I have used the unit resources as part of a civil rights elective, and they are fabulous. You can pick and choose what you use, and the documents and questions can be scaled for use with different age groups. I highly recommend downloading the teacher resource guide!

Throughout the museum, American Indians kept mentioning that they were happy to have survived. American Indian culture is one we will never fully be able to recover, but with the foresight of people like Jim Schoppert we are able to enjoy and learn from some of the things that survive. I love this museum as a whole and really encourage people to visit. One video mentions that in creating the museum, they become a history like every other history...respect it...argue with it. That helped me to be aware of the significance of what I was experiencing. Excellent.

This resource is excellent for teaching women's American history by offering photographs of significant American women. The photographs are powerful and tell much about each of the subjects they reflect. I used this as part of a women's history project with my students. I recommend it highly!

This easy to view exhibit includes artistic photos that tell a story of optimistic people - culture, customs, traditions, myths and rituals. The written descriptions communicate respect and appreciation for the beauty and power of the land and its people.

The combination of photographic art, vocabulary and storytelling lends an understanding for communicating thought in many forms.

The sepia pictures show a realistic view of both the beauty and hardship of Mexico. The legends as well as pictures express far more than words alone can to explain the history of this area. I especially enjoyed the information about the rituals and festivals, especially "The Path of the Alligator".

After working with Mixtec migrant workers and their families, I finally understand them a little better. I love the photography along with the history of the cultures that live there and practice their spiritual beliefs in this area. I love that the Smithsonian keeps exhibits such as this online. I feel that all ages can appreciate this resource.

As a homeschooling parent, I am always on the lookout for additional resources for educating my children. Our focus for this year is early American History. I have found this website to be an excellent 'first stop' in my search. When I followed the links, I found wonderful curriculum and resources to use with my children.

Never has there been a more important time than now to represent women in American history. Women have changed the course of time and their achievements are highlighted in this book. The book is easy to read and understand and provides a celebratory look at the change of history in the hands of women.

I am a home-schooled student (13 years old) and I think this resource is a wonderful introduction to famous women. It really gives a great overview of the lives of many amazing women and the "click and see" format is more fun than just plain text. A "scavenger hunt" at the museum to find some of the paintings viewed online is a good way to continue the learning. It would also be great for Girl Scouts because many of the badges and awards encourage learning about good women role models.

I homeschool my 7th grade daughter, and she enjoyed the scavenger hunt style of this worksheet. It is a great celebration of women during National Women's month. Also, we plan to visit the National Portrait Gallery next week so that she can see the works of art live and in person.

This sight is great if you love WW 1&2 and/or American Indian history. The site is full of information with pictures, maps, and diagrams to accompany the text. There are many places in the site to read or hear some examples of "code talking" or other words in Comanche & Navajo. There are also easy-to-use lesson plans if you want to use the site in a class room. As a student, I'll definitely look at the site more than once!

To fully appreciate the role of the Indians in military services one must understand the unique contributions they have made through language. The strength of the very core of the Indian culture is edified in this work. This strength was a major contribution to the wars as well as preservation of their own culture. This is a great work that is important for students from Middle grades to College level studies. I hope you will consider this work for your classes as well as for your personal enjoyment and appreciation of the strength and beauty of the Native American peoples.

Although not attending the Smithsonian this worksheet gave me terrific ideas of activities to do with children in the lead up to our museum excursion that is also based on cultural diversity and anthropology.

This packet is wonderful for all ages to not only reflect on who they are but to build cultural understanding among groups. The lessons are short and are not reliant on higher level reading. Easy to implement yet potentially very powerful. Great tool for teachers to learn a lot about the students.

The guide was very organized, simple to understand and follow. It not only gave a good look into the Wolastoqewiyik culture in Canada, but also helps the student understand common ground between them and other cultures. Very well rounded unit.

