For Virginia, we learned about so many interesting people, including multiple perspectives from the most famous revolutionary leaders to the people they held in captivity, and the many people who challenged racial rules well into modern times. For each state the kids pick 2 people to represent the state if we were making our own National Statuary Hall, and this was a hard one, with so many interesting options.
Books:
Virginia (My United States: A True Book) by Jennifer Hackett
The Virginia Colony by Kevin Cunningham
O is for Old Dominion: A Virginia Alphabet by Pamela Duncan Edwards
Pocahontas: Pocket Bios by Patricia Crete
The Silver Mace : A Story of Williamsburg by Maud Fuller Petersham
You Wouldn't Want to Be an American Colonist! By Jacqueline Morley
George Washington by Ingri d’Aulaire
A Spy Called James: The True Story of James Lafayette, Revolutionary War Double Agent by Anne Rockwell
Where Was Patrick Henry on the 29th of May? By Jean Fritz
Thomas Jefferson: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Everything by Maira Kalman
My name is James Madison Hemings by Jonah Winter
Fifty Cents and a Dream: Young Booker T. Washington by Jabari Asim
Henry's Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad by Ellen Levine
Runaway: The Daring Escape of Ona Judge by Ray Anthony Shepard
Show Way by Jacqueline Woodson
Ellen’s broom by Kelly Starling Lyons
Carter Reads the Newspaper by Deborah Hopkinson
Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly
The Case for Loving: The Fight for Interracial Marriage: The Fight for Interracial Marriage by Selina Alko
A Lion to Guard Us by Clyde Robert Bulla
Follow Chester! A College Football Team Fights Racism and Makes History by Gloria Respress-Churchwell
Ella Fitzgerald by Andrea Davis Pinkney
Mary Geddy’s Day by Kate Waters
Art Project:
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| Virginia State Capitol |
The kids decided to depict the Virginia State Capitol, which turned out to be our most challenging art project to date. The original building itself was designed by Thomas Jefferson, which certainly makes it unique among all capitol buildings we've examined, but its history of expansion in ways meant to preserve the original look were also part of its fascination. The most recent expansion, built more stories underground (under the grass and stair-lined hill you see here), so as to preserve the building but add functionality. Look it up! (Art used sharpie, oil pastel, and water colors, as usual).
