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Virginia's Story: Jamestown, Washington & the Civil War

Virginia was the very first place where English settlers built a permanent home in America. In 1607, a brave group of people crossed the Atlantic Ocean — a journey of four months on a small wooden ship — to start a brand new life in an unknown place. When they arrived, the Powhatan people, who had lived there for thousands of years, helped teach the settlers how to grow food and survive. Those settlers built a tiny fort called Jamestown, and from that small beginning, America grew.

Hands OnAbout 25 minutesScreen-freeParent help expected

Materials and setup

How this changes by age

Pre-K (ages 3–4)

Virginia was the very first place where English settlers built a permanent home in America. In 1607, a brave group of people crossed the Atlantic Ocean — a journey of four months on a small wooden ship — to start a brand new life in an unknown place. When they arrived, the Powhatan people, who had lived there for thousands of years, helped teach the settlers how to grow food and survive. Those settlers built a tiny fort called Jamestown, and from that small beginning, America grew.

Difficulty 1 of 3

Steps

  1. Look at a picture of the Jamestown fort — notice how small it is, surrounded by a big wild forest.
  2. Draw the tiny fort with wooden walls, surrounded by tall dark trees on all sides.
  3. Draw a few small figures inside the walls — and draw some Powhatan people outside, bringing food.
  4. Ask a grown-up: 'What would it feel like to travel for four months on a boat to a place you had never seen?'

Learning objectives

  • Understand that Virginia was where the first permanent English settlement in America was built (1607)
  • Notice that the Powhatan people had lived in Virginia for thousands of years before English settlers arrived
  • Wonder at the courage it took to make a four-month ocean journey to an unknown place
  • Ask questions about what it means to start something brand new

Kindergarten (ages 5–6)

Virginia is called the 'Mother of Presidents' because eight U.S. presidents were born there — more than any other state! George Washington, the very first president, was born in Virginia and helped build the new nation from scratch. James Madison wrote most of the United States Constitution — also a Virginian. That is a lot of big ideas from one state.

Difficulty 2 of 3

Steps

  1. Look at a portrait of George Washington and talk about what he did as president.
  2. Draw George Washington standing tall on one side of your paper.
  3. On the other side, draw a map of Virginia with a small star for Mount Vernon, his home.
  4. Write or dictate one thing Washington is famous for. Add a second star for Jamestown — the first English settlement in America.
  5. Talk about: Virginia gave America its first president AND its first permanent English settlement. Why might that make Virginia feel proud?

Learning objectives

  • Identify Virginia as the birthplace of more U.S. presidents than any other state
  • Recognize George Washington as a Virginian and America's first president
  • Retell that Jamestown (1607) was the first permanent English settlement in America
  • Begin to understand that one place can play many important roles in a country's history

Early elementary (ages 6–8)

Virginia is where so many American 'firsts' happened that it is hard to keep count. The first permanent English settlement in America was built at Jamestown, Virginia in 1607. The first democratic lawmaking assembly in the Americas — called the House of Burgesses — met in Virginia in 1619. The Civil War ended at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, in 1865. And Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains and Shenandoah Valley contain the longest section of the Appalachian Trail of any state — over 550 miles of breathtaking mountain trail. Virginia is a state where a lot of things began, and a lot of things ended.

Difficulty 2 of 3

Steps

  1. Draw a timeline with five events: Jamestown founded (1607) → House of Burgesses meets — first democratic assembly in the Americas (1619) → Thomas Jefferson writes the Declaration of Independence (1776) → Civil War ends at Appomattox Court House, Virginia (1865) → Appalachian Trail completed, with Virginia's section the longest (1937). Draw each as a small scene.
  2. Write one sentence under each event. Then draw a bracket around all five events and write: 'All of these happened in Virginia. What does that tell you about this state?'
  3. On a Virginia map, label: Jamestown, Richmond, Monticello (Jefferson's home), Appomattox Court House, and the Blue Ridge Mountains.
  4. Write 2-3 sentences: Why did Virginia become the place where so many 'firsts' and 'lasts' in American history happened?
  5. Connection: The Appalachian Trail's longest state section runs through Virginia. The trail was built partly in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps. How does a hiking trail connect to the Depression-era economy?

