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Lesson Plan Index

The West Virginia State Museum's educational programs and resources support the West Virginia Department of Education's (WVDE) vision of high standards and preparedness for higher learning. To further enhance your West Virginia studies and engage your students in active learning, we have collaborated with the WVDE and West Virginia teachers to create a number of lesson plans for use in classrooms across the state and we will continue to add to this database as time goes on. To quickly find a lesson plan that suits you and your students' needs, use the search bar or sort by title, topic, or grade level.
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Search through our Lesson Plan Index or check out our Additional Resources!

Lesson Title Topic Grade
Do You Really Need That Frontier Life Kindergarten
In the Mountains Mountain State Culture Kindergarten
Passing Down the Traditions Traditional Appalachian Music Kindergarten
Time Marches On Change Over Time 1st Grade
Scrip, Bandanas, and a Canary Coal Mining Culture 2nd Grade
Man vs. Machine The Legend of John Henry 2nd Grade
A Stitch in West Virginia Time Civil War 2nd Grade
Mining for Knowledge Coal Mining 2nd Grade
Mapping West Virginia's Natural Resources Natural Resources 3rd Grade
The 4 Physical Geographic Regions of West Virginia Geography 3rd Grade
A Colorful Industry Glass Industry 4th Grade
The Fabric of the Past Weaving 4th Grade
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles Transportation 4th Grade
Who Was...? Notable West Virginians 4th Grade
One Man's Deliberation, One State's Salvation Statehood 5th Grade
John Brown: The Shaping of Society Civil War 5th Grade
Immigrants in the Mountain State Immigration 5th Grade
Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight: Discovering a Statue History in Art 5th Grade
Help on the Homefront World War II 6th Grade
Marking the History Historical Highway Markers 6th Grade
Population Shifts Population Data 6th Grade
(MS) The Brink of War: The Powder Keg Effect of the American Civil War Civil War 6th-8th Grades
Natural Resources and the Economy: A Collaborative Project Natural Resources 7th Grade
Cultural Diffusion: What do Greek and Roman Cultures Have to Do with West Virginia's Culture? Culture 7th Grade
3D West Virginia Geography 8th Grade
Geographic Shifts During and After the American Revolution Settlement 8th Grade
Natural Resources Flyer Project Natural Resources 8th Grade
Population Shift: 1950-2010: Graphing and Analysis Population Shifts 8th Grade
Early Explorers of Western Virginia Exploration 8th Grade
PowerPoint: Early Explorers of Western Virginia Exploration 8th Grade
Early Conflicts Between the French, English, and Native Americans Settlement 8th Grade
Jamestown and Early Exploration Settlement 8th Grade
The Lost Colony of Roanoke Settlement 8th Grade
French and Indian War Introduction: War that Made America French and Indian War 8th Grade
French and Indian War: Perspectives French and Indian War 8th Grade
French and Indian War: Point-of-View Debate French and Indian War 8th Grade
Behind the Scenes in the American Revolution American Revolution 8th Grade
Brainstorming! Intro to the American Revolution: Cause and Effect American Revolution 8th Grade
Lights! Camera! Revolution! American Revolution 8th Grade
Lord Dunmore's War and the American Revolution (Mapping Activity) American Revolution 8th Grade
PowerPoint: Lord Dunmore's War and the American Revolution (Mapping Activity) American Revolution 8th Grade
Loyalists vs. Patriots American Revolution 8th Grade
B&O Railroad in the Civil War Civil War 8th Grade
Belle Boyd: Den of Spies Civil War 8th Grade
Civil War Battles in West Virginia (Mapping Activity) Civil War 8th Grade
Civil War Battles in WV Civil War 8th Grade
Civil War Generals of the North and South Civil War 8th Grade
Extra, Extra! The Brink of War in West Virginia Civil War 8th Grade
War Correspondents: Civil War Battles Behind the Scences Civil War 8th Grade
Droop Mountain Battlefield State Park Civil War 8th Grade
East vs. West Virginia: How Geography Impacted Secession in Virginia Civil War 8th Grade
