Download Kindergarten through Third Grade

Virginia’s Capitol Building and Capitol Square
contain many historic features included in the
Standards of Learning that Virginia students
study in school. Here are just a few, organized
by grade level to assist teachers who bring their
students to the Capitol (Specic SOL is noted in
the parentheses).
Kindergarten through Third Grade
• George Washington, a Virginian, the “Father of our
Country,” who was our rst President (K.1, 1.2, 2.11,
3.11). (Equestrian Monument in Capitol Square and the
famous Houdon statue in the Capitol Rotunda)
• Thomas Jefferson, a Virginian, wrote the Declaration
of Independence (3.11). (Equestrian Monument in Capitol
Square and bust in the Capitol Rotunda)
• Richmond is the capital city of Virginia (1.4).
• The Capitol Building itself is an example of ancient
Greek architecture (use of columns) (3.1).
• The Virginia General Assembly is an example of
“representative democracy,” in which the people vote for a
smaller group of leaders to make the laws (3.1).
Virginia History (elementary school)
• Virginia’s Government has three branches, the
Legislative, the Executive, and the Judicial (VS.10.a).
• The General Assembly of Virginia is the legislative
branch, makes state laws, and is divided into a House of
Delegates and a Senate.
• The Virginia House of Burgesses began in the early
1600s and was the rst elected legislative body in the
Americas. It became the General Assembly of Virginia,
which continues to this day (VS.3.d).
• The Governor of Virginia is the head of the executive
branch of Virginia’s government and carries out the laws
passed by the General Assembly.
• The judicial branch consists of the courts, which decide
when the laws have been broken by people and whether a
law agrees with Virginia’s Constitution.
• Richmond is located on the James River (VS.2.c).
Virginia’s capital was rst located in Jamestown, then
moved to Williamsburg, and eventually to Richmond,
where it is today (VS.4.c).
• George Washington, a Virginian, was commanderin-chief of American forces during the Revolution,
our rst president, and is called the “Father of our
Country” (VS.5.b, VS.5.c, VS.6.a). (Equestrian Monument
in Capitol Square and the famous Houdon statue in the
Capitol Rotunda)
• Thomas Jefferson, a Virginian, wrote the Declaration of
Independence (VS.5) and the Virginia Statute for Religious
Freedom (plaque with the statute hangs in the House of
Delegates chamber), and which later became the basis for
the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (VS.6.b).
(Equestrian Monument in Capitol Square and bust in the
Capitol Rotunda)
• George Mason, a Virginian, wrote the Virginia
Declaration of Rights, including freedom of religion and
freedom of the press, which later became the basis for
much of the Bill of Rights in the U.S. Constitution
(VS.6.b). (Equestrian Monument in Capitol Square and
bust in the Old House Chamber)
• James Madison, a Virginian, is called the “Father of
the Constitution” because he was the author of many of its
provisions and was one of the leaders at the Constitutional
Convention (VS.6.a). (Equestrian Monument in Capitol
Square and bust in the Capitol Rotunda)
• Patrick Henry, a Virginia governor, gave the “Give
me liberty or give me death!” speech in St. John’s
Church, near the Capitol (VS.5.b). (Equestrian Monument
in Capitol Square and bust in the Old House Chamber)
• The American victory at Yorktown, Virginia ended the
American Revolution with independence for the American
colonies (VS.5.c). (painting of the victory at Yorktown
hangs in the Old Senate Chamber across from the House
Clerk’s Ofce in the Capitol)
• Virginia was one of the southern states that seceded to
form the “Confederate States of America” at the beginning
of the Civil War (VS.7.a).
• Lee-Jackson Day is a state holiday. It honors Stonewall
Jackson and Robert E. Lee, two Virginians who were
military leaders of the Southern forces (VS.7.b). (Jackson’s
statue stands between the Capitol and Old City Hall; Lee’s
statue stands in the Old House Chamber, which was the
chamber used by the Confederate Congress)
• Richmond, the Capital of the Confederacy and the
Capital of Virginia, was burned near the end of the Civil
War (VS.7.b).
• Harry Flood Byrd, Sr. was a governor of Virginia
in the 20th century who modernized Virginia’s state
government and instituted the “pay as you go” policy
for road improvements, and who also led the “Massive
Resistance Movement” against integration of the Virginia
schools (VS.9). (statue stands in Capitol Square, near the
General Assembly Building)
the “Give me liberty or give me death!” speech a few
blocks from the Capitol in St. John’s Church (USI.6.c).
