This exciting educational program offers elementary students an in-depth look at life in colonial Virginia. Enjoy an array of hands-on activities in an object-based learning environment as you explore the architecture of Christ Church, its role in colonial Virginia society, and the lives of its patron, Robert “King” Carter, and other members of the parish community.
Imagine you are part of a colonial congregation as you walk across historic stone floors, examine an unusual triple-decker pulpit, and sit in the only collection of high-backed pews surviving from colonial Virginia. Outside, sketch the major architectural features of Christ Church and learn the fundamentals of Georgian architecture. Near the site of one of the original kilns, use molds and clays to make bricks like colonial workmen, then construct brick walls to match patterns seen in the church. Join in an artifact hunt in the museum to locate objects discovered at the church and Corotoman, Robert Carter’s mansion, which burned in 1729. Visit an outlined sexton’s house to get a glimpse of daily life for the ordinary Virginian of the eighteenth century. Grind herbs used for medicines, food, and fragrances; tote corn with yokes; and handle other objects common to the colonial household. Try on (reproduction) eighteenth-century clothing and compare it with your twenty-first-century fashions. Have your lunch on the lawn, and then play some of the games children in colonial Virginia enjoyed as you complete this exciting step back in time.
Pre- and post-visit resources provide teachers with classroom materials that feature primary documents, map skills, timelines, writing exercises, and other SOL-based lessons related to Historic Christ Church and colonial Virginia. A model archaeological dig is also available with this program, which teachers may request when scheduling.
SOLS supported in program:
•History: 1.1, 1.6, 1.12; 2.3, 2.7, 2.12; 3.1, 3.7, 3.12; VS.1, VS.2, VS.3, VS.4, VS.6; USI.1, USI.5, USI.6
•English: 1.1, 1.2, 1.3; 2.2, 2.3; 3.1; 4.1, 4.7; 5.1
•Math: 1.15, 1.16, 1.17, 1.20, 1.21; 2.21; 3.18, 3.19, 3.20, 3.24; 4.14, 4.15, 4.21; 5.15, 5.20
•Science: 1.8; 2.8; 3.2; 4.8 |
