| Redesign My Street! Street Design for Pedestrian Safety |
| Teacher-created lesson in which students explore issues of pedestrian safety in their community. They conduct interviews and brainstorm ideas for redesigning a street or intersection.
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| Provider: Smithsonian Books |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8 |
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| Redesign the Rover: Mars Research Year Round |
| This lesson plan incorporates a study of design into a study of astronomy. Students read about the NASA Mars program and identify the problems that impede exploration of the planet. As they design a new Mars rover to work throughout the year, they recognize factors influencing periods of orbit. |
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 9–12 |
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| Redesigning Résumés |
| Teacher-created lesson in which students design an eye-catching PowerPoint résumé.
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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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| Redesigning the Classroom |
| Teacher-created lesson in which students work in teams to "make the classroom more their own." They create a list of objectives that their designs will have to meet.
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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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| Redo the Playground |
| Teacher-created lesson in which middle school students draw on memories of their elementary school playground to design a playground that's closer to ideal.
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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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| Rocket Science |
| Teacher-created lesson in which young students learn of Newton's laws of motion by designing and launching an air-pressure rocket. The rocket is a plastic bottle.
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| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): PreK–3 |
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| Rocks Up! |
| This lesson plan asks students to build a structure that will support a rock weighing 50 grams, using only materials found in nature. They take inspiration from pictures of Andy Goldsworthy’s works. |
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): PreK–3 |
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| Roll It! Creating an Entrance Ramp |
| Teacher-created lesson in which students design an entrance ramp for their school. They draw on prior knowledge of geometry and trigonometry.
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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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| Save an Endangered Species |
| Teacher-created "product design" lesson in which elementary students create a conservation advertisement.
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| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): PreK–3, 4–8 |
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| Scenes of American Life: Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum |
| Kit featuring works depicting American life in the first half of the twentieth century, from the Roaring Twenties to World War II and beyond. Includes video, slides, and teacher’s guide. |
| Provider: Smithsonian American Art Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
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| School Redesign and Multiple Intelligences |
| Teacher-created lesson in which students look at ways that school design can be adapted to various learning styles.
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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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| Shock of the Old: Christopher Dresser |
| Focuses on one of the first industrial designers from the nineteenth century. Includes methods of production, form over ornament, and an eclectic vocabulary of cultural sources. |
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): General audience |
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| Singular Impressions: The Monotype in America |
| Website exploring the monotype art form, American monotype artists, and the process of creating monotypes. Includes a video on the monotype process. |
| Provider: Smithsonian American Art Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): General audience |
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| Sink or Float: Water and Design Solutions |
| People around the world are confronted with rising water, drought conditions, and increased weather extremes. Presenters from the Smithsonian's National Design Museum discuss the ways that designers are responding with innovative solutions—from floating houses to energy produced by ocean waves. |
| Provider: Smithsonian Center for Learning and Digital Access |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12, General audience |
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| Sit on It! |
| This lesson plan introduces students to design: it asks them to design a chair to be used in the art studio. The students brainstorm, build a prototype, and create a final product. Peer assessments and tests determine the functionality and success of the chair. |
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8 |
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| Slippery Slope |
| Teacher-created lesson in which high school students graph linear functions and write equations in order to design wheelchair ramps.
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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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| Smart Growth: Reshaping Communities (4-8) |
| Activity introducing students to different aspects of smart growth as they explore a model community, engage in creative problem solving, and create presentations on this topic. |
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8 |
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| Sneakers, Telephones, Cups and Curls: The Power of Invention in Everyday Life (4-8) |
| Activity teaching students how to identify and solve problems as they modify the design of an everyday household item. Students learn about innovation, analyze information, and work in collaborative teams. |
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8 |
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| Sneakers, Telephones, Cups and Curls: The Power of Invention in Everyday Life (9-12) |
| Activity in which students use problem-solving skills as they modify the design of an everyday household item. Students learn about innovation, analyze information, and work in collaborative teams. |
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 9–12 |
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| SOIL, A Design You'll Dig: Designing A Habitat for Worms |
| Teacher-created lesson in which students design a habitat for worms. The worms serve as composters for home or school. Nutrient cycles and the importance of decomposition are discussed.
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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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| Solos: New Design from Israel |
| First museum exhibition of contemporary Israeli design in the United States. Works by eighteen Israel-based designers who are exploring the sculptural, material, functional, and conceptual possibilities of useful things. |
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): General audience |
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| Solving Math Problems in the Real World |
| In this lesson plan, students create real-world math problems and consider how math applies to the design world. |
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8 |
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| Stamp Mural Mosaics |
| Lesson plan showing students how to use cancelled stamps in a variety of creative projects. Includes lessons for different class subjects, printable worksheets, suggestions, and a photo gallery. |
| Provider: National Postal Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8 |
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| Stop Signs, Musical Notes, Letters & Logos: Designing Symbols |
| Activity in which students engage in active problem solving as they create a design for a symbol that tells something about their identity. |
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): PreK–3 |
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| Stopping Deforestation in the Amazon: A Publicity Campaign |
| Teacher-created lesson that complements a unit on South America. Students design an environmental public-service campaign.
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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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| Summer Veggies All Year |
| Teacher-created lesson in which students design "growing systems" to provide warmth and nutrients to summer vegetables all through the school year.
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| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): PreK–3, 4–8 |
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| Sun Today, Sun Tomorrow; Sun Yesterday? |
| Teacher-created design lesson in which students consider the uses of solar energy.They learn how to track and measure the sun's radiance and study ways that past civilizations have harnessed the sun's energy.
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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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| Superhighway Scholars |
| In this activity, students examine the multimedia video installation piece Electronic Superhighway by Nam June Paik and create original collages representing their home states. The artwork can be uploaded and displayed on the site. |
| Provider: Smithsonian American Art Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): PreK–3, 4–8, 9–12 |
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| Superhighway Scholars Teacher Guide |
| Teachers’ guide for Nam June Paik’s multimedia installation work Electronic Superhighway designed for elementary-school students studying state history. Lesson includes collaborative learning and peer review. |
| Provider: Smithsonian American Art Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): PreK–3, 4–8 |
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| Teen Smoking: Designing a School Anti-Smoking Publicity Campaign |
| Teacher-created lesson in which students create the visuals for the campaign, based on their research into the effects of smoking.
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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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