Virginia Studies SOL VS.6 is all about Virginia’s role in
the establishment of the United States and its government. Many of America’s
leading Founding Fathers came from Virginia and its founding documents were
inspired by state documents created in Virginia. With so much history right
here in our state, there are LOTS of great things to investigate throughout a
Virginia Studies: A New Nation unit!
Watch the Virginia Trekkers
If you are a Virginia Studies teacher, make sure you have
the Virginia Trekkers website bookmarked! The Virginia Trekkers offer a variety
of videos that teach Virginia social studies. Best of all, the videos
are aligned with the Virginia Studies SOLs. And, as an extra bonus, each video
starts with a fun song that helps students memorize Virginia’s regions. My
students LOVE the Virginia Trekkers and even watch the videos at home just for
fun.
I particularly like using the Virginia Trekkers throughout
my Virginia Studies: A New Nation unit. I have my students take virtual field
trips to places such as Mount Vernon (the home of George Washington) and
Montpelier (the home of James Madison). These videos let students leave the
classroom without actually stepping outside of the classroom by allowing
students to virtually visit important Virginia sites. Not only do students get
to see a picture of early American life, but they also get to see and hear
information that is aligned to SOL VS.6. When taking their virtual field trips,
I have students complete a guide so that they can record their observations.
Research Virginia Leaders
Your Virginia Studies: A New Nation unit is a great time to
start introducing fourth graders to research skills. Much of SOL VS.6 has to do
Virginia’s early leaders and the contributions they made to American
government. Why not have students select one of these leaders and complete a
research project? Have your students create a book, poster, or slideshow
presentation to go with their research. Then, have the students present their
activities to the class. This is a fun way to integrate the ELA SOLs with
Virginia Studies.
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| I have students create a book about the Virginia leader that they research. |
Memorize Important Documents
I believe it is important for students to memorize excerpts
from the United States’ founding documents and be able to explain the meaning
of those documents. The Preamble of the Constitution is something I expect all
of my fourth grade students to memorize and be able to explain. There are many
ways to help students learn these important lines. I like to play the School
House Rock song “Preamble” regularly throughout my Virginia Studies: A New Nation unit. I also send home an activity that encourages students to practice
the Preamble at home over the course of the unit.
Create a Virginia Studies Lapbook
In addition to learning about the Founding Fathers and
documents, SOL VS.6 also asks students to explain why Virginians began
migrating to other states and territories in the early nineteenth century. To
help students learn these reasons, I have them create a Virginia Studies
lapbook. The lapbook includes a map of Virginia and has students list the
reasons for Virginians migrating west and south.
Complete Virginia SOL Review Activities
No Virginia Studies unit is complete without some review
activities to help students prepare for their unit test. For my Virginia
Studies: A New Nation unit, I have two review activities. The first activity involves
task cards. I love that there are so many ways to use task cards! For my A New Nation Unit, I have 24 task cards, each with a question that resembles a
question they could see on the SOL test at the end of the year.
The second review activity is my students’ favorite…. A
Virginia Studies: A New Nation escape room! With this escape room activity,
students pretend they are time travelers, going back in time to investigate
Virginia’s role in the establishment of the new nation. As they are traveling
back in time, their time machine malfunctions. The only way to fix the time
machine and return home is to complete six challenges to review SOL VS.6.
Challenges include things such as assembling puzzles to find codes, decoding
excerpts from important documents, and unscrambling and matching information.
Conclusion
So, there you have it. That’s five fun ways to engage your
students as you teach Virginia Studies: A New Nation! There are so many ways to
step outside of the textbook and get students excited about Virginia Studies. I
hope you and your students both enjoy these classroom activities.
The activities described throughout this post can easily be
replicated in your classroom. But, if you are short on time, I’ve got your
covered! My Virginia Studies: A New Nation Unit and Virginia Studies Bundle
each have the activities listed here and LOTS more. My A New Nation Task Cards
and A New Nation Escape Room can also cut down on the amount of time it takes
to plan your review activities.
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| Pin for later. |
As a lover of American history, I am passionate about
helping teachers find ways to make history fun. Here on Virginia is for
Teachers, I share lots of Virginia Studies activities and tips. Make sure to
check back next month. I plan to share strategies for teaching Virginia Studies SOL VS.7, the Civil War. Until then, be sure to check out these other Virginia
Studies and hands-on history blog posts!
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