Neighborhood empowerment advocate and civil rights movement veteran Robert L. Woodson has developed ten principles for personal growth and community development. He has used these principles throughout his decades of working with organizations that seek to transform low-income communities from within. In this lesson, students will learn about these principles, discuss their importance, and imagine ways to apply them in their own lives and the life of their communities.  The Woodson Center's Black History and Excellence curriculum is based on the Woodson Principles and tells the stories of Black Americans whose tenacity and resilience enabled them to overcome adversity and make invaluable contributions to our country. It also teaches character and decision-making skills that equip students to take charge of their futures. These lessons in Black American excellence are free and publicly available for all.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is the only federal holiday designated as a national day of service to encourage all Americans to volunteer to improve their communities. In this learning experience students will learn more about Martin Luther King Jr. and how he marched for causes he believed in. As a result of this learning experience students will choose their own important cause to walk or advocate for in order to honor and celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s life and legacy of advocacy and leadership.

What will Washington be like 100 years from now? This is the teacher guide companion to The State We're In: Washington (Grade 3-5 Edition) Chapter 10. The resource is designed to engage students with a launch activity, focused notes, and a focused inquiry..

The  environment shaped the first people of Washington’s way of life and as a result the early people had different leaders for different purposes who were elders in their community.This is the teacher guide companion to The State We're In: Washington (Grade 3-5 Edition) Chapter 1. The resource is designed to engage students with a launch activity, focused notes, and a focused inquiry.

Contact between Native and non-native people forever changed the landscape of North America. European exploration drove many changes to the Northwest, including trade, exploration.This is the teacher guide companion to The State We're In: Washington (Grade 3-5 Edition) Chapter 2. The resource is designed to engage students with a launch activity, focused notes, and a focused inquiry.

While the arrival of explorers and the beginning of the fur trade were going on in the American Northwest, a new nation was being born in the east. This is the teacher guide companion to The State We're In: Washington (Grade 3-5 Edition) Chapter 3. The resource is designed to engage students with a launch activity, focused notes, and a focused inquiry.

Washington’s long journey to become a state was a complex story culturally, economically, politically, environmentally, and ecologically.This is the teacher guide companion to The State We're In: Washington (Grade 3-5 Edition) Chapter 4. The resource is designed to engage students with a launch activity, focused notes, and a focused inquiry.

Washington has changed a great deal in many different ways in the 20th Century – culturally, economically, politically, environmentally, and ecologically. This is the teacher guide companion to The State We're In: Washington (Grade 3-5 Edition) Chapter 5. The resource is designed to engage students with a launch activity, focused notes, and a focused inquiry.

Local governments are the smallest and closest governments to us. They are usually the first place we turn when we need help. This is the teacher guide companion to The State We're In: Washington (Grade 3-5 Edition) Chapter 6. The resource is designed to engage students with a launch activity, focused notes, and a focused inquiry.

Since Washington became a state in 1889, the job of governing has become much bigger. Even so, the basic structure—a legislative branch, an executive branch and a judicial branch—is the same as 100 years ago.This is the teacher guide companion to The State We're In: Washington (Grade 3-5 Edition) Chapter 7. The resource is designed to engage students with a launch activity, focused notes, and a focused inquiry.