| Chicago, the Transit Metropolis |
| Webpage on how public transportation shaped the development of the city of Chicago. Artifacts and period photographs illustrate the story of Chicago public transportation from the late 1800s to 1960. This page is included in the online exhibit America on the Move. |
| Provider: National Museum of American History |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 9–12 |
|
| Children Write to the President |
| Online activity analyzing primary source letters that were written to presidents by children and answering questions based on what they read. Part of the online exhibit, The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden. |
| Provider: National Museum of American History |
|
| Children’s Book Creations |
| Lesson plan has students read a Japanese folktale, Momotaro: Boy of the Peach, learn about Japanese culture and story structure, and create a children’s book version of the Momotaro story to share with younger readers. |
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 9–12 |
|
| China History Timeline |
| Interactive timeline introduces Chinese history through art from the Neolithic period to the end of the imperial age (1911). Provides a short description of each major period of Chinese history. |
| Provider: Freer and Sackler Galleries |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
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| Chinese Arts of the Brush |
| Gallery guide discussing the arts of painting and calligraphy in China - their origins, connection, materials, aesthetics, and artistic philosophy. Includes suggested resources. |
| Provider: Freer and Sackler Galleries |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
|
| City and Suburb |
| Online exhibit exploring the ways in which post World War II America’s rapidly growing dependence on the car helped reshape life in the cities and suburbs. This is the fifteenth section of the online exhibit America on the Move. |
| Provider: National Museum of American History |
| Grade(s): 9–12 |
|
| Civil Issues and Design |
| Teacher-created lesson in which students use the design process to identify civil issues at their school (rights, responsibilities) and to propose solutions to problems.
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| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
|
| Civil War 150: National Portrait Gallery |
| Website brings together online exhibits commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. Includes video interviews with scholars and images of war-related objects from around the Smithsonian. |
| Provider: National Portrait Gallery |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): General audience |
|
| Civil War Battle Project |
| Teacher-created lesson in which students focus on one battle of the war and design their own version of the events.
|
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
|
| Civil War Studies at the Smithsonian Associates |
| Comprehensive website for the study of the Civil War includes articles, book reviews, play reviews, Civil War trivia, online tours of historic landmarks, links, and information about in-person historical tours. Perfect for the history buff looking for in-depth information. |
| Provider: The Smithsonian Associates |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
|
| Clark’s Nutcracker |
| Interdisciplinary extension to lessons describing the Lewis and Clark Expedition to follow a viewing of the Smithsonian primary resources. Provides an example of ecological interdependence between plants and animals. |
| Provider: National Museum of Natural History |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
|
| Classification of Cerealites |
| Teacher-created lesson in which students design a dichotomous key for classifying types of cereal.
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| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
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| Classroom Application of ‘One Life: The Mask of Lincoln’ |
| Webinar in which participants consider what a portrait might say about Abraham Lincoln and they era in which he lived. |
| Provider: Smithsonian Center for Learning and Digital Access |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
|
| Classroom Connections: The Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Educator Newsletter |
| Free tri-annual e-newsletter presenting what´s new at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and suggesting ways to integrate our rich collections into a curriculum. |
| Provider: Smithsonian American Art Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): PreK–3, 4–8, 9–12 |
|
| Classroom Ready Activities from Chandra X-Ray Observatory |
| Classroom-ready activities that allow students to explore scientific concepts, using the Chandra mission as a vehicle for learning. Aligned with National Science Education Standards and Project 2061 Benchmarks for Science Literacy. |
| Provider: Chandra X-Ray Observatory |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
|
| Classroom Ready Activities from Chandra X-Ray Observatory |
| Classroom-ready activities that allow students to explore scientific concepts, using the Chandra mission as a vehicle for learning. Aligned with National Science Education Standards and Project 2061 Benchmarks for Science Literacy. |
| Provider: Chandra X-Ray Observatory |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
|
| Classroom Resources Search |
| Search or browse standards-based classroom materials on this webpage from the Smithsonian American Art Museum. |
| Provider: Smithsonian American Art Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): General audience |
|
| Cleopatra: Lost & Found |
| Virtual tour of the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Cleopatra: Lost & Found exhibit. Includes information about conservation of the exhibit’s pieces and biographical information on the artist, Edmonia Lewis. |
| Provider: Smithsonian American Art Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): General audience |
|
| Click |
| Monthly magazine for children that explores themes such as the moon, animal moms and dads, flight, rivers, recycling, fighting fires, money, animal homes, music, and the desert. Each issue includes illustrated activities (games, mobiles, flip books, and more). Developed by the creators of Cricket children’s magazine and Smithsonian magazine. Ordering information available online. |
| Grade(s): PreK–3 |
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| Climate Change: Carbon Dioxide, Contexts, and Certainties |
| What do we know about the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and what is the evidence of the relationships between carbon and climate? In this webinar, scientific investigator Bert Drake outlines the big picture and takes participants’ questions. His presentation also provides a fascinating historical context: the Smithsonian’s long involvement in studying climate change. |
| Provider: Smithsonian Center for Learning and Digital Access |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
|
| Clues from the Past |
| Lesson plan teaching that El Niño is a natural cyclical occurrence which has left thousands of years of evidence. Encourages students to use scientific inquiry methods with evidence found on the internet. |
| Provider: National Museum of Natural History |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
|
| Clues Within These Walls |
| Online exhibit focusing on the methods historians and curators used to learn about a historical house in Massachusetts. Shows how to use primary source documents, photographs, and architectural clues to learn about the history of a house and its occupants. |
| Provider: National Museum of American History |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
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| Coast-to-Coast Book Design, Part 1: What Is a Book? |
| In this first of four lessons on book design, students learn the vocabulary of book design which is reinforced through a non-linear power-point presentation in game show (Jeopardy!) format. |
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8 |
|
| Coast-to-Coast Book Design, Part 2: What IS Design? |
| In the second lesson of four on book design, students are further introduced to the vocabulary and concepts of design. Students look at the designed objects in their life, then focus on book design specifically. |
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8 |
|
| Coast-to-Coast Book Design-Part 3: Brainstorming the Book |
| In part three of a four-part unit on book design, students learn about the steps for publishing a book, examine the design elements of “A-B-C” books, and begin brainstorming ideas for their own page in an “A-B-C” book the class will publish. |
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8 |
|
| Coast-to-Coast Book Design-Part 4: Let's Create the Pages! |
| In the last of a four-part unit on book design, students create pages for the class’ “A-B-C” book, the class votes on the pages to be included in the final product, and the class publishes the book. |
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8 |
|
| Collars, Curtains & Kings: Exploring the History of Lace |
| Lesson explores the history of lace, how and where lace is made, and the role of lace in women's lives. Students create a lace mural highlighting what they learn. |
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
|
| Collars, Curtains & Kings: Exploring the History of Lace (9-12) |
| Activity teaching students about lace. Explores the history of lace, how lace is made, where lace is made, and the role of lace in women’s lives. |
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 9–12 |
|
| Collecting Their Thoughts: Creating a Classroom Museum |
| Students sharpen their information-gathering, organizational, and problem-solving skills by building their own museum exhibition and writing labels and other documentation. |
| Provider: Smithsonian Center for Learning and Digital Access |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
|
| Collecting Their Thoughts: Telling a Paintings Story |
| Lesson plans call upon students to express their unique responses to art by writing essays inspired by paintings in a museum. |
| Provider: Smithsonian Center for Learning and Digital Access |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
|
| Collecting Their Thoughts: Telling Your Story |
| Students tell a story from the point of view of someone who lived in a time depicted in a museum exhibition.
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| Provider: Smithsonian Center for Learning and Digital Access |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
|
| Collections Search Center |
| Searchable online database with several million records and hundreds of thousands of images, video and sound files, electronic journals and other resources from the Smithsonian's museums, archives, and libraries. |
| Provider: Smithsonian Institution Archives |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): General audience |
|
| Colombia |
| Bilingual virtual version of an exhibition at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. The site is arranged as a tour of Colombia's ecosystems.It considers ways that cultures arise from landscape and economies from natural resources (especially, in this case, coffee). Suitable for geography classes. |
| Provider: Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
|
| Color and Discovery - A Journey through Central America's Past |
| Bilingual coloring book and activity guide that introduces young children to Central American ceramics. |
| Provider: Smithsonian Latino Center |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): PreK–3 |
|
| Commemorations Across the Disciplines |
| Lesson exploring how cultures commemorate people and events. Students research how commemorations are created through music, painting, sculpture, photography, architecture, and poetry. They collaboratively create a commemoration celebrating a person or an event of their choice, and host a festival to share their work. |
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
|
| Commemorations in the Archives |
| Brief online exhibition of milestones in the history of flight the breaking of the sound barrier, Charles Lindbergh's transatlantic flight, and the explosion of the Hindenburg. |
| Provider: National Air and Space Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): General audience |
|
| Commemorative Historical Magazine |
| Teacher-created lesson in which high-schoolers design and produce a publication similiar to Time magazine's special retrospectives. After researching the causes and events of World War II, they write articles, select illustrations, and create an appropriate cover and layout.
|
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 9–12 |
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| Community Centered Neighborhood Development |
| Teacher-created lesson in which students use the design process to find if there are alternatives to suburban sprawl.
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| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 9–12 |
|
| Community Explorations |
| Lesson on urban planning in which students evaluate positive and negative ways their community interacts with the environment, document green spaces, and write a persuasive essay encouraging community care of green spaces. |
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): PreK–3 |
|
| Complementary Superheroes |
| Teacher-created lesson that uses the art of comic books to introduce young students to the color wheel and primary and secondary colors.
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| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): PreK–3 |
|
| Composting Conundrum |
| In this lesson plan, students use a graphic organizer to determine what might be involved in composting food scraps from the cafeteria. They learn new vocabulary, work in groups on a design solution, and build a prototype of a food collector. |
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8 |
|
| Conduct a Genealogical Study |
| Activity about the methods and tools used in a genealogical interview. Students will learn more about their family, their community, and themselves through these interviews. Part of the resource “Great Women of Our Pasts.” |
| Provider: National Museum of American History |
| Grade(s): All grades |
|
| Conflicting Voices of the Mexican War |
| Lesson plan outlining topics for short research projects and classroom performances related to the Mexican War. Students will select individuals or groups connected to the war, conduct research, then interview each other’s fictional characters to show the disparate views on the motivations behind the war and perspectives on its outcomes. |
| Provider: National Museum of American History |
| Grade(s): 9–12 |
|
| Connecting Cultures: Music of the Mekong River |
| Webpage discusses the cultural importance of the Mekong River, tracing its path through China, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Listen to selections of musical recordings. Includes a movie clip and a map of the river. |
| Provider: Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): PreK–3, 4–8, General audience |
|
| Conservation and Research Center School Outreach Programs Website |
| Hands-on science programs for classes in the Virginia area where educators from the National Zoo's Conservation and Research Center visit to educate and inspire students about fundamental science, conservation and environmental issues. Registration and payment is required. Programs are organized by grade level and aligned to state standards. |
| Provider: National Zoological Park |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
|
| Constellation Maker |
| Art activity making a constellation commemorating an American woman such as scientist Maria Mitchell. Many cultures have used constellations to remember the stories of heroes, and this activity helps develop the ability to use symbols to illustrate and tell stories. Part of the “Exploring the Sky” resource. |
| Provider: National Museum of American History |
| Grade(s): All grades |
|
| Constellations: Wonders Within |
| Series of printable teaching posters based on data collected from telescopes. Available in low and high resolution. |
| Provider: Chandra X-Ray Observatory |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
|
| Cooper-Hewitt Educator Resource Center |
| Extensive listing of Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum's educational resources. Includes lesson plans, videos, design resources, books and articles, and curriculum guides. Promotes design-based learning and connects concepts to real-world applications. |
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): General audience |
|
| Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum |
| “Think like designers” while exploring museum exhibitions. Trained educators are available to give tours and to facilitate workshops on design. Intended to foster an awareness of design and its impact on our |
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): All grades |
|
| Coral Reefs: Impacts of Climate Change and Ocean Acidification on Aquatic Ecosystems |
| Webinar in which marine scientist Nancy Knowlton explores the effects of climate change underwater—in the coral reefs, home to one-quarter of the earth’s species. Drawing on her work in Jamaica and Panama, she describes changes in temperature and ocean chemistry and the impact of these changes on both biodiversity and the ability of reefs to support people. |
| Provider: Smithsonian Center for Learning and Digital Access |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
|
| Cosmic Survey: What Are Your Ideas About the Universe? |
| Lesson plan, useful as a pre-unit assessment activity, uses a three-part questionnaire to begin a discussion on where objects are located in space and when they formed. Introduces concepts of structure and evolution of the universe. |
| Provider: Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
|
| Courtyard Design |
| Teacher-created lesson in which students design and construct a proportionally accurate model of their "dream playground/courtyard.”
