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Primarily George demonstrates the use of primary source documents in classroom instruction. Panelists Jayne Gordon, director of education for the Massachusetts Historical Society; Lee Ann Potter, director of education at the National Archives; and Sandra Trenholm, director of the Gilder Lehrman Collection, join host Nancy Hayward, director of programs for George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens, to discuss the challenges and best practices involved in teaching with primary source documents.

These educators discuss the value of primary source documents in education and present examples of documents in their respective collections, which can be used to teach 5th, 8th, and 11th grade students about various aspects of George Washington’s life, are presented. They also give brief overviews of the online collections that can be used to access the sources.

Augmenting the panelists’ discussion is a demonstration by Ted Crackel, editor in chief of The Papers of George Washington, showing how to use The Papers of George Washington Digital Edition for online access to thousands of documents at the University of Virginia.

Primarily George is produced by Fairfax County Public Schools in partnership with George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens, whose educational programs are supported by a generous grant from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation.

Time: 45 minutes