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Classroom Activity No. 2

Create a Virginia Wayside Marker

Content/Targeted Virginia SOL Skills and Standards

• VUS.1a Students will demonstrate skills for historical thinking by synthesizing evidence from artifacts and primary and secondary sources to obtain information about events in Virginia and United States history. 
• VUS.7e The student will apply social science skills to understand the Civil War and Reconstruction eras and their significance as major turning points in American history by evaluating and explaining the political and economic impact of the war and Reconstruction, including the adoption of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution of the United States. 

Suggested Process

• Access the Emancipation Celebration Archives on “The Spirit of Freedom” site.
• Browse the archives. Select a location/town or city in Virginia that has accounts for several Emancipation Celebrations.  
• Use this Research Graphic Organizer (or modify activity for added rigor and advanced researching skills by having students create their own graphic organizer) to record research, commonalities, and patterns.

Product 

• Write a  Virginia Wayside Marker to commemorate Emancipation Celebrations in the locality you selected. Use the Sample (text) from Wayside Markers as a guide to length and historical context.  

Text Should Include:

• Suggested name of marker (Person, Group, Event, or Place)
• Date(s) of significance (dates of event)
• Text of marker (include 3-5 sentences explaining the event with local, state and national connections. 
• Suggested location of marker (city or town, specific site within city or town if applicable)

Marker Program Policies