Educator Services

We provide relevant and useful educational material on Virginia’s history, culture, and people to the Commonwealth’s educators, students, and lifelong learners of any age.

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Professional Development

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Brown Teacher Institute

Our Brown Teacher Institute offers professional development for teachers in history and civics for all public, private, and homeschool K-12 educators in Virginia.

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Brown Teacher Fellowship

Virginia educators can join us for a summer research opportunity to produce educational resources in support of the Library of Virginia’s ongoing exhibition and education programs.

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Online Classroom

Visit our resources for educators to find historic documents, maps, newspapers, illustrations, and other primary sources from the Library's collections to use in your classroom.

collage of images with battle-torn U.S. flag, 16th century world map, photograph of police arresting demonstrators, water color of Uncle Sam with children, 19th century certificate

Document Bank of Virginia

Document Bank of Virginia (DBVa) is filled with images of primary historical sources ready for use in the classroom. Each item is keyed to Virginia Standards of Learning and provides historical context as well as suggested questions or activities for students.

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oil painting oil painting of American soldiers storming a British redoubt at Yorktown with the American flag in the background

Shaping the Constitution

Shaping the Constitution features documents and images from the Library of Virginia and the Library of Congress related to America’s founding era and the U.S. Constitution, with a focus on Virginia's connection to the beginnings of the U.S. government and constitutional amendments that have shaped our nation's history.

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silhouettes of four men in 19th century attire in speaking poses

Union or Secession: Virginians Decide

Union or Secession uses approximately 200 letters, newspapers, official documents, and maps to understand Virginia's secession crisis as it unfolded between the 1860 presidential campaign and the First Battle of Manassas in July 1861.

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Brown v. Board of Education: Virginia Responds

Brown v. Board of Education uses letters, petitions, newspapers and other documents to explore the reactions of Virginians to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education (1954) that segregation in public schools is unconstitutional.

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collage of photographs and portraits of ten men and women of different races and from different time periods

Virginia Changemakers

Virginia Changemakers is filled with short biographies of men and women who have changed Virginia’s history who have been honored through the Library’s signature programs Strong Men and Women in Virginia History, Virginia Women in History, and New Virginians.

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Take an Archivist to Class

These lesson plans created by Library of Virginia archivists are designed to encourage student engagement with primary source materials and promote critical thinking, research skills, and understanding of historical context as outlined in Virginia's Standards of Learning for History & Social Science.

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map of Virginia showing residence locations of the four 2026 Strong Men and Women in Virginia History honorees

Strong Men & Women in Virginia History

The Library honors distinguished Virginians each year during Black History Month in this program sponsored by Dominion Energy Virginia. Find this year's honorees, request posters for your classroom or library, participate in our annual student contest, or nominate an honoree.

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Field Trips and Tours

Learn about our rich history and explore primary source documents from the Library’s collections while touring our facilities and exhibition gallery.