SD3 - Emphasis on the Instruction on the Documents of Virginia and United States History and Government

  • Published: 1993
  • Author: Department of Education
  • Enabling Authority: Senate Joint Resolution 187 (Regular Session, 1991)

Executive Summary:
In response to a request by the 1991 General Assembly, the Department of Education has assisted public schools in emphasizing instruction on the documents of Virginia and United States history and government as stipulated in Section 22.1-201, Code of Virginia, and encouraged each school to display the Bill of Rights of the Constitution of the United States in commemoration of the bicentennial anniversary of its ratification.

The Board of Education was directed to ensure that students be thoroughly knowledgeable about the significance of these documents of history, with an emphasis on instructing students on the inherent rights included in these documents; the most significant of the Federalist Papers, the historical, political and cultural shaping of such documents, and their application to daily living.

The Virginia Standards of Learning objectives for Social Studies provides a focus on instruction of historical documents at grades five, seven, and eleven. Two documents were developed to further assist school divisions in implementing these objectives, and are available to address the issues identified in SJR 187 and HJR 288.

The first, "Documents and Symbols of Democracy," is a 92-page revision of a 1982 book (out of print) of the same name produced by the Department of Education. This is an instructional book for Virginia students on the Virginia Declaration of Rights, the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom, the Declaration of American Independence, the Constitution of the United States of America, (the Constitution of Virginia) national and state symbols.

The second publication, "Lessons on Documents and Symbols of Democracy," was written to assist teachers as they prepared instructional and assessment activities to help students understand the documents of Virginia and United States history. This 225-page book includes lessons for students and lesson plans for teachers.

A careful review of the project budget (in excess of $70,000), led the Department of Education management team to the difficult decision to delay full implementation of the project until funds are available to cover printing and distribution costs.

As an interim step, Superintendent's Memorandum No. 168 (Appendix C) was sent to all local school division superintendents urging them to display in classrooms copies of the Bill of Rights of the Constitution of the United States, and reminding them that instructional emphasis on the documents of Virginia and United States history and government is addressed through the Standards of Learning Objectives for Social Studies at grades five, seven, and eleven. Other strategies developed to implement SJR 187 and HJR 288 will be described in Chapter III of this report.