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Teaching Resources for Your Classroom

Colonial Williamsburg offers a variety of quality instructional materials to help you teach students about life in early America and the interactions between European settlers and Native Americans, including the following:

Book: Duel in the WildernessDUEL IN THE WILDERNESS by Karin C. Farley
A Book for Young Readers

An account of Washington's journey for younger readers. Young Major George Washington must deliver a message from the king of England to the French commanders in the Ohio wilderness. The mission will be dangerous. Washington has to travel through frontier lands where hostile Indians and French soldiers lurk. If he fails, England and France may go to war. (Grades 4-6), 220 pages, $4.95. To purchase, call 1-800-688-6473 or use the order form in the Teaching Resources Catalog.

Book: Journal of Major George Washington THE JOURNAL OF MAJOR GEORGE WASHINGTON

In 1753, Virginia Governor Dinwiddie appointed 21-year-old Major George Washington to a delicate mission—deliver a letter to the local French commander demanding that he and his forces leave British territory and to bargain for support with the local Indian leaders. This book contains a reprint of Washington's original report on his mission as well as the text of Governor Dinwiddie's letter and the reply from the Principal French Officer. Printed as a facsimile of the original documents. (Grades 6-12), 42 pages, $8.95. To purchase, call 1-800-688-6473 or use the order form in the Teaching Resources Catalog.

Book: The Rise and Fall of the Powhatan Empire: Indians in Seventeenth-Century Virginia THE RISE AND FALL OF THE POWHATAN EMPIRE: INDIANS IN SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY VIRGINIA
A Colonial Williamsburg Foundations of American Series Book

This book describes how the English vied with the Powhatan Indians to dominate the lands and resources in Tidewater Virginia. The author depicts the native inhabitants and the newcomers as equal actors in a drama whose outcome was not a foregone conclusion. (Teacher reading material), 42 pages, illustrated. $9.95. To purchase, call 1-800-688-6473 or use the order form in the Teaching Resources Catalog.


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You may also find the following items helpful for the December Electronic Field Trip, A Day in the Life (December 4, 2003).

"A Day in the Life" instructional videosA DAY IN THE LIFE
Instructional Videos

What was a day like in 1774? How did people live? Actually, it depended on who you were. A Day in the Life looks at the lives of eight people—men and women, young and old, free and enslaved—to give your students a look at daily life in colonial America. Each eighteen-minute video is a window to the daily life of people in early America. Includes a CD-ROM with 180 pages of lesson plans and primary source materials. (Grades 4–8), $99.00. Purchase online

Hands-On History: Slaves's BagHANDS-ON HISTORY: SLAVE'S BAG
Eighteenth-Century Artifacts for the Classroom

Discover the hands-on excitement of historical investigation. Turn a Slave’s Bag inside out. Slaves often carried their personal belongings in a bag or basket. This simple drawstring fabric bag contains a bill of sale, an oyster shell, flint and steel, a wooden spoon, a pewter button, a piece of chain, a feather quill, and a pair of stockings.Teacher materials include a lesson strategy, discovery worksheet, annotated artifact inventory, glossary, graphic organizers, primary sources, and illustrations.
(Grades 3–8), $75.00. Purchase online

Hands-On History: Slaves's BagHANDS-ON HISTORY: LADY'S POCKET
Eighteenth-Century Artifacts for the Classroom

Women tied on their pockets and reached through slits in their petticoats to reach the personal items they kept there. This lady's pocket contains a fan, a wig curler, sewing implements (needle case and wax animal), coins (pieces of eight), a seal and wax, Aesop's Fable cards, and a recipe. Teacher materials include a lesson strategy, discovery worksheet, annotated artifact inventory, glossary, graphic organizers, primary sources, and illustrations. (Grades 3–8), $75.00. Purchase online

Book: Mary Geddy's Day

MARY GEDDY'S DAY by Kate Waters
A Book for Young Readers

It's May 15, 1776, and Mary Geddy is anxious. Today, the colony of Virginia will cast its vote either for or against independence from Great Britain. Photographed in Colonial Williamsburg, this intimate glimpse of daily life shows one of the moments in our history that led to the American Revolution, a day when impending war threatened to separate children from friends and loved ones. (Grades 3-5), $9.95. To purchase, call 1-800-688-6473 or use the order form in the Teaching Resources Catalog.

Book: If You Lived in Williamsburg in Colonial DaysIF YOU LIVED IN WILLIAMSBURG IN COLONIAL DAYS by Barbara Brenner
A Book for Young Readers

Explore the daily tempos of life in 1770s in this question and answer book—Williamsburg from politics and the economy to colonial homes and foodways.(Grades 4-5), $5.95. To purchase, call 1-800-688-6473 or use the order form in the Teaching Resources Catalog.

"The Eye of the Beholder: Looking at Primary Sources" lesson unit.THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER: LOOKING AT PRIMARY SOURCES
Lesson Plans and Materials Designed by Teachers for Teachers

Two-dozen primary sources from the colonial period and suggestions for incorporating document-based inquiry in your classroom. This unit features analysis instruments for such items as songs, poems, architecture, and documents. This unit includes and 11 page Document Based Questions lesson utilizing primary source images and quotes dealing with Native Americans. 127 pages. (Grades 4–8), $34.95. Purchase online