(Equestrian Monument in Capitol Square and bust in the
Old House Chamber)
• Meriwether Lewis, who explored the new territories
west of the Mississippi River obtained through the
Louisiana Purchase, made by President Thomas Jefferson
(USI.8.a). (Equestrian Monument in Capitol Square)
• L. Douglas Wilder, a former Virginia governor, in 1989
was the rst African American elected governor of any
state in the nation (VS.9). (painting hangs on the third oor
of the Capitol)
• The American victory at Yorktown, Virginia ended the
Revolutionary War with independence for the American
colonies (USI.6.c). (painting of the victory at Yorktown
hangs in the Old Senate Chamber across from the House
Clerk’s Ofce in the Capitol)
• A few blocks from the State Capitol, Maggie L. Walker
became the rst African American and woman to start a
bank (VS.9.c).
• Virginia seceded from the union and joined the
Confederate States at the beginning of the Civil War
(USI.9.c).
United States History (elementary and middle
school)
The Virginia state holiday of Lee-Jackson Day honors
two Virginians who were Civil War leaders
Four of the nation’s rst ve presidents were Virginians
• Robert E. Lee was the commander of the confederate
Army of Northern Virginia. Lee opposed secession but did
not believe the union should be held together by military
force and would not ght against Virginia after it seceded.
After leading his troops skillfully during the Civil War, Lee
surrendered at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia. When
other southerners wanted to ght on, Lee urged southerners
to end the ghting and re-unite as Americans (USI.9.d).
(statue in the Old House Chamber, which was the Chamber
used by the Confederate Congress)
• George Washington, a Virginian, was commander of
the American army during the Revolution and the rst
president of the United States (USI.6.c, 7.d). (Equestrian
Monument in Capitol Square and the famous Houdon
statue in the Capitol Rotunda)
• Thomas Jefferson, a Virginian, was the author of the
Declaration of Independence and the third president of
the United States (USI.6.c, 7.d). (Equestrian Monument in
Capitol Square and bust in the Capitol Rotunda)
• James Madison, a Virginian, was a leader at the
convention that wrote the U.S. Constitution, the author
of the Bill of Rights, and fourth president of the
United States, during the War of 1812 (USI.7). (Equestrian
Monument in Capitol Square and bust in the Capitol
Rotunda)
• James Monroe, a Virginian, fth president of the United
States, established the Monroe Doctrine warning European
powers not to interfere in the Americas (USI.7.d).
(Equestrian Monument in Capitol Square and bust in the
Capitol Rotunda)
Other famous Virginians featured in or near Virginia’s
Capitol include
• Patrick Henry, a former governor of Virginia, gave
• Stonewall Jackson was another skilled southern
general who led the Confederates to victory in several
major battles in Virginia, including Manassas and
Chancellorsville (near Fredericksburg) (USI.9.d). ( statue
between the Capitol and Old City Hall)
• Richmond, the Capital of Virginia and the Capital of the
Confederacy, was burned to the ground at the end of the
Civil War (USI.9.f).
Civics and Government (middle school)
Virginia’s Government has three branches, the
Legislative, the Executive, and the Judicial (CE.6,
CE.7).
• The General Assembly of Virginia is the legislative
branch, makes state laws, passes the state budget, and is
divided into a House of Delegates and a Senate.
in Capitol Square and bust in the Old House Chamber)
Civil War (VUS.7.c)
• The Virginia House of Burgesses began in the early
1600s and was the rst elected legislative body in the
Americas. It became the General Assembly of Virginia,
which continues to this day.
• James Madison, a Virginian known as the “Father of
the Constitution,” was the author of the Bill of Rights in
the U.S. Constitution. The Bill of Rights was based on two
laws passed earlier by the General Assembly of Virginia,
the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom and the Virginia
Declaration of Rights (VUS.5.b). (Equestrian Monument
in Capitol Square and bust in the Capitol Rotunda)
Virginia and United States Government (high
school):
• The Governor of Virginia is the head of the executive
branch of Virginia’s government, prepares the biennial
budget, administers the state bureaucracy, appoints cabinet
ofcers and boards, grants pardons, and carries out the
laws passed by the General Assembly.
• The judicial branch is the court system, which decides
when the laws have been broken by individuals and can
declare laws unconstitutional.
