Education Programs
Looking to bring your students to see where history happened or to see a performance? Looking for a professional community of dedicated teachers?
Our programs empower teachers, inspire students and strengthen civic and classroom learning.
The Ford’s Theatre Education team offers a host of in-person and virtual programs for teachers and students. Check out our offerings below!
Retrying the Lincoln Conspiracy
Saturday, February 18, 2023 at 9 a.m.-12 p.m.
For teachers and educators, grades 6-12
What is the difference between an enemy combatant and a terrorist? How are military and civilian courts different? Investigate these questions and more with educators from Street Law, Ford’s Theatre and a U.S. military historian in an interactive workshop for teachers. Learn the story of the Lincoln conspirators’ trial and participate in a moot court of Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, the 2006 case of Osama bin Laden’s driver who was tried by a U.S. military commission. Learn how to build important civic skills in your students like critical analysis and strategic thinking. Draw connections between past and present through the lens of constitutional law and the U.S. justice system.
This free professional development workshop will take place in-person on the 5th floor of Ford’s Theatre Center for Education and Leadership at 514 10th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20004.
Participants will take away:
- Primary Sources and resources to use in your classroom
- Resources and contacts to lead your own moot court
- Increased content knowledge about the assassination of President Lincoln and Constitutional Law
- A letter certifying three hours of professional development.
Space is limited to 25 participants.
Our Programs
Student Matinees
Ford’s Theatre offers weekday student matinees and lessons to complement your curriculum.
Teacher Preview Workshops
Our Teacher Preview Workshops offer resources to teachers to engage deeply with their students about our current productions.
Oratory Residency and Festival
Have your students experience and explore the power of historical speeches. Open to classrooms grades three to eight located in the DC metro area. Classrooms receive five in-person visits with a Ford’s Teaching Artist to learn and stage a historical speech performance.
Lincoln Online Oratory Project
Through this unique program, students will learn a historical speech, the fundamentals of performance and public speaking skills. At the end of this project, your class is invited to create a video of the speech they learned to showcase their performance skills.
Field Trips
Plan a historic site visit to learn about the events of April 14, 1865, and the lasting impact of Lincoln’s assassination on our nation.
Distance Learning
No matter where you are, you can learn about President Lincoln’s assassination and Civil War Washington through our distance-learning programs.
Civil War Washington
The city of Washington was a complex, gritty, unfinished and precarious place during the Civil War. In this institute, connect with peers to illuminate new perspectives and under-told stories, explore historic sites and collect a wealth of resources.
Set In Stone
Learn about monuments and memorials in the nation’s capital and examine how we remember the Civil War in this week-long summer teacher program for 3rd- through 12th-grade teachers.
National Oratory Fellowship
Join this national cohort of 5th- through 8th-grade teachers in this multi-year professional development program designed to help integrate public speaking and performance skills into your classroom.