|
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8 |
|
| Cover Art: The Time Collection at the National Portrait Gallery |
| Online exhibition featuring noteworthy portraits from the cover of Time magazine. Includes background information on the portraits’ subjects, ranging from queens to presidents to popes to athletes. |
| Provider: National Portrait Gallery |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): General audience |
|
| Crash Test Physics |
| Teacher-created lesson in which students design and test a "CO2-powered balsawood dragster," using prior knowledge of kinematics. The object is to keep an egg unbroken in a crash.
|
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 9–12 |
|
| Creating Hawaii |
| Students learn about a state’s history and culture by exploring a Smithsonian exhibition, Creating Hawai’i. This set of lessons is divided into grades K–2, 3–5, 6–8, and 9–12. Younger students organize the exhibition into categories. Older students look at Census Bureau statistics and develop theories of why Hawaii is “the most ethnically diverse state in the nation.” |
| Provider: Smithsonian Center for Learning and Digital Access |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): All grades |
|
| Creating Stories - America on the Move Electronic Field Trip Part 2 |
| Electronic field trip where curators from the National Museum of American History’s America on the Move exhibit take students behind-the-scenes to show how they develop individual stories for exhibitions and provide guidance to students who want to create their own family stories by analyzing objects, documents, and other resources. |
| Provider: National Museum of American History |
| Grade(s): 4–8 |
|
| Creating the Sant Ocean Hall |
| This webpage tells of the creation and design of the new Sant Ocean Hall at the National Museum of Natural History. The story is told from the perspective of exhibition designers |
| Provider: National Museum of Natural History |
| Grade(s): General audience |
|
| Creating/Improving the International Space Station |
| Teacher-created lesson in which students design a solution to a problem faced by astronauts living and working in space.
|
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
|
| Creativity & Resistance: Maroon Cultures in the Americas |
| Teacher’s Guide exploring the history and cultural traditions of Maroons (descendants of Africans who freed themselves from captivity in the Americas). Includes stories and objects from Colombia, French Guiana, Jamaica, Mexico, Surinam, and the United States. |
| Provider: Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): PreK–3, 4–8, 9–12, All grades |
|
| Critical Thinking Skills Through Vatican Stamps |
| Designed to support Catholic-school curricula, this guide to the Postal Museum’s collection of Vatican stamps can help introduce medieval and Renaissance art, Church history, Bible stories, or the lives of the saints. |
| Provider: National Postal Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8 |
|
| Crossing the Country |
| Online exhibition exploring how the idea of driving across the country captured the imagination of millions of Americans. Even before roads stretched across the nation, well-publicized cross-country automobile trips advertised car manufacturers, promoted political causes, and proved that the automobile could be more than an expensive toy. This is the seventh section of the online exhibit America on the Move. |
| Provider: National Museum of American History |
| Grade(s): 9–12 |
|
| Crossroads of Continents |
| Combines modern research in North Pacific anthropology and archeology with important objects from early collections. Development from end of last Ice Age to modern day. Includes interactive virtual tour. |
| Provider: National Museum of Natural History |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, General audience |
|
| Crystal Blue Persuasion (4-8) |
| Lesson examining historic posters, jewelry, quilts and buttons that were created to call attention to a political issue. After evaluating how these items were used to communicate a political message, students create an item that conveys a message about a historic or current issue. |
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
|
| Crystal Blue Persuasion (9-12) |
| Activity examining historic posters, jewelry, quilts and buttons that were created to call attention to a political issue. Students then create an item that conveys a message about an issue. |
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 9–12 |
|
| Cutting Corners — Parts 1 & 2 |
| Teacher-created math lesson in which students use their knowledge of optimization in a study of commercial packaging.
|
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 9–12 |
|
| Cyber Center: Explore the Universe |
| Interactive virtual astronomy lab. Includes three lesson plans. |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
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| CyberCenter |
| Web site where students “become” planetary researchers and complete three levels of assignments. |
| Provider: National Air and Space Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
|
| Czech Book Covers of the 1920s and 1930s |
| Online exhibit featuring Czechoslovakian book covers from the 1920s and 30s. During the period between the two World Wars, the Czechoslovak Republic was an important and prolific center for avant-garde book design. Includes information on the four artistic movements prominent in Czechoslovakian avant-garde book design: Poetism, Constructivism, Surrealism, and Socialist Realism. Includes selected biographies, a bibliography, and an image gallery searchable by movement, author, or date. |
| Provider: Smithsonian Institution Libraries |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
|
| Darkroom Detectives |
| Lesson uses analysis of two photographs of families who lived in sod houses to explore questions about life on the frontier. Shows how to use photographs to study history. |
| Provider: National Museum of American History |
| Grade(s): General audience |
|
| Day of the Dead |
| Online exhibit on the origins of the Latin American day of celebration, Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), how it has been celebrated traditionally and how it is celebrated now. Includes links to online resources and printable classroom-ready resources including: a fact sheet, lesson plans for grades K-2 and 6-8, and a user's guide that includes the text of the online exhibition, more lesson ideas, and instructions for making decorations for the celebration. Includes an interactive for decorating a virtual altar. |
| Provider: National Museum of American History |
| Grade(s): General audience |
|
| Declaring Ourselves Free |
| Teacher-created lesson in which students learn about the Declaration of Independence by creating their own document--something they would write if they were to declare independence from the United States today.
