Stratford Hall, the home of the Lees of Virginia and birthplace of Robert E. Lee, hosts its first symposium dedicated to the further study of General Robert E. Lee and various issues relating to the American Civil War. This program includes tours of the nearby Fredericksburg, Wilderness, and Spotsylvania Battlefields, some of the bloodiest combat of the Civil War.

Historians Peter Carmichael, Aaron Sheehan-Dean, and Elizabeth Brown Pryor will lead the group. The focus is on Robert E. Lee as a general, the use of primary documents in uncovering new dimensions to Civil War personalities, and the importance of the Fredericksburg and Overland Campaigns.

Designed for middle/high school social studies teachers who teach United States history and government, this intensive week-long workshop will immerse participants in early American history "on location" in Williamsburg, the restored capital city of 18th-century Virginia, and nearby Jamestown and Yorktown. 25 teachers and a returning mentor teacher will be selected for each session. Participants will be involved in an interdisciplinary approach to teaching social studies with colonial American history as the focus. Teachers will have the opportunity to exchange ideas with noted historians, meet character interpreters, and take part in reenactments of 18th-century events. They will review various interactive teaching techniques with a mentor teacher and with each other. Instructional materials in a variety of media will be provided to participants to use in their classrooms. Together with Colonial Williamsburg staff, teachers will prepare new instructional materials for use in their own classrooms.

This course consists of sessions and lectures by Monticello professional staff members, exploring all aspects of Thomas Jefferson's life, accomplishments, and character. (This is a several-month-long series of lectures, not a live-in intensive course.)

This seminar will "focus on Virginia's political leadership and cultural life in the era of the American Revolution. Participants will gain an understanding of the unique events and dynamics that prevailed in mid-to-late 18th-century Virginia and will be given the tools to incorporate this newfound knowledge directly into their classrooms in order to enrich students' educational experiences."

"An NCHE team of Elliott West, Flannery Burke, and Linda Clark will explore the topic of The Growth of a Nation: Westward Movement at this Teaching American History colloquium."

"An NCHE team of Tad Kuroda, Dennis Denenberg and Nancy Taylor will explore a still-to-be-determined topic at this Shaping the Constitution: People and Documents colloquium."

"Elementary, middle and high school teachers from across Virginia will travel to James Madison's Montpelier for 3 1/2 days of intensive work with the We the People curriculum. The institute will feature three lectures on content from We the People, work with fellow teachers to ways to implement the curriculum in their classroom and the institute will conclude with the mock congressional hearing."