mount vernon partnership

With the generous support of the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, Mount Vernon and the Fairfax Network have partnered to provide schools with engaging and FREE distance learning broadcasts.

George Washington’s
Mount Vernon Estate,
Museum & Gardens

Suggested Resources

American Experience: The Presidents
Documentaries & biographies of American presidents

The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden
An online exhibition with an interactive timeline of presidents

American President: An Online Reference Resource
A collection of material about the Presidents of the United States

eLections
An election simulation game

Elections
Eelection-related materials from the Library of Contress

The White House Historical Association Classroom
Facts and educational resources about the presidents

Who Are Our Greatest Presidents?
Students use the analytical method to compare presidents

FREE DVD

To order a free DVD (one per educational institution), please send your request on school or organization letterhead to:

Fairfax Network
4414 Holborn Avenue
Annandale, VA 22003

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Video Gallery

Watch video clips from previous programs.

Shaping the Presidency
October 23, 2008 & November 5, 2012
Grades 8-12 · 60 Minutes

Watch this program anytime as an on demand video .

Our panel of guests look back at how Washington had a profound impact on defining the office of the president and discuss how campaigning, the election process, and the role of the media affected early presidential candidacies, and how those influences have evolved.

The panelists include Joseph J. Ellis, the Ford Foundation Professor of History at Mount Holyoke College and award-winning author of the Pulitzer Prize winning Founding Brothers and the National Book Award winner for American Sphinx; Cokie Roberts, author of Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation and Ladies of Liberty: The Women Who Shaped Our Nation; and John P. Riley, former historian at George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estates and Gardens and present director of education and scholarship programs at the White House Historical Association.

Download the Mount Vernon Education Department Shaping the Presidency: A Teacher's Guide. This Teachers' Guide provides unit objectives, lesson plans and background information on George Washington.

Washington faced many challenges as president

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Standards

Virginia History and Social Science Standards of Learning

VUS.1
The student will demonstrate skills for historical and geographical analysis and responsible citizenship, including the ability to (d) develop perspectives of time and place, including the construction of maps and various timelines of events, periods, and personalities in American history; (e) communicate findings orally and in analytical essays or comprehensive

VUS.5
The student will demonstrate knowledge of the issues involved in the creation and ratification of the Constitution of the United States and how the principles of limited government, consent of the governed, and the social contract are embodied in it by: (b) identifying the major compromises necessary to produce the Constitution, and the roles of James Madison and George Washington

National Social Studies And History Standards

Era 3: Standard 3A
The student understands the issues involved in the creation and ratification of the United States Constitution and the new government it established.

Historical Thinking Standard 3
The student engages in historical analysis and interpretation: