Teacher Resources
Mount Vernon
Inquiry Question
How do we write history about people who left no documents of their own? What methods do historians use?
Primary Sources
What Teachers and Students Use
The Diaries of George Washington, 1748-1799 (6 vols.)
PRIMARY · University Press of Virginia (Donald Jackson and Dorothy Twohig, eds.)
5 analysis prompts
Lund Washington to George Washington: Mount Vernon Management Letters, 1775-1783
PRIMARY · Library of Congress, George Washington Papers
5 analysis prompts
Mount Vernon Research Library and Collections
INSTITUTIONAL · Mount Vernon Ladies' Association
5 analysis prompts
Mount Vernon Slave Inventories and Will of George Washington, 1799
PRIMARY · Mount Vernon Ladies' Association / Fairfax County Court Records
5 analysis prompts
The Papers of George Washington Digital Edition
DATASET · University of Virginia Press
3 analysis prompts
Downloads
Ready to Print
Student packet, teacher guide with answer key, and quiz — each formatted for classroom printing.
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Lesson Plan
In the Classroom
Learning Objectives
- 1Students will identify William Lee's documented presence throughout the Revolutionary War
- 2Students will analyze how enslaved people appear and are absent from Revolutionary War portraits and documents
- 3Students will evaluate what Washington's will reveals about the relationship between Lee and Washington
- 4Students will practice the historical skill of reading against the grain of primary sources
Explore Further
Mount Vernon in the Knowledge Graph
The lesson packet draws from these pages. Use them to extend the lesson or give students primary source context.
Comparative Study
Connected Towns
The corroborate prompts in the student packet point to these towns. Teachers can assign cross-town comparisons.
Alexandria
GEOGRAPHIC PROXIMITY
Mount Vernon adjoined Alexandria.
Fredericksburg
SHARED PERSON
Washington's mother and sister in Fredericksburg; Fielding Lewis's gunnery operations were closely coordinated with Mount Vernon's supply networks; Washington visited Fredericksburg multiple times during the war.
Cambridge
SHARED PERSON
Washington left Mount Vernon to command at Cambridge.
Assessment
Mount Vernon in the American Revolution
Answer the following questions based on our study of Revolutionary history. · 5 questions · Answer key in Teacher Guide PDF
What makes Mount Vernon significant in Revolutionary history?
multiple choice
Primary sources are documents or objects created during the time period being studied.
true false
Name one event that occurred in Mount Vernon during the Revolutionary period and explain its significance.
short answer
+ 2 more in the full quiz PDF
Ready to Print?
All three documents below — student packet, teacher guide, and quiz — are formatted for letter-size classroom printing.