Learning objectives

  • Sequence five major Virginia events from 1607 to 1937 with explanatory sentences
  • Explain the House of Burgesses as the first democratic lawmaking assembly in the Americas
  • Identify Appomattox Court House as where the Civil War ended
  • Connect Jamestown's founding (1607) to Virginia's long role in American history

Upper elementary (ages 8–10)

Virginia holds a remarkable set of American 'firsts': the first permanent English colony (Jamestown, 1607), the first democratic lawmaking assembly in the Americas (the House of Burgesses, 1619), the birthplace of more U.S. presidents than any other state (eight, including Washington, Jefferson, and Madison), and the site where the Civil War ended (Appomattox, 1865). It is also where American democracy's most difficult contradictions played out — Thomas Jefferson wrote 'all men are created equal' while running a plantation with hundreds of people forced to work for him. Virginia's history is the story of America's highest ideals and its hardest-to-answer questions living in the same place at the same time.

Difficulty 3 of 3

Steps

  1. The Dilemma: You are a Jamestown colonist in June 1610, facing the choice of whether to keep trying to build the colony or give up and return to England after an extremely difficult first years. The new governor has just arrived with supplies and is urging everyone to try again. You are exhausted. Do you turn back? Write one page making your decision, weighing the realistic challenges against the possibility that this time it works.
  2. Research Thomas Jefferson: What did he write and accomplish? What was the contradiction in how he lived his life compared to the ideals he wrote? Write a paragraph: Is this hypocrisy, or does it reflect a genuine but incomplete vision? What's the difference, and why does it matter?
  3. Create a Virginia timeline from 1607 (Jamestown) to 1870 (Virginia readmitted to the Union after the Civil War) with at least ten events. Include: at least two involving the Powhatan Confederacy, the House of Burgesses, Jefferson's Declaration, and the full arc from settlement to Civil War end.
  4. On a Virginia map, label: Jamestown, Richmond, Appomattox, Monticello, Shenandoah Valley, Blue Ridge Mountains, and the Chesapeake Bay.
  5. Write a two-paragraph essay: 'Virginia is both where American democracy began and where some of its most difficult contradictions played out. How can both be true at once?'
  6. Cross-state connection: West Virginia split from Virginia in 1863 because western Virginians had a very different economy and way of life from eastern Virginia. What does that split reveal about how Virginia's contradictions were lived differently in different parts of the state?
  7. The Jamestown colonists nearly starved until John Rolfe planted tobacco seeds from the Caribbean in 1612. By 1620, Virginia was shipping about 50,000 pounds of tobacco to England per year; by 1700, over 20 million pounds. Calculate the growth multiple across those 80 years. If you were a 1620 investor in the Virginia Company, would you reinvest your profits into more land, more ships, or a different crop? Defend your choice.
  8. Colonial Williamsburg blacksmiths forged nails, hinges, horseshoes, and tools at a forge heated to around 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit. Draw a blacksmith's shop and label: forge, bellows, anvil, tongs, hammer, quench bucket. Research about how many hand-forged nails a smith could make in one day, then calculate how many smith-days would be needed to nail together a small 1,000-nail cabin.

Learning objectives

  • Evaluate Jamestown's founding and the House of Burgesses as foundational moments in American democracy
  • Analyze Jefferson's contradictions as a window into Virginia's — and America's — unresolved tensions
  • Construct a nuanced essay about Virginia holding both democratic ideals and difficult historical realities
  • Connect Virginia's role as birthplace of American democracy to its role as a site of historical contradiction

Safety and evidence note

Read the full activity before beginning. An adult should supervise tools, heat, food, outdoor work, movement, and experiments as appropriate. Completion records that the activity was done; the child’s explanation, work sample, photo, or demonstration is stronger evidence of learning than a completion check alone.

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