Middle School Resources

Video Tour

Watch this 3-room video tour of the U.S. Capitol focused on information relevant to students taking middle school level U.S. history and civics courses.

• Follow-along Worksheet for the video above
• Quiz Worksheet for the video above

Video Series

• A Capitol Moment – Highlighting the lives of figures represented by the statues in Emancipation Hall including Helen Keller, William Borah, Jack Swigert, Jeannette Rankin, Frederick Douglass and Raoul Wallenberg.
• CVC Celebrates – Celebrating Black History Month through noted figures including Ida B. Wells, Frederick Douglass, Shirley Chisholm and Charles Sumner.

Lesson Plans

Review the topics below. These lesson plans include used learning skills, an essential question, suggested activities, suggested modifications and more. Full descriptions and primary source materials.

• The Capitol Building (PDF)
• The Apotheosis of Washington by Constantino Brumidi (PDF)
• The Frieze of American History (PDF)
• Statues from the National Statuary Hall Collection (PDF)
• Congressional Biography (PDF)
• Limiting Child Labor: Providing for the General Welfare (PDF)
• National Interstate and Defense Highways Act (PDF)
• The Clean Water Act (PDF)
• The U.S. House of Representatives and the Gag Rule (PDF)
• Secession and the Senate (PDF)
• The District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act of 1862 (PDF)
• Philip Reid and the Statue of Freedom (PDF)
• Congressional Legislature and the Civil War: Telling the Story with Primary Sources (PDF)

Fun Extras

• Capitol Hill Quick Facts — Find out the answers to popular questions like: Which is taller, the Capitol or the Washington Monument? Is anyone buried in the Capitol?
• Design a Statue (PDF) – Each state gets two statues in the U.S. Capitol. Which notable person would you choose?
• U.S. Capitol Visitor Bingo (PDF) – Test your knowledge of the legislative branch.
• Color Our Collections — Coloring book inspired by the plants and gardens of the United States Botanic Garden.
• The History of the United States Capitol (Video)
• Spring at the United States Capitol (Video)
• The Tiny Doors in the U.S. Capitol (Video)
• Haunted Halls: Creepy Capitol Legends (Video)
• How the Crypt Got its Name (Blog Story)
• Bells, Buzzers, Clicks and Clocks (Blog Story)
• Capitol Illumination and the Lights of the Dome (Blog Story)
• Congress' Role in Time (Blog Story)
• By the Numbers: Senate Fountain (Blog Story)
• Artfully Yours, Benjamin Franklin (Blog Story)
• Letters and Numbers Abound (Blog Story)