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Celebrating the Smithsonian's Birthday
Students examine online objects from the Smithsonian website and use them as subjects and inspiration for creative writing exercises.
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Microbes and Health
Sixth graders become acquainted with the concept of how microorganisms cause disease. They role play that some class members have exhibited some alarming symptoms. Groups must determine which disease the symptoms are pointing to.
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Abraham Lincoln: The Face of War
Students compare life masks and photos of Abraham Lincoln that were made before and at the end of the Civil War. In this "Faces of War" instructional activity, students analyze images of Lincoln in a historical context and create a...
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Teaching with Collections
Students examine collections. In these real-world collections lessons, students examine and describe buttons and shells. Students will then sort, classify, and graph items according to various indicated descriptors.
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World War II on the Home Front: Civic Responsibility
Students explore World War II. In this World War II lesson, students discover how volunteerism demonstrates civic responsibility. The lesson uses World War II-era posters to appeal to the learners and help them to understand the...
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A Basin Filled With Time
Students use fossil leaves and a mathematical formula to study climate change. In this climate change and fossil lesson plan, students determine the differences in temperatures during two different times during the Cenozoic era using...
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Objects of Adornment
Students identify adornments as a form of art. In this art and jewelry lesson, students view portraits of two historical princess noticing their adornments, then draw a person in their life focusing on the adornments they wear.
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Colors
Students learn about the Impressionist painters' use of color and how it connected to early nineteenth century scientific theories about color. For this colors lesson plan, students explore combinations of primary and secondary colors,...
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Debating the Bomb
Learners research the repercussions of the development of the atomic bomb. In this history lesson, students read, reflect and discuss nuclear warfare and how it affected the population when it was introduced, as well as how it...
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The Reality of Life in the 1930s
Learners examine the life style of the 1930's using art, music, the Internet and interviews as resources. They complete worksheets including a Venn diagram comparing two pieces of artwork. They determine what life during the Great...
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How Has Transportation Changed Since the 1899 Harriman Alaska Expedition?
Students recognize modes of transportation. They research historical data from a variety of primary and secondary sources including the Harriman expedition journals, related web sites, and photographs from the expedition. Students...
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How Things Fly
Learners will examine the physics of flight through using experimental inquiry. In this instructional activity, you'll introduce your students to the four forces of flight--drag, lift, thrust, and weight--through a variety of fun-filled...
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Working in Photographs
Young scholars analyze illustrations of workers in the 19th and 20th centuries. In this social science lesson, students examine photographs of workers and identify the types of work that were available in the 19th century compared to the...
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What Do We Learn From the Repartiation of Alaska Native Artifacts?
Students observe and evaluate evidence of Alaska Native cultural symbols and artifacts. They research historical data from a variety of primary resources, including the Harriman expedition journals, related web sites, oral accounts,...
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A Neighborhood Expedition
Students plan and conduct an expedition through their neighborhood based on the techniques used by the Harriman Expedition to Alaska in 1899. They research the Harriman expedition on the internet and then create a route and collection...
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Finding Balance
Young scholars examine the relationships between force, mass and balance through the lens of clay sculpture. They discuss the definitions and concepts behind Newton's Third Law of motion then individually apply these principles to the...
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Debating the Bomb
Students research how the development of the atomic bomb affected people in World War II, participate in a debate about the bomb's use, and investigate how it has affected people's lives since 1945.
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Environmental Impact
Students analyze a 20th century photograph of a Los Angeles landscape and examine the population expansion of L.A. They discuss the principles of design, complete a worksheet, and write a research paper on overpopulation in Los Angeles.
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Clearly Classified
Young scholars review the classification system for living organisms and apply it the classification of insects and flowers in the still life by Ambrosius Bosschaert. They create a chart classifying the animals and plants in the painting...
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Going to the Promised Land
Students analyze primary resources and map in order to draw conclusions regarding the migrant-worker experience during the Great Depression. They explain and explain the impact of economic and ecological events on individuals.
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Marshland Ecosystems
Students identify animals in ecosystem depicted on 16th Century ceramic basin and classify them as herbivores, carnivores, or omnivores based on physical characteristics and prior knowledge, determine which life forms in ecosystem are...
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Comparing Books to 13th Century Manuscripts
Students compare modern-day books to manuscripts from the 13th century. In this comparative literature instructional activity, students observe various manuscripts and resources from given links. Websites and links are included along...
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Let's Go To Mexico
Students are able to use the Internet to conduct research. They research Mexican culture and traditions. Students compare and contrast Mexican and U.S. food and clothing. They convert United States currency to Mexican pesos. Students...
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Coal Mine Industrial Picture Analysis
Students observe coal mine pictures. In this US history instructional activity, students analyze the pictures realizing that history is shown in pictures and then write a newspaper article about life in a coal town using...