Tools for Teachers
There are many ways to incorporate the Celebrating Simms exhibit and companion materials into your classroom. Below, you will find various activities written by College of Education students involved in the original Celebrating Simms class. These activities invite K-12 students to engage with the Celebrating Simms exhibit, interactive media, and archival materials housed on this website and work well with the Virginia Standards of Learning at various grade levels. Feel free to use or modify these activities however you see fit.
The Wait is Over: Explore our newly added lesson plans crafted by Rockingham County Public School educators Tim Van Schaik, creator of Community at Simms and Integration, and TJ Hindley, creator of Education of the Black Community Valley and Urban Renewal Lesson. The lessons align with required Virginia and U.S. History courses and include their respective Standards of Learning (SOLs). They can also be incorporated into the African American History elective.
Virginia and United States History (9th-12th grade):
Download Community at Simms Lesson
This activity works well with SOL VUS.1a, VUS.8, VUS.13. The student will demonstrate skills for historical thinking, geographical analysis, economic decision making, and responsible citizenship by synthesizing evidence from artifacts and primary and secondary sources to obtain information about events in Virginia and United States history; The student will apply social science skills to understand the social, political, and cultural movements and changes in the United States by evaluating and explaining how the nation grew and changed from the end of Reconstruction through the early twentieth century by analyzing the impact of prejudice and discrimination, including “Jim Crow” laws, and the the impact of the Brown v. Board of Education decision. In this lesson, students will use oral history interviews and photographs from the Celebrating Simms site to identify how the community of the Simms school thrived during the twentieth century, while acknowledging the effects of segregation in the development of the community.
This activity works well with SOL VUS.1a, VUS.8, VUS.13. The student will demonstrate skills for historical thinking, geographical analysis, economic decision making, and responsible citizenship by synthesizing evidence from artifacts and primary and secondary sources to obtain information about events in Virginia and United States history; The student will apply social science skills to understand the social, political, and cultural movements and changes in the United States by evaluating and explaining how the nation grew and changed from the end of Reconstruction through the early twentieth century by analyzing the impact of prejudice and discrimination, including “Jim Crow” laws, and the the impact of the Brown v. Board of Education decision. In this lesson, students will read and listen to interviews from former students from the Lucy Simms School who integrated Harrisonburg City Schools in the 1960s. In recollections of the Civil Rights Movement, integration is sometimes seen as a wholly positive gain for the black community. This lesson attempts to add some complexity to this issue and examine the clear gains, as well as the loss of some community cohesion, from the students who were interviewed.
Download Education of the Black Community of the Valley Lesson
This activity works well with SOL VUS.16.a-b, VUS.17.a. The student will demonstrate skills for historical and geographical analysis and responsible citizenship, including the ability to analyze and interpret primary and secondary source documents to increase understanding of the complexities of desegregation and what was gained and lost during this transition. Students will hear directly from former students of segregation and desegregation from the Celebrating Simms exhibit, visualize the classrooms of Simms School from the Celebrating Simms exhibit, and compare and contrast complex viewpoints and what came from desegregation in the valley."
This activity works well with SOL VUS.16.a-b, VUS.17.a. The student will demonstrate skills for historical and geographical analysis and responsible citizenship, including the ability to analyze and interpret primary and secondary source documents to increase understanding of the political views and tools that simultaneously fought and fueled the civil rights movement. Students will hear from people directly affected by urban renewal from the Celebrating Simms exhibit, use gis tools to understand the widespread affect and power of urban renewal, and the lasting sentiments of urban renewal today from local articles to construct an argument on how urban renewal affected American society.
Download Primary and Secondary Sources in Celebrating Simms Activity
This activity works well with SOL VUS.1a. The student will demonstrate skills for historical and geographical analysis and responsible citizenship, including the ability to identify, analyze, and interpret primary and secondary source documents, records, and data, including artifacts, diaries, letters, photographs, journals, newspapers, historical accounts, and art, to increase understanding of events and life in the United States. In this activity, students will identify examples of primary and secondary sources on the Celebrating Simms website and will analyze those sources to increase their understanding of events and life in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
Download Celebrating Simms RAFT Activity
This activity works well with SOL VUS.1a. The student will demonstrate skills for historical and geographical analysis and responsible citizenship, including the ability to identify, analyze, and interpret primary and secondary source documents, records, and data, including artifacts, diaries, letters, photographs, journals, newspapers, historical accounts, and art, to increase understanding of events and life in the United States. In this activity, students use the primary and secondary documents within the Celebrating Simms exhibit and website as well as other resources to gather information and then discuss and share their findings.
Download Celebrating Simms Map Quest Activity
This activity works well with SOL VUS.1d. The student will develop perspectives of time and place, including the construction of maps and various timelines of events, periods, and personalities in American history. In this activity, students will use the Celebrating Simms exhibit and other websites and resources to locate and describe specific places on a map of Harrisonburg that are important when learning about African American history in Harrisonburg.
Download Key Terms for Understanding Celebrating Simms Activity
This activity works well with SOL VUS.7, VUS.8, VUS.14. The student will demonstrate knowledge of the Civil War and Reconstruction Era and their importance as major turning points in American history, how the nation grew and changed from the end of Reconstruction through the early twentieth century, and the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. In this activity, students will use a guided list of key historical terms to engage with and reflect on the Celebrating Simms exhibit.
US History 1865 to Present (6th-7th grade):
Download Celebrating Simms Historical Analysis Activities
This activity works well with SOL USII.1a-d. The student will demonstrate skills for historical and geographical analysis and responsible citizenship, including the ability to analyze and interpret primary and secondary source documents to increase understanding of events and life in United States history from 1865 to the present; make connections between the past and the present; sequence events in United States history from 1865 to the present; and interpret ideas and events from different historical perspectives. In this activity, students will read an essay that outlines the entire storyline of the Celebrating Simms exhibit. Following the essay, there is a worksheet containing three sections of activities, including a key terms activity, a timeline activity, and several creative project ideas.
Virginia Studies (4th-5th grade):
Download Life After Reconstruction Activity
This activity works well with SOL VS.8. The student will demonstrate knowledge of the reconstruction of Virginia following the Civil War by identifying the effects of Reconstruction on life in Virginia. Students will engage in a simulation activity, adopting identities of people alive in Harrisonburg after reconstruction, during the opening of Effinger Street school.