|
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
|
| Defining the Presidency |
| Section of the online exhibit The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden focused on the origins of the American presidency. Learn about the Continental Congress, the Constitutional Convention, and the election of our first president, George Washington, who established the roles, traditions and expectations for future presidents. Targets grades 6-12. |
| Provider: National Museum of American History |
|
| Delivering the Goods |
| Online exhibit showing how the completion of transcontinental railroads in the 19th century changed American agricultural practices. Railways linked farms to the wider commercial world by making it possible to ship food farther and faster before it spoiled. This is the third section of the online exhibition America on the Move. |
| Provider: National Museum of American History |
| Grade(s): 9–12 |
|
| Department of Anthropology Outreach |
| Webpage for the Anthropology Outreach Office, which promotes understanding of the field of anthropology and the research conducted in the Smithsonian's Department of Anthropology. Lists publications and teacher's packets on a variety of anthropological topics. All materials are free of charge. |
| Provider: National Museum of Natural History |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): All grades |
|
| Department of Anthropology: Archaeology, Ethnology, and Physical Anthropology Collections |
| Homepage for the archaeology, ethnology, and physical anthropology collections of the Department of Anthropology. Searchable online database includes 97 percent of the cataloged specimens that are currently in the Ethnology and Archaeology collections. New records are added as specimens are cataloged. Includes information on how to order photographs of items in the collection. |
| Provider: National Museum of Natural History |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): General audience |
|
| Department of Anthropology: Anthropology Conservation Laboratory |
| The laboratory gives professional care to collections; prepares collections for exhibit and loan; and implements preventive conservation projects. Describes the scope of work, recent projects, and biographies of staff. |
| Provider: National Museum of Natural History |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
|
| Department of Botany References and Tools |
| Webpage for the Department of Botany. Includes botanical links, news, nomenclatural tools, taxonomic groups, imaging by geographic area, and more.
|
| Provider: National Museum of Natural History |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): General audience |
|
| Design a Better Classroom Workplace |
| Teacher-created math lesson in which students find a more efficient arrangement for their classroom. They use area formulas to identify any problems with the existing arrangement. They use volume formulas to design a solution.
|
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 9–12 |
|
| Design a CSA Food Market |
| Teacher-created lesson in which students design a system of community-supported agriculture (CSA). Includes such math applications as measurement and geometry.
|
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
|
| Design a Latin American Restaurant |
| Teacher-created lesson in which Spanish 1 students investigate the culture of a Latin American country in order to design a new restaurant serving its cuisine. They identify a target audience and ideal location, set prices, and create a menu and an "atmosphere."
|
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 9–12 |
|
| Design a Latin American Restaurant |
| Lesson plan for first-year Spanish students integrates vocabulary with examination of Latin American cultures. Students research cultural practices, monetary systems, and geography as they design a restaurant, considering what kind of atmosphere and menu would appeal to young people. |
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 9–12 |
|
| Design an Instrument |
| Teacher-created lesson that introduces the physics of sound. Students design a simple stringed instrument out of a cardboard box and rubber bands.
|
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): PreK–3, 4–8 |
|
| Design Approach to Student Time Management |
| Lesson on time management skills. Students analyze t time constraints in a person’s schedule, develop their own time schedule, critique each other’s work and revise their own. |
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 9–12 |
|
| Design as a Tool for Community Action |
| In this two-week summer academy/interdisciplinary unit, students apply design solution to problems within their community. Students use the five stages of design to identify and solve any problems they find in their community. Along the way, students learn creative problem solving, critical evaluation, persuasive speaking, and the importance of community action as they go from identify and creating solutions to actually trying to implement and sell those solutions to community decision makers. |
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8 |
|
| Design Competition: Energy Systems of the Future! |
| Teacher-created lesson in which students develop concepts for using renewable resources.
|
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
|
| Design for School Logo |
| Teacher-created lesson in which students design a school logo to be used on stationery, T-shirts, or any other object.
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| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): PreK–3, 4–8 |
|
| Design for Social Justice |
| Following a reading of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines, students identify social injustice in their own communities through both traditional and hands-on research and design a solution for those problems. |
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 9–12 |
|
| Design in Production |
| Lesson plan introduces students to the selection, design, and development of manufacturing systems to produce products. Students learn about the contributions of Eli Whitney, Oliver Evans, Frederick Taylor, and Henry Ford. They apply the historical models of those innovators to their own designs for a production line to manufacture a specific product component. |
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 9–12 |
|
| Design Kente Cloth |
| This online activity allows the design of personal kente cloths using strips of different patterns and colors. Requires Shockwave plug-in. |
| Provider: National Museum of African Art |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): General audience |
|
| Design Triennial |
| Showcase of work by eighty American designers, includes both conceptual and realized objects. Celebrates the technological innovations, artistic evolution, and cultural impact of design. Includes printable activity sheets for children. |
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): General audience |
|
| Design Your Own Building: Rhode Island State Police Headquarters |
| Lesson has students listen to a gust speaker who is working on a building design project. This speaker should discuss the importance of addressing the various needs of the people who will occupy the building. Then students design their own building and present them to the class. |
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): PreK–3, 4–8 |
|
| Design Your Own Family Flag |
| Activity has children create their own family flag using colors and pictures that have personal meanings. They then explain why they chose those colors and symbols and their meanings. Part of the resource “Making the Star-Spangled Banner,” this exercise is intended to increase understanding of the appearance of the American and other flags. |
| Provider: National Museum of American History |
|
| Design Your Own Mask |
| On this site, visitors explore masks from museum galleries and then design their own or draw their interpretation of one they saw. |
| Provider: National Museum of African Art |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): General audience |
|
| Design Your Own Performance |
| Lesson plan has students analyze images relating to Celia Cruz and then design a performance to understand the role of aesthetics and style in the performing arts. This lesson is a resource included in the online exhibition entitled ¡Azúcar! The Life and Music of Celia Cruz. |
| Provider: National Museum of American History |
| Grade(s): 4–8 |
|
| Design Your Perfect Career |
| Teacher-created lesson in which students choose possible careers by using the design process.
|
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 9–12 |
|
| Design‚ Art: Functional Objects from Donald Judd to Rachel Whiteread |
| Exhibition of virtually unknown design works by Minimalist and post-Minimalist artists of the last fifty years. Includes Donald Judd, Scott Burton, Richard Tuttle, Dan Flavin, Sol LeWitt, and Rachel Whiteread. |
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): General audience |
|
| Design-A-Room |
| Lesson introduces design concepts by having students explore interior design and make their own miniature rooms with furnishings. |
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): PreK–3, 4–8 |
|
| Designing “Green” to Save Our Green Planet |
| Teacher-created lesson in which students design environment-friendly homes. Their client: the planet Earth.
|
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
|
| Designing a Communal Leisure Space |
| Teacher-created lesson in which students design a recreational space for the school. They research such spaces in their community and apply what they’ve learned.
|
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 9–12 |
|
| Designing a Mythical Creature |
| Teacher-created lesson in which students brainstorm a list of modern conundrums that could use some explanation. They then sculpt or paint representations of mythological creatures that explain the origins of something.
|
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
|
| Designing a Playground! |
| Unit of teacher-created lessons in which students use math, science, language arts, and life skills in the process of designing a safe, fun playground.
