Explore the new Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation People of the Past educational resource during a three-day professional development workshop at Jamestown Settlement and the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown.

Open to classroom teachers (Grades 4 to 12) and curriculum specialists.

What's included

Guest speaker for the workshop will be Laurie Halse Anderson, author of the Seeds of America Trilogy – “Chains,” “Forge,” and “Ashes,” and “Independent Dames: What You Never Knew About the Women and Girls of the American Revolution.”

Funded by a grant from the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources program, this free professional development opportunity will allow teachers to:
• Explore the People of the Past education resource
• Learn how to incorporate primary sources in the classroom
• Leave with primary source-based lessons and activities for classroom use
• Strengthen lesson alignment with state and national social studies standards of learning
• Combine social studies and literacy to strengthen learning in the classroom

The program includes meals (three lunches and one dinner) and accommodations for those living outside the region. Participants also will receive a $150 stipend along with payment to their school to cover the cost of a classroom substitute on Friday, January 16 (up to $180).

View the schedule

The application deadline is 9 a.m. EST, November 21, 2025.

^{Woven Through Time is supported in part by the American Historical Association and the Library of Congress. Learn how you can support educational opportunities.}

About 'People of the Past'

People of the Past is a new online education resource designed to connect students with people living during the 17th and 18th centuries who both influenced history and were impacted by the events occurring around them. This resource will utilize primary sources to introduce students to well-known historical figures and those who were not political leaders or “famous figures.” By examining stories through associated primary sources, students will not only connect with the past on a personal level but recognize a throughline of actions to historical events and societal change in the United States.

People of the Past fosters:

• Critical Thinking and Analysis skills by exploring perspective and individual experiences, empowering students to analyze how historical events happen and how individuals have a role in those events.
• Curiosity, as they explore personal stories in combination with primary sources, prompting them to ask questions about the past.
• Historical Argumentation skills as they work with the “raw materials” of history, allowing students to grow their capacity to develop and support historical arguments with primary sources and enhance their historical thinking skills.