Browse Exhibits (6 total)

Lesson 1: Slavery and Free Negroes, 1800 to 1860

Students will expand their knowledge of slavery, an institution of labor that varied considerably depending on time and place. They will recognize what slavery was like in Virginia and particularly in Fairfax County in the antebellum period, and gain an understanding of the skills of and choices made by African Americans both as slaves and as free people.

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Lesson 2: A Look at Virginians During Reconstruction, 1865-1877

In this lesson students will examine how the actions of people in government during Reconstruction, 1865-77, affected the choices that individuals made.  Students will consider the life of African Americans in Virginia during this period, noting how the national government’s actions and the Virginia government’s actions impacted the education of African Americans in Virginia.  This lesson focuses on the opportunities that Reconstruction opened up for African Americans, providing students the opportunity to learn about William Jasper and his family.  It works well after students have learned about slavery and the Civil War in Virginia, and before students study the effects of segregation and Jim Crow on life in Virginia – a time during which many of these opportunities were taken away.

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Lesson 3: The Impact of the Jim Crow Era on Education, 1877-1930s

In this lesson students will examine the denial of rights of African Americans both nationally and in Virginia, and consider the impact these events had on the lives of individuals and families.  Students will investigate what happened to the rights of African Americans after Reconstruction.  They will be able to define the terms “discrimination” and “segregation” and recognize how these can and did affect people.  Specifically, students will examine some Jim Crow laws and consider the 1902 Virginia Constitution.  This lesson works well after students have learned about Reconstruction, and can serve as a transition lesson to their study of the Jim Crow era.  It is designed to follow “A Look at Virginians During Reconstruction.”

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Lesson Plan 4: Growing Up in a Segregated Society, 1880s-1930s

Students will recognize that segregation was a system supported by both law and custom that threatened African American people in all parts of their lives.  Students will examine photos and other primary sources, read excerpts from oral histories of African American people who lived during segregation, and reflect on how African American people managed to raise, care for, educate, and try to protect their children and young people even within this system.

Lesson 5: Founding of the Laurel Grove School and Other "Colored" Schools in Fairfax County, 1860-1890

Students will consider several sources that document the founding of the Laurel Grove School and other African American or “colored” schools in Fairfax County, and recognize both the barriers the founders faced as well as their resources and determination to set up these schools for their children.

Lesson 6: The Daily Experience of the Laurel Grove School, 1925

Students will build on their understanding of the founding of the Laurel Grove School from previous lessons and use both primary and secondary sources to investigate the daily experience of students at the Laurel Grove School in 1925.  High school students will also consider the debate between Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois over industrial and academic education for African American students, both nationally and as it affected the Laurel Grove School.

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