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| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): PreK–3, 4–8 |
|
| Designing a Real Life Ecosystem |
| Lesson examines ecosystems and the niche organisms play within them by having students research the niche, habitat, competitors and other means of survival for a chosen animal. Then, using a 20-gallon aquarium, they build a model ecosystem for their animal and track its progress for one week. |
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 9–12 |
|
| Designing Connections: Bringing Communities Together |
| Lesson encourages students to examine the ethnic and socio-economic divides within their high school and community. They design an architectural structure or event to connect two distinctly different communities in their high school and write an essay to explain their proposal and to persuade the community to use their design. |
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 9–12 |
|
| Designing Musical Instruments |
| Lesson plan shows how musical instruments can be used in a study of sound energy. Students employ observation, logic, and reasoning to determine how different pitches are made. They then invent their own instruments to produce various sounds and pitches. |
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): PreK–3, 4–8 |
|
| Designing Scavengers |
| Lesson in which students explore People's Design Award submissions and work in groups to create a scavenger hunt based on them. |
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
|
| Designing the Future of Technology |
| Teacher-created lesson in which students choose a form of everyday technology (e.g., phone, camera, video game console) and research how the technology evolved. Then then give presentations on their ideas for a new design.
|
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
|
| Designing the Small Farm of the Future |
| Teacher-created lesson in which students consider means of “sustainable farming.” Complements social studies lessons on the role of agriculture in the development of civilizations through history.
|
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8 |
|
| Destination: X-ray Milky Way CD-ROM |
| A CD-ROM tour of images of the objects in our Milky Way as observed in X-ray light by NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Observatory. |
| Provider: Chandra X-Ray Observatory |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12, General audience |
|
| Destiny in Space |
| Teacher’s guide and teaching poster introduce the challenges of space exploration. Topics include muscle response to weightlessness and clothing, communication, and gardening in space. |
| Provider: National Air and Space Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
|
| Detracting Distraction |
| Lesson has students design a solution to the problem of a distracting classroom window. Working in groups, they consider the necessary materials and procedures. The whole class selects one plan to pursue and documents the steps required to realize their design. |
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): PreK–3, 4–8 |
|
| Devi: The Great Goddess |
| Six aspects of the Indian contemporary and historical worship of Devi. Includes activities for children. |
| Grade(s): General audience |
|
| Dig It! |
| This online exhibition explores the amazing world of soils. Includes background information, videos, classroom and exhibit activities, and information on soil scientists. |
| Provider: National Museum of Natural History |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): General audience |
|
| Dig It! Teacher Resources |
| This webpage includes links to activities that would complement a field trip to the Dig It! exhibition at the National Museum of Natural History. The exhibition gives the “straight dirt” on the world of soil. |
| Provider: National Museum of Natural History |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): PreK–3, 4–8, 9–12 |
|
| Digging It--A Garden, That Is |
| Teacher-created lesson in which students design a community garden to benefit the hungry in the community.
|
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 9–12 |
|
| Dinosaur Designs |
| Lesson has students do research on a dinosaur species while exploring the challenges of dealing with form and balance in sculpture. . They make 3-D models of their dinosaur with attention paid to correct proportions based on their research. |
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): PreK–3, 4–8 |
|
| Dinosaurs in Our Backyard |
| Companion website of an exhibition of Early Cretaceous fossils discovered in the Washington, D.C., area. The site includes video presentations by professional and amateur paleontologists on such matters as "Finding Fossils," "Reconstructing Extinct Animals," and "How Did Dinosaurs Behave?" In an interactive feature, students can address their dino questions to the Smithsonian. |
| Provider: National Museum of Natural History |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
|
| Director’s Choice: Achelous and Hercules |
| On this audio site with text and images, Smithsonian American Art Museum director Elizabeth Broun discusses the Thomas Hart Benton mural Achelous and Hercules. |
| Provider: Smithsonian American Art Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
|
| Discovering Our Delta: A Learning Guide for Community Research |
| Short video shows students how to conduct research in their communities and communicate the results of that research to classmates and others. Includes a student guide and teacher guide (in PDF form). Video available for purchase. |
| Provider: Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
|
| Discovering the East of China: Chinese Music in Elementary School |
| Unit that introduces regional Chinese music. Students "travel" through the eastern part of the country. |
| Provider: Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): PreK–3, 4–8 |
|
| Discovery |
| Guided tour introducing students to famous aircraft and spacecraft through the stories of the pilots and astronauts who flew them. |
| Provider: National Air and Space Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): PreK–3 |
|
| Discovery Theater Learning Guides |
| Background material and program summaries related to each performance at the Discovery Theater, Smithsonian’s live theater for young people. Offers suggestions for classroom activities and makes curriculum connections. Available for online download. |
| Provider: The Smithsonian Associates |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): General audience |
|
| Divine Design |
| Teacher-created lesson in which middle-schoolers create a 3-D model of a "green school."
