| Civil War @ Smithsonian |
| Online exhibition dedicated to examining the Civil War through the Smithsonian Institution's extensive collections. Includes uniforms, equipment, weapons, paintings, and photographs of the war's most celebrated personalities organized by topic as well as a timeline of the war and additional resources. |
| Provider: National Portrait Gallery |
| Grade(s): General audience |
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| Smithsonian in Your Classroom: Abraham Lincoln: The Face of a War |
| Lessons in which Smithsonian portraits of Lincoln introduce a study of the Civil War. Analysis of the portraits—the famous “cracked-plate” photograph, two plaster “life masks,” and an eyewitness drawing of Lincoln’s arrival in the enemy capital of Richmond, Virginia—leads to an analysis of the times. |
| Provider: Smithsonian Center for Education and Museum Studies |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
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| One Life: The Mask of Lincoln |
| Five lesson plans in which images of Lincoln—in paintings, prints, photographs, plaster “life masks,” and the poetry of Walt Whitman—are the basis for a study of the Civil War. Also includes audio commentaries from the onsite exhibition. |
| Provider: National Portrait Gallery |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
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| Mr. Lincoln’s Airforce |
| Webinar in which Tom Crouch of the National Air and Space Museum discusses Abraham Lincoln’s embrace of new technology and his establishment of a balloon corps for reconnaissance missions during the Civil War. |
| Provider: Smithsonian Center for Education and Museum Studies |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
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| A Brush with History Teaching Guide |
| Lesson plans providing an in-depth exploration of selected historical figures and their contributions to the history of the United States. The guide is organized by thematic unit: from revolution to constitution, those inventive Americans, and abolition and the Civil War. Each unit contains background information about the individuals and their portraits, related questions and activities, a bibliography, and a reproduction of each portrait. |
| Provider: National Portrait Gallery |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
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| A House Divided: Civil War Photography |
| In this lesson, students examine a set of photographs and place them into the historical context of the Civil War. |
| Provider: Smithsonian American Art Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
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| Art to Zoo: Perfectly Suited: Clothing and Social Change in America (1995) |
| Lessons that encourage students to think about the interaction of clothing and society, both past and present. Focus is on nineteenth-century clothing and its reflection of middle-class ideals. |
| Provider: Smithsonian Center for Education and Museum Studies |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8 |
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| Abraham Lincoln: An Extraordinary Life Homepage |
| Online exhibit on Abraham Lincoln. Covers each major period of his private and public life, especially his years in Washington when he made the crucial decisions that ended slavery and preserved the nation. Included are digital versions of many of the objects in the Smithsonian’s Lincoln collection. |
| Provider: National Museum of American History |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
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| America's New Birth of Freedom: Documents from the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum |
| Online exhibit featuring a signed copy of the Emancipation Proclamation and 10 letters expressing Lincoln's views on emancipation and the conclusion of the Civil War. Downloadable images of the original documents and four brief videos using Lincoln's words to answer questions about the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation show how Abraham Lincoln struggled with the same questions that many Americans had about the causes and costs of the bloodiest struggle in American history. |
| Provider: National Museum of American History |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
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| Binding the Nation |
| Online exhibit devoted to early history of mail service from pre-Revolutionary America through the end of the 19th century. Includes sections on newspapers, westward expansion, the Civil War, and the Pony Express. Includes key objects, related links, and an exhibit video, |
| Provider: National Postal Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): General audience |
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