K-12 School Programs at Oatlands
Bringing children to museums [historic sites]… can help develop higher critical and creative thinking skills, which are integral to future success.”
The Importance of Taking Children to Museums
Study by the National Endowment for the Arts
https://www.arts.gov/art-works/2014/importance-taking-children-museums
Objectives:
Improve student comprehension by connecting abstract concepts to concrete places and objects.
Map to Virginia’s Standards of Learning (SOL’s).
Lessen the gap between low and high income children who visit historic sites, i.e., 20% vs 50%.
Draw on Oatlands’ unique structures, collections, and land to tell the stories and frame the narrative of race past and present.
Partner with professional development networks – scaling the curriculum to a larger number of students.
Student Achievement Research Findings:
Teaching at Historic Sites
National Trust for Historic Preservation and National Park Service in 1991:
— Real historic places generate excitement and curiosity
— Enliven traditional classroom instruction
— Turns students into historians
— Local sites often make stronger impression on students than national sites
Early Childhood Longitudinal Study by The National Center for Education Statistics:
— Low income and at-risk third graders in Reading, Mathematics, and Science scored higher if they visit museums or historic sites
American Alliance of Museums:
— Young children…begin to expand their thinking in new and complex ways.
School Programs at Oatlands
Meet Local Social Studies Goals
— Help young people make meaningful contributions…through the study of history…. Loudoun County Public Schools website
— [Students] develop the knowledge and skills…that have shaped our state and our nation in perspective… Fauquier County Public Schools website
— Students learn basic concepts of chronological time, human geography…and citizenship… Fairfax County Public Schools website
Oatlands Education Programs
Pre-K through 6
— 8 modules
—— 3 modules Pre-K – Grade 2
—— 3 modules Grade 2 – Grade 4
—— 2 modules Grade 3 – Grade 6
— 20 minutes to 3 hours
— Covers 81 Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL)
— Utilizes Oatlands’ buildings, collections, and land
— Interactive and hands-on
— Emphasis on History and Social Sciences with inter-disciplinary topics including Science, English, and Diversity
— 1,650 students educated in 2018
CURRICULUM
Pre-K through Grade 2
Chores, Games, and Toys
Hands-on Artifacts
(K.1.a, 1.10.a, 2.1.a)
Civics
(K.10.a, 1.10.a, 2.11.d)
Past and Present
(K.1.g, 1.1.g)
Pre-K through Grade 2
The Life of a Strawberry
Plant Life Cycle
(K.5, 1.4,2.4)
Hands-on Objects
(K.1.d, 1.1.d)
Compare and Contrast (K.1.e, 1.1.e)
Pre-K through Grade 2
What’s Growing in the Garden?
Plant Life Cycle
(K.5, 1.4,2.4)
Hands-on Objects
(K.1.d, 1.1.d)
Ecosystems
(K .5, 1.5, 2.5)
Grades 2 through 4
Plantation Life at Oatlands
Identifying Artifacts
(2.1.a, VS.1.a)
Primary Sources
(2.1.a, VS.1.a)
African American History
(2.4.c, VS.5.b)
Grades 2 through 4
Time and Technology Travelers
Identifying Artifacts
(2.1.a, 3.1.a)
Connect Past & Present
(2.1.g, 3.1.g, VS.1.g)
Evaluating Data
(2.1.c, 3.1.c, 4.1.c)
Grades 2 through 4
School’s in Session at the Mtn. Gap School
Understanding American History (2.1.a&c, VS.1.a&c)
Compare and Contrast
(2.1.e, VS.1.g)
Good Citizenship Skills
(2.1.e, VS.1.g)
Grades 3 through 6
Civil War on the Home Front
Primary Sources
(VS.1.a)
Civil War
(VS.7.a, VS.7.b)
African American history
(VS.7.a, VS.7.b)
Grades 3 through 6
Reclaim Your Story: The Enslaved Community at Oatlands
Slavery
(VS.1.a,USI.1.a)
Primary Sources (VS.1.a,USI.1.a)
Post-slavery (VS.1.a,USI.1.a)
Grades 3 through 6
Reclaim Your Story: The Enslaved Community at Oatlands
Slavery
(VS.1.a,USI.1.a)
by Gertrude Evans
Slavery
(VS.1.a,USI.1.a)
Post-slavery (VS.1.a,USI.1.a)
