“What one learns in a classroom is just a very small part of learning process . The real learning starts when one crosses borders and travels miles for the real knowledge.” – Vivek Sahni

One of my passions, besides teaching, is travel! I have always believed that the classroom is not the only place to learn; in fact, I’ve learned some of my most lasting lessons while traveling. Back in my classrooms days, I brought back my experiences and lessons to my students so they could experience more of their world as well. I did this in a number of ways: through slideshows, displays of souvenirs and photos, and research activities on people and places. While working as a GT facilitator, I would post photos of my travels on Edmodo or Google Classroom and give the students challenges where they had to find out information about whatever was in the photo. I offered digital badges to those students who would complete the challenge first. I am still doing this with my tutoring students; when my husband and I took a two week trip to Italy in 2017, I left all of my students with some reading, writing and research activities on Italy.

Last week, I finally made it to Washington D.C.!  I can’t believe that someone who loves traveling and history, and has gotten to be this old and has never been there! I was also passionate about teaching my students American history and government! We were headed there to attend my stepson’s army reenlistment ceremony; it was going to be held at the National Archives Museum in the rotunda (more on that in my next blog!). I began planning in earnest to visit the places that my students (and my own daughters) and I had read about or seen in photos and movies. I have provided photos and links below that you help your students learn about these places and people. In addition, my visit has inspired me to create some learning activities for my tutoring students, and you will be able to use these activities with your students a well (more at the bottom of the blog)! Off we go to our nation’s capital. (All photos are by me unless otherwise credited.)

First, some general resources for you and your students on Washington D.C.

• Our Nation’s Capital on National Geographic Kids
• This is almost a one-stop resource for teaching resources on D.C.; this is for teachers who are planning a class trip to the city, but the information is good for any teacher wanting resources on our nation’s capital.
• Newsela article on D.C.
• ReadWorks article: “What is a Monument?”
• Teacher Created Resources on Washington D.C.
• Ben’s Guide on national buildings and monuments
• Newsela: Protest Marches on the National Mall

Our first day was spent on the National Mall. We unfortunately chose to go there on not just a Saturday, but on a day when the cherry blossoms were in full bloom! The crowds and traffic were insane, and to get anywhere on the mall, you had to walk quite a bit. But we managed to see several sites and loved learning about them with an audio tour from Atlantis Audio Tours. Here’s what we saw on the mall, with links for you and your students:

Washington Monument:  The Monument was closed for repairs…but I didn’t mind…just seeing it was amazing!

• A lesson from the National Park Service in which students can see and analyze primary sources, as well as learn about the qualities of a leader and why George Washington was chosen to have a monument built in his name, as well as design their own monument for a leader of their choice.
• Here’s a Reading A-Z book on this monument, appropriate for 1st/2nd grade.
• ReadWorks article

World War II Memorial: Another amazing place to visit! In the audio tour we learned about the features of the memorials and the significance of the bronze wreaths and rope connecting all the state and territory columns. In addition, there are famous quotes, engraved on the walls, from Franklin Roosevelt and others about this war.

• Five lesson plans from The Friends of the National WWII Memorial, featuring “a culminating activity called, “World War II at the Memorial” connecting the lesson directly to features of the National World War II Memorial addressed in the lesson.

Lincoln Memorial: We arrived here with tired feet after starting at the Washington Monument, and slowly climbed the crowded steps.  But it was all worth it when we turned around to view the iconic view toward the Washington Monument, the same one Martin Luther King, Jr. saw during the “I Have a Dream” speech.

• On this interactive site, you and your students can view panoramic views as well as videos that discuss Lincoln and his memorial.
• Here’s a Kid’s Discover article on this topic.
• And a Kiddle entry on the Memorial for kids doing research.
• ReadWorks fiction story on visiting this Memorial.

The Jefferson Pier:  I know, you’re saying…”The what?!” But this is actually quite interesting and we would not have known about it except for our audio tour. This little nondescript marker (almost looks like a “mini” Washington Monument!) once had great ambitions of marking the prime meridian of the United States…if Thomas Jefferson had had his way! From the website Adventures in DC website: “He (Jefferson) had it located on the southern bank of Tiber Creek due south from the center of the White House and due west from the center of the U.S. Capitol. The creek no longer runs through the National Mall, but the stone remains.” Boats used to dock near this marker (the Potomac at that time came up near this point) to unload materials for building the Washington Monument. This poor little marker never became the U.S. Prime Meridian as our country chose to use the more standard Greenwich Meridian.

There were several memorials we were not able to get to, either due to time or exhaustion…but here are some teaching resources for them:

Jefferson Memorial:
– Ben’s Guide Information
– 10 Fun facts about the Jefferson Memorial
– YouTube video about the Memorial
– Ducksters: Thomas Jefferson Biography

Martin Luther King Memorial
– Ben’s Guide Information
– Ducksters: Martin Luther King Jr. Biography

Korean War Memorial
– Ben’s Guide Information
– Duckster: The Korean War

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial
– Ben’s Guide Information
– Ducksters: FDR Biography

Cherry Blossoms: We saw some spectacular cherry blossoms around the D.C. areas…and not just at the National Mall! The history about these famed blossoms is quite interesting; here are some resources!

• Here’s a lesson plan on the history of the blossoms; the lesson also includes a predicting activity on when the blossoms will bloom.
• Washington Post Article for kids on the cherry blossoms in Washington
• Activities for kids relating to the cherry blossoms and the festival.
• CommonLit article – 6th grade level

National Monument and Memorial Challenge: I wonder how many of our students across the country, who have not been to the DC area before, know about all the memorials for famous Americans…not just those on the National Mall, but many more located around our country.  I created a visual challenge in Google Slides for my students to see how many they could identify, and if they knew who that famous person was. In this presentation, you have a photo that shows the monument with no label, and then one with the label.  At the end of the presentation are photos of some famous Americans who do NOT have one. I am having some of my students choose one of these persons, research them and then write a persuasive piece about WHY this person deserves a memorial. The students will then have a chance to design the memorial using whatever medium they would like. This ideas is based on a lesson idea from the National Park Service.

This National Monument product is ON SALE on Teachers Pay Teachers, Here’s the LINK! If you like these materials, please let me know in the comments or in TpT reviews.