emphasis on how people interacted with their environment to produce goods and services, including examples of specialization and interdependence;
c) describing colonial life in America from the perspectives of large landowners, farmers, artisans, women, free African Americans, indentured servants, and enslaved African Americans;
d) identifying the political and economic relationships between the colonies and Great Britain.
USI.6 The student will demonstrate knowledge of the causes and results of the American Revolution by
a) identifying the issues of dissatisfaction that led to the American Revolution;
b) identifying how political ideas shaped the revolutionary movement in America and led to the Declaration of Independence;
c) describing key events and the roles of key individuals in the American Revolution, with emphasis on George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and Patrick Henry;
d) explaining reasons why the colonies were able to defeat Great Britain.
Virginia and U.S. History
VUS.4 The student will demonstrate knowledge of events and issues of the Revolutionary Period by
a) analyzing how the political ideas of John Locke and those expressed in Common Sense helped shape the Declaration of Independence;
b) evaluating how key principles in the Declaration of Independence grew in importance to become unifying ideas of American democracy;
c) describing the political differences among the colonists concerning separation from Great Britain;
d) analyzing reasons for colonial victory in the Revolutionary War.