The Election of 1860 Civil War 8th Grade
PowerPoint: The Election of 1860 Civil War 8th Grade
John Brown's Legacy Civil War 8th Grade
The Jones Imboden Raid of 1863 Civil War 8th Grade
McNeil's Rangers in the Civil War Civil War 8th Grade
Medical Advances During the Civil War Civil War 8th Grade
Military Strategies of the Union Army Civil War 8th Grade
Secession Divides Virginia (Mock VA Secession Convention) Civil War 8th Grade
The Virginia Secession Convention: Eastern Counties vs. Western Counties Civil War 8th Grade
Recruiting for the Civil War: Enticing Posters Civil War 8th Grade
Robert E. Lee in WV Civil War 8th Grade
Seventh WV Infantry Civil War 8th Grade
Stonewall Jackson and the Civil War Civil War 8th Grade
The Abolitionist Movement in WV: Who Was Z.D. Ramsdell? Civil War 8th Grade
The Life of a Civil War Soldier Civil War 8th Grade
West Virginia Colored Troops: The 45th Infantry Civil War 8th Grade
WV in the Civil War: A Video Project Civil War 8th Grade
Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum: Civil War Military Post Civil War 8th Grade
The West Virginia Constitution of 1863 Civics 8th Grade
The Constitutionality of West Virginia Statehood Statehood 8th Grade
Who Is In Charge: The Leaders of the West Virginia Statehood Movement Statehood 8th Grade
How a Bill Becomes a Law Civics 8th Grade
PowerPoint: How a Bill Becomes a Law Civics 8th Grade
Who Are My Elected Officials? Civics 8th Grade
Types of Elections in West Virginia Civics 8th Grade
PowerPoint: Types of Elections in WV Civics 8th Grade
CIVICS: Comparing the U.S. and WV Constitutions and Government Systems Civics 8th Grade
PowerPoint: West Virginia's State Government Civics 8th Grade
Comparing the 1862 WV Constitution to the 1872 WV Constitution Civics 8th Grade
WV's Constitutional Amendments Civics 8th Grade
College Savings Plan Economics 8th Grade
Veterans Day Project Civics 8th Grade
Transportation in West Virginia Transportation 8th Grade
WV Road Trip Transportation 8th Grade
Improvements in Transportation in WV Transportation 8th Grade
PowerPoint: Improvements in Transportation in WV Transportation 8th Grade
Festivals Around the State Mountain State Culture 8th Grade
Industries Out of Nature Natural Resources 8th Grade
Industries of West Virginia: A 2-Part Lesson Natural Resources 8th Grade
Consequences of Human and Environmental Interactions: A GIS Lesson Geographical Information Systems (GIS) 9th Grade
(HS) The Brink of War: The Powder Keg Effect of the American Civil War Civil War 9th-12th Grades
The Use of Medicine in the Establishment of Early America Paper Weaving and Fine Motor Skills in Medicine 9th-12th Grades
A State By Any Other Name Statehood 10th Grade
West Virginia: A Melting Pot Immigration 10th Grade
West Virginia's Most Prized Source: Coal Coal and Chemistry 10th Grade
The New Deal in West Virginia The Great Depression 11th Grade
Portraits of a Place Expressions of Attachment to Places and Regions 12th Grade

The West Virginia Humanities Council's e-WV 4th through 8th Grade Lesson Plans:

"Daily Lives and Cultures of Native Americans"

"Explorers of Western Virginia"

"French and Indian War in Western Virginia"

"West Virginia and the Revolution"

"Archaeological Study of Pioneer Forts"

History of Coal Mining in West Virginia

West Virginia Mine Wars

Labor/Management Strategies

"West Virginia in the Roaring 1920s"

"The Great Depression"

"Economic and Industrial Growth during World War II"

"Landmark Events of the 20th Century"

"Recent World Events and West Virginia"

Music by Mountaineers

Noteworthy West Virginians

Additional Resources

WV Mine Wars Museum
Lesson Plans/Teacher Resources for 4th/5th Grade, 8th Grade, and 11th Grade

West Virginia Department of Education's Curriculum Standards for Social Studies
WV Social Studies Standards for Grades K-12

The West Virginia Humanities Council's e-WV Lesson Plans for 4th through 8th Grade
Additional Lesson Plans through e-WV

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***Closed Sundays and Mondays, and major holidays***

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For more information call: (304) 558-0220