Immerse yourself in Virginia's history by visiting one of our exhibitions.
The Virginia Museum of History & Culture currently offers two teachers institutes along with teacher workshops.
Weinstein Properties Story of Virginia Teachers Institute
The Weinstein Properties Story of Virginia Teachers Institute is a week-long program that is offered twice each summer at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture. Open to all Virginia public and private school K-12 educators, this institute provides teachers with an overview of the rich history of Virginia from the earliest habitation to the present. Participating teachers will explore the vast collections of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture and learn how to teach their students to analyze primary sources and use historical thinking skills.
Save the date for the Summer 2019 Weinstein Properties Story of Virginia Teachers Institutes!
Session 1: July 15 – July 19, 2019. Register here.
While this session of the institute will provide teachers with an overview of Virginia history from the earliest habitation to the present, its primary focus will be on African-American history in the commonwealth, as viewed through the lens of the museum’s newest exhibition, Determined: The 400-Year Struggle for Black Equality. Participating teachers will learn methods and best practices for teaching hard history while exploring the vast collections of the Virginia Museum of History and Culture.
Session 2: July 29 – August 2, 2019. Register here.
This session of the institute will provide teachers with an overview of the rich history of Virginia from the earliest habitation to the present. In addition, participating teachers will explore the vast collections of the Virginia Museum of History and Culture and learn how to teach their students to analyze primary sources and use historical thinking skills.
For more information, contact Michael Plumb at 804.342.9642 or mplumb@VirginiaHistory.org.
Primarily Virginia is an online course designed for teachers to explore Virginia’s past by examining objects and primary sources. These pieces of the past will be used as a lens to examine different historical eras in Virginia history. Upon completion of the course, participating teachers will receive up to 45 re-certification points, along with a membership to the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.
The course is offered three times a year and is free of charge to Virginia teachers, thanks to the generous support of the WestRock Foundation. During the fall and spring courses, Primarily Virginia provides an overview of Virginia history. The summer session of Primarily Virginia focuses on the upcoming National History Day theme.
Breaking Barriers in Virginia History: An NHD Project Experience
Over the course of nine weeks, educators who participate in Primarily Virginia will create their own History Day projects connected to this year’s annual theme: Breaking Barriers in History. Teachers will walk through the same History Day process steps as 4th through 12th-grade students. Teachers of all grade levels will utilize their historical research skills, critical thinking muscles, and primary source analysis tools. For the final product, teachers will create an NHD Weebly website that makes an argument about a topic in Virginia history and uses resources from the VMHC museum and library collections. They will write an annotated bibliography sourcing all their work and short process paper detailing their personal journey. Teachers will interact with each other by providing feedback at various stages of the process. This institute will helpful for any educator who works with students studying English or History and Social Science. After completion, teachers will fully understand that History Day is not just a day, it’s an experience.
This class is limited to 25 students and begins June 24, 2019. Please register by June 14, 2019. REGISTER TODAY!
For additional information, please contact Hailey Fenner at 804.342.9689 and hfenner@VirginiaHistory.org.
These programs are designed to strengthen the analytical abilities of middle and high school teachers. Teachers will learn historical thinking skills—sourcing, contextualization, corroboration, and close reading—by using letters, diaries, documents, photographs, and maps from the society’s collections. These workshops can be conducted at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture or in your school and are perfect for in-service teacher training.
For more information, contact Michael Plumb at 804.342.9642 or mplumb@VirginiaHistory.org.