As a homeschool educator for over 20 years now, I have always catered each of my children's educations to their specific interests. When I found this site, it was like finding gold! I clicked on http://folkways.si.edu/magazine/index.aspx and from there, went to the link here http://folklife.si.edu/ What a wonderful resource!!! We are interested in learning more about WW2, so I clicked on the link there. I had no idea of the wide variety of songs popular during that time...songs that rallied the troops, encouraged patriotism, and songs that show us the heritage of that era. I can't wait to share this with my music-loving high school senior!

I am part Chinese and my Chinese grandparents died when I was too young to ask questions. This will help me.

This site had so much information to use so. I picked Discovering Our Delta about the Mississippi Delta (Mississippi and Louisiana) This resource had so many tools for all age groups. I would use this for 4th grade through college students learning about cultural history and art. There were so many ideas to better understand a culture and be able to appreciate that and your own.Cooking Methods of the Delta and Folk art were very interesting. So much can be applied to a learning environment. These ideas can be used in Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts too.

This article provides a clear and concise history of the Mayan civilization and its decedents. I work in a school that uses the Student Enrichment Model (SEM), where students chose a grade appropriate history topic and extend their learning and understanding of that topic. Essentially, the students drive their instruction but the teacher helps facilitate their learning. In my SEM group, that focuses on Latin American Civilizations, I would use this resource as a research tool for my students. Based on questions they have developed, they would research this publication and answer their questions. This "webquest" will guide them in the culminating project (an essay, a research paper, an art base project, etc.) This publication also provides an integral link between the past and the present by providing information about the current decedents of the Mayans, a topic which is rarely discussed in elementary history books.

This article was very informative. It talked about the past and the present. It follows the Sna Jtz'ibajom production company in their strive for equality for their people, the Mayans. While the text was a little jumpy at times the over all effect was very good. I especially liked the plays that were added in, that showcase the point in modern times.

This is a decent summary to use in a class where you might be watching a film or staging a quick debate. It would make a nice reading comprehension activity. The language is uncomplicated and is suitable for 7th or 8th grade. However, there is a glaring omission of Roger Baldwin, the lead defense attorney.

I recently became engaged to a Filipino man. I am trying to teach my daughter about the culture and found this to be very insightful for her and myself. It has taken us through a journey of history and shown us so much about the race that I was even able to inform my fiance about things he never knew about his own culture and he grew up on the Island! There is so much to learn from this, I recommend it to everyone who wants to learn about Filipino culture and history.

As an tool for creative writing, the Corrido is a history that tells about an important person or event. The students may write about a specific situation in their classroom, mentioning the names of peers, teachers, administrator, custodians, etc. They may work in pairs or teams.

I always use this with my Latin American History class (10-12 grade). It's great because it exposes students to Mexican music & culture and many Corridos relate to history. My favorite is the "Punative Expedition," which is the Mexican take on the Mexican Revolution: Pancho Villa as a hero who embarrasses the US. What's neat is that I actually remember my Latin American History teacher in college playing this song for the class and we had to analyze it as a source. It's also great for students whose main language is Spanish because they can view the website in Spanish!

This is a wonderful resource showing the artistry of the Ojibwe people. Canoes continue to be used by the Ojibwe in wild rice harvesting. This resource is knowledge that is valuable and thankfully will never be lost.

I really believe that this resource was very helpful in explaining the Thanksgiving tradition. The information presented is to be taught to older children, but it definitely can be modified for younger children as well. The study questions are also directly related to the article and the answers can easily be found throughout the passages. I also think that the recipe is an added bonus and the children will enjoy making them!!!

A lot of information and clear descriptions. It painted a descriptive picture of the Thanksgiving holiday.

Overall, a very effective lesson plan to prep the students for a visit. However, it might be a good idea to offer accommodations/modifications for teachers of students with special needs. Possibly at the end of the lesson included in this would be suggestions to teach to multiple intelligences, and modifications for the lessons and readings and other artifacts.
Overall, this is an excellent pre-museum visit lesson plan.