100+ Lesson Plans to Prepare for a Washington DC School Trip

 How can I get my students even more engaged during our trip to Washington DC? 

Let’s face it, your entire curriculum is relevant on a trip to Washington DC! History, math, science, writing, government, music, and geography are all experienced first-hand.

But to get students even more engaged, focus on one or two key learning areas before departure.  Collaborate with other teachers to teach a particular topic across all classes for a day (or longer, if possible).

Many of the sites that you will visit in Washington DC have developed lesson plans aligning with national standards. Provide a deeper understanding of a particular content area by using one of the free lesson plans provided below. 

 

Lesson    Plans

U.S. Capitol Lesson Plans (includes primary resources) – Topics include: 

• The Capitol Building
• The Apotheosis of Washington by Constantino Brumidi
• The Frieze of American History
• Statues from National Statuary Hall
• Congressional Biography
• Limiting Child Labor: Providing for the General Welfare
• National Interstate and Defense Highways Act
• The Clean Water Act
• The U.S. House of Representatives and the Gag Rule
• Secession and the Senate
• The District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act of 1862
• Philip Reid and Freedom
• Congressional Legislature and the Civil War: Telling the Story with Primary Resources

U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum Lesson Plans – Topics include:

• Redefining How We Teach Propaganda
• Deconstructing the Familiar: Photo Activity
• Photo Narrative Activity
• Timeline Activity
• Who is Responsible When Genocide Occurs?
• Learning from the Early Stages of the Holocaust
• Organizing the History
• Why Did Germans Vote for the Nazi Party?
• Pre-World War II European Jewish Life Photo Project
• Individual Responsibility and Resistance During the Holocaust
• Rethinking Perpetrators, Bystanders, and Rescuers
• Bringing the Holocaust Unit to Closure: Implications for the Future

Library of Congress (includes primary resources) Topics include:

• African American History
• American History
• American Indian History
• American Revolution
• Arts & Culture
• City & Regional History
• Civil War
• Culture & Folklife
• Discovery and Exploration
• Government, Law & Politics
• Immigration & Ethnic Heritage
• Maps & Geography
• News, Journalism & Advertising
• Oral Histories
• Photographs, Prints, and Posters
• Poetry and Literature
• Science, Technology & Business
• Sports, Recreation & Leisure
• Women’s History
• World History & Cultures
• World War I
• World War II

National Archives Lesson Plans – Topics Include:

• Revolution and the New Nation (1754-1820s)
• Expansion and Reform (1801-1861)
• Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
• The Development of the Industrial United States (1870-1900)
• The Emergence of Modern America (1890-1930)
• The Great Depression and World War II (1929-1945)
• Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970s)
• Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)
• Across Multiple Eras

Newseum Video Lessons – Topics Include:

• 45 Words
• The Berlin Wall and the Press
• Recognizing Bias
• The Digital Revolution
• Getting It Right
• Edward R. Murrow
• The Press and the Civil Rights Movement
• New Apps
• Running Towards Danger
• Sources
• Watergate
• What’s News
• Fundamentals of News
• Fake News
• The 14th Amendment
• Belva Lockwood
• How to Conduct an Interview

 Smithsonian’s History Explorer Lesson Plans – Topics Include: 

• American Presidency Lesson Plans (Grades 4-6)
• American Presidency Lesson Plans (Grades 7-9)
• Americans at War (Grades 4-12)
• Brown vs. Board of Education: A Landmark in American Justice Lesson (Grades 4-12)
• Comparing Confederate and Union Soldiers in the Civil War (Grades 5-12)
• Exploring the Gettysburg Address(Grades 5-12)
• Design Your Own Monument (Grades 1-6)
• Montgomery Bus Boycott Comic Artifact Exploration (Grades 6-12)
• Poetry and Our National Anthem (Grades 6-8)
• POWs (Grades 7-12)

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History Lesson Plans – Topics Include:

• Ocean Portal 
• Measuring Biodiversity across North America
• Anthropology Lesson Plans
• Ecosystem Lesson Plans
• Lewis & Clark as Naturalist Lesson Plans
• Sant Ocean Hall Educators’ Guide
• Behring Family Hall of Mammals Educators’ Guide

Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian Lesson Plans – Topics Include: 

• Manhatta to Manhattan
• The Haudenosaunee Guide for Educators
• We Have a Story to Tell: Native Peoples of the Chesapeake
• Ways of Living, Ways of Giving
• Lone Dog’s Winter Count
• Native People and the Land: The A:shiwi (Zuni) People

 Smithsonian National Building Museum Lesson Plans – Topics Include: 

• Fuller’s Fantastic Geodesic Dome (Grades 5-9)
• Be a Green Builder (Grades 5-9)
• City by Design (Grades K-9)
• Bridge Basics (Grades 4-8
• Green by Design (Grades 4-9)

Ready to plan your school trip? Click the button below to get started!

Request More Information