|
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
|
| Document Deep Dive: A Firsthand Account of the Hindenburg Disaster |
| Online primary-source document: testimony given to the Bureau of Air Commerce’s inquiry board by a member of the ground crew. Annotated with comments by the crewman. |
| Provider: Smithsonian Magazine |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12, General audience |
|
| Document Deep Dive: A Historic Moment in the Fight for Women's Voting Rights |
| Online primary source: an illustration from a newspaper story on a 1913 women's suffrage parade in Washington, D.C. |
| Provider: Smithsonian Magazine |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 9–12, General audience |
|
| Document Deep Dive: A Holocaust Survivor Finds Hope in America |
| Online primary source: the immigration records of a boy who escaped the Holocaust by hiding in a Polish wood. |
| Provider: Smithsonian Magazine |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 9–12, General audience |
|
| Document Deep Dive: Emancipation Proclamation |
| Online primary source: President Lincoln's manuscript of the Emancipation Proclamation, annotated with comments by Civil War historian Harold Holzer. |
| Provider: Smithsonian Magazine |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12, General audience |
|
| Document Deep Dive: Harry Truman's Adorable Love |
| Online primary source: a letter sent to Bess on the Trumans' 38th anniversary, in 1957. Harry recounts his memory of each previous anniversary in such one-line summaries as "Korea--a terrible time" and "Key West--a very happy day." Annotated by an archivist at the Truman Library. |
| Provider: Smithsonian Magazine |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 9–12, General audience |
|
| Document Deep Dive: Rosa Parks's Arrest Record |
| Online primary source: the Montgomery, Alabama, Police Department report of Parks's 1955 arrest, annotated with comments by a Smithsonian curator. |
| Provider: Smithsonian Magazine |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12, General audience |
|
| Document Deep Dive: The Heartfelt Friendship Between Jackie Robinson and Branch Rickey |
| Online primary source: a letter from Robinson to Rickey, the Brooklyn Dodgers general manager who signed him. Annotated with comments by Robinson biographer Jonathan Eig. |
| Provider: Smithsonian Magazine |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12, General audience |
|
| Document Deep Dive: The Menu from President Lincoln's Second Inaugural Ball |
| Online primary-source document that offers a glimpse into Washington social life in the Civil War period. |
| Provider: Smithsonian Magazine |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 9–12, General audience |
|
| Document Deep Dive: The Most Influential Art Show You've Never Heard Of |
| Online primary source: a selection from the papers of the organizers of the 1913 Armory Show, which brought European modernism to America. |
| Provider: Smithsonian Magazine |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 9–12, General audience |
|
| Document Deep Dive: The Musical History of |
| Online primary source: the original manuscript of Francis Scott Key's poem, annotated with comments by an expert in colonial music. |
| Provider: Smithsonian Magazine |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12, General audience |
|
| Document Deep Dive: What Did Analysts Find in Photographs from the Cuban Missile Crisis? |
| Online primary source: U-2 reconnaissance photos, annotated with comments by a former CIA analyst who prepared briefing boards for President Kennedy during the crisis. |
| Provider: Smithsonian Magazine |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 9–12, General audience |
|
| Document Deep Dive: What Did the Zimmermann Telegram Say? |
| Online primary source: the coded message that proposed a German-Mexican alliance in World War I (and that helped to bring the U.S. into the war). Annotated with comments by historian David Kahn. |
| Provider: Smithsonian Magazine |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
|
| Document Deep Dive: What Does the Magna Carta Really Say? |
| Online primary source: a translation into modern English of the 1297 Magna Carta. Annotated by a National Archives curator who discusses the document's inspiration of the Bill of Rights. |
| Provider: Smithsonian Magazine |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 9–12, General audience |
|
| Doghouses, Doors & Design |
| Lesson activity engaging students in active problem solving as they create a design for a doghouse. Involves work in collaborative groups, exploration of numerical problems, and explanation of strategies used to overcome design challenges. |
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): PreK–3 |
|
| Don’t Forget the Three R’s |
| Teacher-created lesson in which young children conduct a survey to find out if fellow students are recycling. They consider the responses as they design a recycling bin.
|
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): PreK–3 |
|
| Doodles, Drafts and Designs: Industrial Drawings from the Smithsonian |
| Online exhibit on American industrial creativity as shown in examples of industrial drawings from the Smithsonian collections. It considers the aesthetic value of the drawing as well as their importance to the design process. An innovators’ gallery shows the achievements of American innovators and a resource page includes an extensive bibliography and a brief list of recommended websites. |
| Provider: National Museum of American History |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
|
| Doodles, Drafts, and Designs: Industrial Drawings from the Smithsonian |
| Online exhibition providing detailed imagery of famous and not so famous inventions as well as information about the forward-thinking men and women who developed them. These industrial drawings serve to visually document American industrial creativity and the complexities of the industrial age. Includes images, information about the patent and production process, and biographies of inventors. |
| Provider: Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): General audience |
|
| Down at the Shore |
| Activity guide for taking a field trip to a local maritime area such as a river or the seashore and to share that experience with others. Includes printable tip sheets tailored to help you explore a variety of water-related areas. Part of the resource “Life on the Water.” |
| Provider: National Museum of American History |
| Grade(s): All grades |
|
| Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Nonviolence |
| Parent's guide with children’s activities based on a reading of Martin’s Big Words, an illustrated biography of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the celebrated civil rights leader who used nonviolent protest strategies during the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s. |
| Provider: National Museum of American History |
| Grade(s): PreK–3 |
|
| Drafting the Declaration: The Jefferson Desk and the Declaration of Independence |
| Lessons challenging students to think about the Jefferson desk and the Declaration of Independence as valuable sources of historical information. Includes a preliminary activity to introduce students to studying history with objects, lesson plans, and annotated links related to the Revolution, Thomas Jefferson, and the Declaration of Independence. |
| Provider: National Museum of American History |
| Grade(s): 9–12 |
|
| Drawing from Life: Cartoons and Caricatures from the American Art/ Portrait Gallery Collection |
| Online exhibition featuring cartoons and caricatures by American artists from Smithsonian collections. Though overlooked for their whimsical nature, cartoons have a power and pervasiveness that cannot be ignored, especially in the political arena. Includes selected biographies and an image gallery. |
| Provider: Smithsonian Institution Libraries |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): General audience |
|
| Drawing the Western Frontier: James E. Taylor Album |
| Drawings, photographs, and newspaper clippings from Illustrator James E. Taylor (1839 – 1901) who served to popularize stereotypes of the Western frontier during the post-Civil War years.. Includes sections: Indians, Battle of the Washita, Meeker Tragedy, Gold Mining, Mexican Life, and Frontier Life and a general biography. |
