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Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of American History: Magic Lanterns, Magic Mirrors

For Students 9th - 10th
Like fun house mirrors, motion pictures over the past one hundred years have reflected, challenged, influenced, and altered our visions of ourselves and the world in which we live. This virtual Exhibition was produced by the Photographic...
Handout
National Women’s History Museum

National Women's History Museum: Anna May Wong

For Students 9th - 10th
Appearing in over sixty movies throughout her career, Anna May Wong was the first Chinese American film star in Hollywood.
Article
A&E Television

History.com: Fatty Arbuckle and the Birth of the Celebrity Scandal

For Students 9th - 10th
This New Yorker article discusses Fatty Arbuckle, a silent-film era performer at the height of his fame, is arrested in San Francisco for the rape and murder of aspiring actress Virginia Rappe. Arbuckle was later acquitted by a jury, but...
Primary
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: America in Class: America in the 1920s: Machine: Movies

For Students 9th - 10th
The National Humanities Center presents collections of primary resources compatible with the Common Core State Standards - historical documents, literary texts, and works of art - thematically organized with notes and discussion...
Primary
Other

Media History Digital Library: Fan Magazine Collection (1911 1963)

For Students 9th - 10th
A large collection of original fan magazines that focused on movies and movie stars covering periods from 1911 to 1960.
Handout
Other

Reel Classics: Shirley Temple

For Students 9th - 10th
This guide offers a history of child film star Shirley Temple's career. Includes audio and video. Requires Quicktime.
Article
A&E Television

History.com: Was the Escape From Alcatraz Successful?

For Students 9th - 10th
A 2013 letter to the FBI, if real, suggests the Anglin brothers and Frank Morris survived one of the most daring and dangerous prison breaks of all time. It was one of the most ingenious prison breaks of all time -- if it worked. In...
Activity
Digital History

Digital History: Formation of Modern American Mass Culture

For Students 9th - 10th
A mass culture developed in America in the 1920s due to several factors. Read about the influence of radio, movies, and spectator sports in the adoption of common speech. Find out about the creativity of the time in literature and music.
Primary
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: America in Class: America in the 1920s: Machine: Automobile

For Students 9th - 10th
The National Humanities Center presents collections of primary resources compatible with the Common Core State Standards - historical documents, literary texts, and works of art - thematically organized with notes and discussion...
Website
University of California

The Bancroft Library: Italian Americans in California

For Students 9th - 10th
An introduction to the history and culture of Italian immigrants and their descendants in California from 1687 to the present. Shows how the people, industries, and neighborhoods of an area change over time. Includes a virtual exhibit...
Article
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: Teacher Serve: American Indians: The Image of the Indian

For Students 9th - 10th
Essay tracing the stereotypes and commonly held beliefs about Indians and how they have been written about and portrayed in film and literature. Section for guiding student discussion and scholarly debate.
Primary
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: America in Class: America in the 1920s: Machine: Factory

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
The National Humanities Center presents collections of primary resources compatible with the Common Core State Standards - historical documents, literary texts, and works of art - thematically organized with notes and discussion...
Primary
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: America in Class: America in the 1920s: Prosperity: Labor Union

For Students 9th - 10th
The National Humanities Center presents collections of primary resources compatible with the Common Core State Standards historical documents, literary texts, and works of art thematically organized with notes and discussion questions....
Lesson Plan
National Geographic

National Geographic: Everest Past and Present

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This lesson builds upon a National Geographic film covering George Mallory's effort to climb Mount Everest in 1924. It examines the evolution of the equipment used to climb Everest, comparing today's equipment to that used by Mallory in...
Website
PBS

Pbs: Roots in the Sand

For Students 9th - 10th
Online companion to a documentary film about Punjabi-Mexican immigrants who settled in California.
Website
The Franklin Institute

Resources for Science Learning: The Wright 1911 Model B Flyer in Flight

For Students 9th - 10th
See film footage and read brief descriptions of Grover Cleveland Bergdoll's 1911 Model B flyer flight in 1934.
Handout
White Pine Pictures

White Pine Pictures: Breaking the Ice: The Mary Ann Shadd Story

For Students 9th - 10th
Mary Ann Shadd was born in Wilmington, Delaware in 1823. She emigrated to Windsor, Upper Canada and was a leader in advocating for integrated schools at a time when most Canadians believed segregated schools should predominate. This web...
Handout
White Pine Pictures

White Pine Pictures: Hungarian Revolution 1956

For Students 9th - 10th
As part of the film series produced about various groups that resettled in Canada, White Pines Pictures gives a brief historical background of the wave of Hungarian immigration in 1956. Click on the teacher link at the top for lesson...
Article
PBS

Pbs: American Experience: 1968 Miss America Protest

For Students 9th - 10th
This PBS article traces the history of the Miss America pageant protest by the New York Radical Women in 1968. The term "Bra burners," caught on due to this protest.
Lesson Plan
PBS

Pbs News Hour: Reel Politics: How Hollywood Exercises Free Speech (Lesson Plan)

For Teachers 9th - 10th
A lesson for exploring how films can be used as political tools and as vehicles for informing the public and promoting political agendas. Students research critically acclaimed political films throughout history and create a two-page...
Handout
Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia Britannica: James Earl Jones

For Students 9th - 10th
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features James Earl Jones, an American actor who made his name in leading stage roles in Shakespeare's Othello and in The Great White Hope, a play about the tragic career of the first black...
Website
PBS

Who Made America?: George Eastman

For Students 9th - 10th
A quick "snapshot" at the life and worldly contributions of George Eastman. See why he was chosen as one of America's great innovators and better understand how his photography processes transformed our society.
Handout
Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia Britannica: Wesley Snipes

For Students 9th - 10th
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Wesley Snipes, an American actor best known for his action films, many of which featured martial arts.
Handout
Black Past

Black Past: Margaret Garner Incident (1856)

For Students 9th - 10th
Brief encyclopedia entry explores the Margaret Garner Incident, one of the most famous fugitive slave trials and the inspiration for Toni Morrison's book and film Beloved.

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