Suggested Student Activities
Student activities and other learning experiences are dependent upon the objectives selected by the teacher, the abilities and needs of the students, materials and resources available, and the organizational pattern of the course. The suggested student activities in this publication have been prepared to serve as a catalyst for developing appropriate programs and learning experiences in exploring Virginia's role in the winning of independence. Suggested activities include:
... Select one word concepts, such as liberty, freedom, power, justice, that may be derived from great documents of the period and write an essay on what the term meant when the document was written and what it means today.
... Through research have students write an essay describing the personalities of great Virginians such as Washington, Jefferson, and others, and compare them with their contemporaries.
... Role-play Virginians who made outstanding contributions to the development of America.
... Compare the American Revolution with other revolutions in the world so as to ascertain similarities and differences.
... Given the Proclamation of 1763, students could draw the western boundary of Virginia on a current topographic map. What have been the different boundaries of Virginia? Why?
... From copies of selected estate assessments and wills from local courthouses, a number of activities could be developed.
A confirmation or refuting of hypotheses of what artifacts or personal property would be found in homes and on farms during this historical period may be suggested. Occupations can be suggested by the list of personal property. e.g. What percent of the people were self-sufficient on the frontier?