MARCH 2011

FEATURED LESSON PLAN:

Perspectives on the Fugitive Slave Law

This issue's Featured Lesson Plan was developed in conjunction with the latest Library of Virginia exhibition, Union or Secession: Virginians Decide. This lesson plan is one of many that deal with different aspects of life for Virginians before and during the secession crisis of 1860–1861. Investigating a combination of primary sources and biographies of William Lloyd Garrison, Abraham Lincoln, Sara Lucy Bagby (a fugitive slave from Virginia), and James Coles Bruce (a slave owner and delegate to the Virginia Convention of 1861), students will compare varying views on enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850. . . .

Virginia Standards of Learning: USI.9b, VUS.6a

Applications for the 2011 Brown Teacher Research Fellowship Due May 6

The Library of Virginia is pleased to announce the Anne and Ryland Brown Teacher Research Fellowship. The goal of the program is to enhance knowledge and training in history and social science instruction in the commonwealth of Virginia. More.

Check out the Library of Virginia’s Newest Guides to Our Digital Resources

Please find our newest guides to the Library’s digital and educational resources, designed with the educator in mind! On the Guide for Educators page in our Online Classroom, we've posted links to our material as it correlates with the Virginia Standards of Learning. Each of these frameworks, arranged by grade, includes the specific SOL, the Essential Understandings, the Essential Knowledge, and links to Library resources available that correlate to each. These links may lead to primary sources, classroom activities, or fully developed lesson plans. Keep your eye on these guides—they'll be updated as new material is developed and made available.

New Publication and Program Introduces the Library to Young Children

The Library of Virginia is the oldest cultural institution in the state and the official archive (a place where history is kept) and library of the Commonwealth. In the book To Collect, Protect, and Serve: Behind the Scenes at the Library of Virginia, Archie the Archivist, Libby the Librarian, and Connie the Conservator guide young readers through a visit to the Library of Virginia.

The book lets children explore some of the Library’s most important holdings—an early copy of the Declaration of Independence, the Statute of Religious Freedom, and documents connected to famous Virginians like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, George Mason, and Edgar Allan Poe. More.

Schedule a Field Trip to the Library of Virginia and the Virginia State Capitol

The “Union or Secession: Virginians Decide” and "The Struggle to Decide: Virginia's Secession Crisis" are FREE to school groups

As a complement to the Union or Secession exhibition at the Library of Virginia, the Virginia State Capitol Visitor Center is hosting the exhibition The Struggle to Decide: Virginia’s Secession Crisis. More .

Educational Programs

In addition to tours, the Library will offer Union or Secession educational programs that allow students to investigate primary source documents. More.

Upcoming Events

To Collect, Protect, and Serve Book Release

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Time: 4:00 PM–7:30 PM

Place: The Virginia Shop

Tameka Hobbs will sign copies of To Collect, Protect, and Serve: Behind the Scenes at the Library of Virginia. In the book Archie the Archivist, Libby the Librarian, and Connie the Conservator guide young readers through a visit to the Library of Virginia.

Virginia Women in History Program & Reception

Thursday, March 24, 2011 Time: 6:00 PM—8:00 PM Place: Lecture Hall & Lobby

Free but reservations required. Seating is limited. Call 804-692-3900 by March 18 to RSVP. Program begins promptly at 6:00 PM. Eight honorees from the past and present who have had a significant impact on the history of Virginia will be honored at this celebration. A reception follows the program.

Sponsored by Dominion.

The 2nd Annual Brown Teacher Institute, "Union or Secession," June 28–30, 2011

The Library of Virginia is pleased to announce the second annual Anne and Ryland Brown Teacher Institute. The goal of the institute is to enhance knowledge of and training in history and social science instruction in the commonwealth of Virginia by providing educators with opportunities for in-depth study and as well as teaching resources. The theme of this year’s conference coincides with the content of the Library’s current major exhibition of the same title, which opened in December 2010. More.

Don't Take Our Word for It!

Recently, teachinghistory.org took at look at the Library of Virginia’s Virginia Memory Web site, and our newest digital addition, Union or Secession. To read their reviews, follow the links below:

Virginia Memory: http://teachinghistory.org/history-content/website-reviews/24530

Union or Secession: http://teachinghistory.org/history-content/website-reviews/24531

Education and Outreach Services
education@lva.virginia.gov
804.371.2126

THIS DAY IN VIRGINIA HISTORY: In the Classroom

April 17, 1861—The Virginia Convention Voted For Secession

In February 1861 Virginia's General Assembly called for a special convention to decide its position on secession. On April 4, 1861, the convention voted eighty-eight to forty-five against seceding from the United States. After the firing on Fort Sumter and President Abraham Lincoln's call for 75,000 volunteers to put down the rebellion, the delegates on April 17 voted eighty-eight to fifty-five to secede. On May 23, 1861, Virginia voters ratified the Ordinance of Secession repealing the state's ratification of the United States Constitution. Virginia subsequently joined the Confederate States of America, and Richmond became the capital city of the new nation. SOL Correlation: VS.7 (a)