Virginia and United States History (high
school)
• The Virginia House of Burgesses began in the early
1600s and was the rst elected legislative body in the
Americas. It became the General Assembly of Virginia,
which continues to this day (VUS.2).
• George Washington, a Virginian, was commander of
the American army during the Revolution, chairman of the
convention that wrote the U.S. Constitution, and the rst
President of the United States (VUS.4, 5.c). (Equestrian
Monument in Capitol Square and the famous Houdon
statue in the Capitol Rotunda)
• The American victory at Yorktown, Virginia ended the
Revolutionary War with independence for the American
colonies (VUS.4.c). (painting of the victory at Yorktown
hangs in the Old Senate Chamber across from the House
Clerk’s Ofce in the Capitol)
• Patrick Henry, a former governor of Virginia, gave
the “Give me liberty or give me death!” speech a few
blocks from the Capitol in St. John’s Church (VUS.4.b).
(Equestrian Monument in Capitol Square and bust in the
Old House Chamber)
• Thomas Jefferson, a Virginian, was the author of
the Declaration of Independence and the Virginia Statute
for Religious Freedom (a plaque of which hangs in the
House of Delegates chamber) (VUS.4.a, 5.b). (Equestrian
Monument in Capitol Square and bust in the Capitol
Rotunda)
• George Mason, a Virginian, author of the Virginia
Declaration of Rights (VUS.5.b). (Equestrian Monument
• John Marshall, a Virginian, was one of the rst to serve
as Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and produced
such historic court decisions as Marbury v. Madison and
McCulloch v. Maryland (VUS.6.a). (Equestrian Monument
in Capitol Square and bust in Old House Chamber)
• James Monroe, a Virginian, fth President of the United
States, established the Monroe Doctrine warning European
powers not to interfere in the Americas (VUS.6.a).
(Equestrian Monument in Capitol Square and bust in the
Capitol Rotunda)
• Virginia’s Government has three branches, the
Legislative, the Executive, and the Judicial (GOVT.8.a)
• The General Assembly of Virginia is the legislative
branch, makes state laws, passes a biennial budget, and
is divided into a House of Delegates with 100 members
(two-year terms) and a Senate with 40 members (four-year
terms).
• The Virginia House of Burgesses began in the early
1600s and was the rst elected legislative body in the
Americas. It became the General Assembly of Virginia,
which continues to this day and is the oldest continuouslyoperating legislative body in the Americas.
• Meriwether Lewis, who explored the new territories
west of the Mississippi River obtained through the
Louisiana Purchase, made by President Thomas Jefferson
(VUS.6.a). (statue on the monument in Capitol Square)
• The Governor of Virginia is the head of the executive
branch of Virginia’s government, prepares the biennial
budget, proposes legislation to the General Assembly, and
carries out the laws passed by the General Assembly.
Governors of Virginia serve a four-year term and may not
serve two consecutive terms.
• Virginia seceded from the union and joined the
Confederate States at the beginning of the Civil War
(VUS.7.a).
• The judicial branch is the court system, which decides
when the laws have been broken and can declare laws
unconstitutional.
The Virginia state holiday of Lee-Jackson Day honors
two Virginians who were Civil War leaders
• John Marshall, a Virginian, was one of the rst to
serve as Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and
produced such historic court decisions as Marbury v.
Madison, which gave the courts the power to declare laws
unconstitutional (GOVT.10.b). (Equestrian Monument in
Capitol Square and bust in the Old House Chamber)
• Robert E. Lee was the commander of the confederate
Army of Northern Virginia. Lee opposed secession but did
not believe the union should be held together by military
force and would not ght against Virginia after it seceded.
After leading his troops skillfully during the Civil War, Lee
surrendered at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia. When
other southerners wanted to ght on, Lee urged southerners
to end the ghting and re-unite as Americans (VUS.7.a).
(statue in Old House Chamber, which was the same
chamber used by the confederate congress)
• Stonewall Jackson was another skilled southern
general who led the Confederates to victory in several
major battles in Virginia, including Manassas and
Chancellorsville (near Fredericksburg) (USI.9.d). (statue
between the Capitol and Old City Hall)
• Richmond, the Capital of Virginia and the Capital of the
Confederacy, was burned and left in ruins at the end of the
Virginia’s
Capitol
and the
Standards
of Learning
A Teacher’s Resource
Bruce F. Jamerson
Clerk of the House of Delegates
State Capitol P.O. Box 406 Richmond, Virginia 23218
(804) 698-1500 Toll Free 1-877-391-FACT