AMERICAN EVOLUTION™ and WHRO Public Media Launch Guardians of Jamestown 1619 Educational Video Series

JAMESTOWN, Va., Aug. 24, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today the 2019 Commemoration, AMERICAN EVOLUTION™, released its online educational video series titled, Guardians of Jamestown 1619. The educational series will be available to elementary schools in Virginia this fall, along with a complimentary curriculum.

Guardians of Jamestown 1619 teaches students about the seminal 1619 Virginia events that are the focal point of the Commonwealth's 2019 Commemoration. These events include the first representative legislative assembly in the New World, the arrival of the first recorded Africans to English North America, the recruitment of English women in significant numbers, the first official English Thanksgiving in North America, and the entrepreneurial and innovative spirit of the Virginia Colony.

The Guardians of Jamestown 1619 series consists of six 4-minute videos that are targeted towards fourth and fifth grade classrooms. Teachers and parents can access the video series on YouTube here. The video series features a young girl named Safiri who, while visiting the Historic Jamestowne, meets the time guardian and is tasked with finding five artifacts that represent formative events of 1619 Virginia. In each video, Safiri and the time guardian travel back in time 400 years to collect an object representing one of the key 1619 events of the 2019 Commemoration.

"Children love time travel and are excited by archaeology. The Guardians of Jamestown 1619 series fuels children's natural curiosity and engages them in an adventure with Safiri," said Kathy Spangler, Executive Director of the 2019 Commemoration. "The series makes history come to life for students who are just starting to learn about our nation's – and Virginia's - history. It's important that we share the events of 1619 with students in an interesting, yet informative way, and we explain how these events are relevant to their lives today." 

This summer, Virginia teachers are collaborating to develop complimentary resources for the online educational series. These SOL-based resources will be available to teachers for use in the classroom at the start of the 2017-2018 school year.

About the 2019 Commemoration

The 2019 Commemoration, AMERICAN EVOLUTION™, highlights events that occurred in Virginia in 1619 that continue to influence America today. Featured programs, events and legacy projects will position Virginia as a leader in education, tourism and economic development. AMERICAN EVOLUTION™ commemorates the ongoing journey toward the key ideals of democracy, diversity and opportunity. Dominion Resources is an AMERICAN EVOLUTION^™ Founding Partner and Altria Group is a Virginia Colony Partner.

SOURCE 2019 Commemoration