| Provider: National Museum of Natural History |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
|
| Dread History: The African Diaspora, Ethiopianism, and Rastafari |
| Discusses nationhood and pan-Africanism in the African Diaspora. Part of the Migrations in History online resource. Includes essay, glossary, image gallery, suggested further reading. |
| Provider: National Museum of Natural History |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
|
| Dream Worlds: Modern Japanese Prints and Paintings from the Robert O. Muller Collection |
| Online exhibit highlighting modern Japanese prints from the Robert O Muller collection. Follows the influences that nature’s animals, Kabuki theater, light, and the female form had on Japanese prints and paintings. |
| Provider: Freer and Sackler Galleries |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
|
| Dress for the Ponce Carnival |
| Activity about being a vejigante, someone who dresses in costume to help celebrate Carnival in Ponce, Puerto Rico. Children color their own carnival costume. Part of the resource, “A Puerto Rican Carnival.” |
| Provider: National Museum of American History |
|
| Drum Sounds and Their Many Meanings |
| Webpage by former Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart shows how drums express the rhythms of the body, the family, the tribe, the nation, and the cosmos and how rhythms can be used to communicate and to express cultural connections. Includes video and audio clips. |
| Provider: Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): General audience |
|
| Drum Sounds and Their Meanings |
| Examples of the ingenious ways that percussion is used to communicate, as well as to express cultural connections to death, war, and spirituality. Includes selections of music and video. |
| Provider: Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): General audience |
|
| Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn: Jazz Composers |
| Online exhibit examining two jazz standards, each one its author’s most-recorded piece: Caravan, written in 1936 by Duke Ellington and Juan Tizol, and Take the “A” Train, composed in 1941 by Billy Strayhorn. Brief biographies of the composers, primary source documents, and media clips show the process involved in writing and recording two of the most celebrated jazz pieces ever written. |
| Provider: National Museum of American History |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
|
| Dwellings Around the Globe |
| Activity exploring dwellings across the globe. Students conduct collaborative research on cliff dwellings, igloos, longhouses, and yurts and reflect on these dwellings': underlying environmental and cultural conditions. |
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8 |
|
| Early, Early Childhood Songs |
| Eight favorites performed by Ella Jenkins and nursery school children. Features melodies performed on folk instruments followed by playful group exercises for melody recognition. Includes "Mary Had a Little Lamb," "Farmer in the Dell," and "Skip to My Lou." $10.00 for audiocassette or LP, $15.00 for CD. |
| Grade(s): PreK–3 |
|
| Earth 2U, Exploring Geography—People Power! Making Geography |
| Two-sided poster/teaching guide. Depicts the elements that make up physical and cultural geography. Also includes a lesson plan on cultural geography. |
| Provider: Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): PreK–3, 4–8 |
|
| Earth Today |
| Real time views of Earth from space showing its atmosphere, oceans, landmasses, and population. |
| Provider: National Air and Space Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): General audience |
|
| East of Eden: Gardens in Asian Art |
| Online exhibit looking at the cultivation and artistic representation of Gardens in East Asia with a focus on China and Japan. Shows the design elements that went into the gardens as well as examples, history, and significance of gardens as portrayed in Chinese and Japanese painting. |
| Provider: Freer and Sackler Galleries |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 9–12, General audience |
|
| Echoes of Elvis |
| Companion website to the in-gallery exhibit on entertainer Elvis Presley, both as a man and an icon. His image has been the subject of artwork in all mediums and by artists all over the world. His face is both of a man who lived, but also an iconic image, reflecting the views and passions of the artists who portray him. |
| Provider: National Portrait Gallery |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): General audience |
|
| Eco-Icons That Electrify! |
| Teacher-created lesson in which students design symbols to remind schoolmates to conserve energy.
|
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
|
| Ecosystems on the Edge |
| Website with videos, information, and related links on threats to coastal ecosystems. Covers climate change, at-risk species, and watersheds as well as what students and adults can do to help restore these ecosystems. |
| Provider: Smithsonian Environmental Research Center |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
|
| Edison After Forty: The Challenge of Success |
| Photo exhibition chronicling the latter half of Edison's life and career. At the age of 40, with major inventions behind him, Thomas Edison faced a new technical world, which he helped create, and the challenge of competing with his own success. While some of his later endeavors were successful, others were spectacular failures. In the end, Edison was unable to adapt to certain changes and could not recapture the monumental success of his early years. |
| Provider: National Museum of American History |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
|
| Education, Design & Empowerment: Part One |
| In part one of this two-part lesson, students examine how design can be a force in transforming lives. Students learn how education can be used to fight poverty and research low-cost educational design innovations. |
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
|
| Education, Design & Empowerment: Part One (9-12) |
| Students examine how design can be a force in transforming lives. The lesson addresses a growing movement among designers to create low-cost solutions for impoverished people around the world. |
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 9–12 |
|
| Education, Design & Empowerment: Part Two |
| In part two of the lesson, students will continue their research by visiting the “A Dollar a Day” website which searches for answers to the problem of poverty. Afterwards, each group shares their findings with the rest of the class. |
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
|
| Educational Activities for Antonio: 25 Years of Creative Collaboration |
| Educational activities related to online exhibit of works by two fashion illustrators. |
| Grade(s): 9–12 |
|
| Educational Activities for Antonio: 25 Years of Creative Collaboration |
| Educational activities related to online exhibit of works by two fashion illustrators. |
| Grade(s): 9–12 |
|
| Educator Guide for David H. Koch Hall of Human Origins |
| Exhibit guide offers information and strategies for using the exhibit to engage students in the subject of human origins. Includes links to additional resources. |
| Provider: National Museum of Natural History |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
|
| Ekphrastic Poetry Lesson |
| In this lesson plan, students view a work of art and articulate what they see. They go on to write their own ten-line ekphrasis—a poem inspired by a work of art. |
| Provider: Smithsonian American Art Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): All grades |
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| Elements for Disaster Reporting |
| Lesson investigating how the media reports on natural disasters. Students devise their own assessment criteria for news reports and create their own. They consider the influence the media has on our reactions to natural disasters. |
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): PreK–3, 4–8 |
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| Elements of Civilization |
| Teacher-created world history lesson in which students identify the basics of a society--the necessities they consider universal.
