Washington, DC: Grades 6-9

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All students will appreciate the treasures, history, and beauty that their nation’s capital has to offer. Explore the architecture and artifacts that make Washington fascinating for all to see.

Video length: 26:35 minutes.

Learning Resources with this Video*

Quizzes – PDF & Online

If I Went to Washington, DC

Draw A Scene – Washington: 6 – 9

Guiding Tourists Through Washington D.C.

Video Breakdown for Discussion

Universal Resources

National Standards

*Links are active on Full Video page.

Classroom Ideas 

Washington, D.C.

National Treasures

Choose a national treasure to research and have students share what they found out about it. 

If I Went to Washington, DC……

Students create a list/powerpoint of their top five notable sites that they would like to visit and explain why.

Mapping

Have students print out a map of Washington, DC and identify where the sites in the video are located.

The Smithsonian

Students will research one significant object on display at the Smithsonian, writing a report on its history and significance.

Honor Those Who Serve

Discuss ways on how we as citizens can honor those that served or currently serving in the military, e.g.send a box of items with a thank you note to a student’s parent or family member that is currently serving overseas.

Cloze Practice

A cloze piece has full sentences used in the virtual field trip with blanks where students can write in the information that is missing. This task requires close listening to the trip in order to complete it.

 

Landmark Sites

Have each student choose an interesting site and make a replica of it as well as a paragraph written to explain why that site was chosen. 

Diorama

Create a diorama of Washington, DC’s landmarks. Students could also just focus on the famous buildings in the video.

 

Veterans

Have students interview a veteran and ask them about his/her experiences while being in the military. If you have a local VA Home nearby, contact them to see if there is anything that your students can do to help.

 

American Wars

Students will learn about the different war memorials in Washington, D.C. Ask them to choose one war to research and write a report on.

 

Art and Social Studies

Draw a scene from the video you just watched.

 

Play Travel Agent!

Ask students to write a travel itinerary for visitors to Washington, D.C. Depending on the amount of time you want to devote to this project and the age and interests of the students, you could make this quite an involved project, involving lots of research and finding images. Work could be presented in a variety of different ways, including possibly a Powerpoint presentation.

 

Washington D.C. Crossword Puzzle Race

Assign students a crossword puzzle on Washington, D.C. that tests the knowledge they have gained from the video. Make this a race, giving a prize related to Washington to the student who correctly completes the crossword puzzle first.

 

Create Quizzes

Students create a quiz based on the information presented for their peers. This can be used as a review for a test, or jigsaw class activity where students are responsible for teaching other students assigned topics.

 

Choose A President

Students can choose a president to do a research presentation to discuss president’s background history, what he was known for, interesting facts, etc.

 

Running the Government

Visit your local city hall and/or state capital to find out more information about how the city and state governments are similar to the federal government. Find out how they create new laws. Discuss opportunities in which older students can become directly involved in their state and federal government.

 

Build A Landmark

Use various craft materials to build a model of one of Washington, DC’s landmarks. Discuss how a model is a smaller version of a large structure.

 

Discussion Topics

Have students talk about the five areas: honoring past presidents, honoring those that have served in the military, Washington as the nation’s government, Washington’s national treasures, and interesting sites. Ask them which was most interesting to them and have them tell you why.

Natural vs. Manmade

Explore the concepts of natural wonders vs. manmade structures. Research how various Washington, DC landmarks were created.

 

Classroom Ideas for ALL Videos

Here are dozens and dozens of ideas that you can use in your classroom along with our videos!

Topics Covered In This Video

Washington – location & formation

Washington Monument

Lincoln Memorial

Jefferson Memorial

Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial

Arlington National Cemetery

Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers

U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial

Korean War Memorial

Vietnam Veterans Memorial

World War I Memorial

World War II Memorial

White House

Supreme Court building

Capitol Building

Library of Congress

Pentagon

National Archives & Historical Documents

James Smithson & The Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of Natural History

National Gallery of Art

National Air and Space Museum

National Museum of American History

National Mall

National Cathedral

FBI Building

Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial

Videos in this Series

Washington, DC (Grades K-5)

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