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| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 9–12 |
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| Elephants Bibliography |
| List of resources on elephants. Most available at school and local libraries or through interlibrary loan. |
| Provider: National Museum of Natural History |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): All grades |
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| Emergency Shelter Project: Empathy Unit |
| Lesson in which students design a shelter in response to a natural disaster: a tsunami.
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| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 9–12 |
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| Empowered Barbie |
| Teacher-created lesson in which students redesign Barbie products to make them “more empowering and positive for girls.”
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| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 9–12 |
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| Encompassing the Globe: Portugal and the World in the 16th and 17th Centuries |
| Online exhibit describing the age of discovery and highlighting Portuguese conquests and trade agreements on the Indian Ocean and in Africa, China, Japan, and Brazil. The Portuguese voyages of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries led to the first real interaction amongst the world’s peoples, creating an unprecedented interchange of knowledge, techniques, imagery, and ideas which inspired the creation of great works of art. |
| Provider: Freer and Sackler Galleries |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
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| Encounters with the Contemporary |
| Online exhibition displaying and describing works by contemporary African artists. |
| Provider: National Museum of African Art |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
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| Encyclopedia Smithsonian |
| Links to Smithsonian fact sheets, images, websites and bibliographies organized alphabetically by topic. Includes topics in American and world history, the sciences, arts, and culture. |
| Provider: Office of Visitor Services |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): General audience |
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| Encyclopedia Smithsonian |
| Encyclopedia Smithsonian features answers to frequently asked questions about the Smithsonian and links to Smithsonian resources on subjects from art to zoology. |
| Grade(s): PreK–3, 4–8, 9–12, All grades |
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| Endangered, Threatened, and Recently Extinct Vertebrates Bibliography |
| References and additional resources on endangered, threatened, and recently extinct vertebrates. Divided into general information, specific types of animals, and animals by region. |
| Provider: National Museum of Natural History |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
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| Enrichment for Great Apes and Other Primates |
| Webpage describing how the Zoo designs environments and activities to stimulate the primates and encourage them to exercise behaviors typical to their lives in the wild. Focuses especially on gorillas and orangutans |
| Provider: National Zoological Park |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
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| Enter If You Will: The People's Design Award |
| Lesson in which students analyze submissions to the Cooper-Hewitt's People's Design Award, conduct Internet research to learn about the design process, and create their own designs to submit. |
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
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| Enter If You Will: The People’s Design Award (9-12) |
| Lesson in which students analyze submissions to the Cooper-Hewitt’s People’s Design Award, conduct Internet research to learn about the design process, and create their own designs to submit. |
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 9–12 |
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| Entrepreneurship: Creating Products and Systems That Meet the Needs of Your Clients |
| Teacher-created lesson that introduces economics through the design process.
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| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
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| Environmental Dilemma Part I |
| Teacher-created lesson in which students devise a plan or create an invention to combat global warming.
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| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8 |
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| Ethiopian Icons: Faith and Science |
| Online exhibition focusing on Ethiopian Orthodox Church icons. |
| Provider: National Museum of African Art |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 9–12 |
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| Ethiopian Passages: Dialogues in the Diaspora |
| Video interviews with attending artists at the opening of the exhibition Ethiopian Passages: Dialogues in the Diaspora. Provides insight into the exhibition's themes of relocation and diaspora. |
| Provider: National Museum of African Art |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 9–12, General audience |
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| Evaluating Historical Sources—From Smithson to Smithsonian Classroom Activities |
| Lesson plan has students identify methods historians use to study the past and learn the relative strengths of a variety of primary source materials. Includes student worksheets, teacher resource pages, and suggested further reading. |
| Provider: Smithsonian Institution Libraries |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 9–12 |
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| Events at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics |
| Schedule of public lectures, family nights, seminars, and other Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and related events. Weekly calendar is updated every Friday for the following week; other events are updated monthly. |
| Provider: Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): General audience |
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| Every Object Tells a Story |
| Lesson in which students learn the stories behind socially conscious designs in the Cooper-Hewitt's Design for the Other 90% exhibition. Students research the exhibit as a whole, then two specific objects within a particular category. They give a presentation on the story behind the object then discuss what they learned. |
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
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| Every Object Tells a Story (9-12) |
| Lesson in which students learn the stories behind socially conscious designs in the Cooper-Hewitt's Design for the Other 90% exhibition. They then create their own stories about a piece. |
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 9–12 |
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| Every Tone A Testimony: An African American Aural History |
| CD presents an aural history of African-American life and culture. Includes voices in music, oratory, poetry, and prose by African American musicians, writers, and activists. Includes 40-page booklet. CD available for purchase. |
| Provider: Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, General audience |
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| Exhibits on Smithsonian History |
| Online exhibits that chronicle the history of the Smithsonian Institution, its founder, its leaders, its archives, museums, research, and more. |
| Provider: Smithsonian Institution Archives |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): General audience |
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| Expedition Diaries |
| Lesson plan focusing on expeditions to study the Transit of Venus. Students choose an expedition to research, form expedition teams, keep individual diaries, and compare diaries at the end of a simulated expedition. |
| Provider: Smithsonian Institution Libraries |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
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| Expedition Stories |
| Lesson plan has students write reports or role play stories based on the Transit of Venus expeditions. Students research an expedition then give a presentation to the class in the form of a report, skit, poster, or display. |
| Provider: Smithsonian Institution Libraries |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
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| Expeditions: 150 Years of Smithsonian Research in Latin America |
| Website documenting the early years of Smithsonian expeditions into Latin America, looking particularly at the complex and rich relations among scientists in the Americas. Searchable by region or explorer. Sections include biographies, images, artifacts, and diary entries. |
| Provider: National Museum of Natural History |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
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| Exploration Map |
| Section of the online exhibit West Point in the Making of America featuring an interactive map illustrating the exploration of the west along with biographical sketches and brief description of the expeditions undertaken by West Point graduates. The U.S. Army played a key role in exploring the nation's vast new lands acquired through purchase and conquest during the first half of the nineteenth century. Military-scientific expeditions crisscrossed the West, mapping the country, gathering scientific data, identifying potential resources for exploitation, and surveying routes for roads and railroads. |
| Provider: National Museum of American History |
| Grade(s): General audience |
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