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Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of American History: Our Story: Life in a Sod House

For Students 3rd - 8th
Imagine moving into a house made out of sod that you and your family had to build in the middle of a prairie! Find great information and activities that will help you understand how it felt to live on the prairie.
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Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of Natural History: Indigenous Saami in Northern Coastal Sweden

For Students 9th - 10th
The Saami people of Sweden are the focus of study for this Smithsonian research team. There are photos of Saami archaeological sites and descriptions of their cultural practices. Links for further research are provided.
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Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of Natural History: Written in Bone: Forensic Files of the 17th Century Chesapeake

For Students 9th - 10th
This very thorough site will fascinate those interested in forensic anthropology. You will learn what you can read from bones, how a face can be reconstructed from a skull, clues you can read from a burial, and about forensic cases both...
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Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian Environmental Research Center: Forces of Change:meet Your Atmosphere

For Students 9th - 10th
This superb site has detailed information about the composition of the atmosphere, how it is always changing, how it protects life on earth, and the destructive impact human activity has on it. There is an atmosphere design lab, as well...
Handout
Smithsonian Institution

Lemelson Center: Percy Spencer: Microwave Inventor

For Students 9th - 10th
Read about the moment Percy Spencer discovered how microwaves heated objects. This discovery led to the invention of the microwave oven.
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Smithsonian Institution

National Portrait Gallery: Black List Project: Governor Deval Patrick

For Students 9th - 10th
Making history as the first African American governor of Massachusetts, dip into a biography featuring Governor Deval Patrick.
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Smithsonian Institution

Nat'l Portrait Gallery: Let Your Motto Be Resistance: African American Portraits

For Students 9th - 10th
This exhibition by National Portrait Gallery titled "Let Your Motto Be Resistance" presents photographs documenting notable African Americans and their contributions to American culture. The gallery of portraits offers an impressive...
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Smithsonian Institution

Nat'l Portrait Gallery: Let Your Motto Be Resistance: African American Portraits

For Students 9th - 10th
Biographical portraits of African Americans involved in the struggle for civil rights and equality, from the time of Frederick Douglass forward. Learn about the contributions of Edmonia Lewis, Sojourner Truth, Edward Bannister, Octavius...
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Smithsonian Institution

National Portrait Gallery: Inventing Marcel Duchamp:the Dynamics of Portraiture

For Students 9th - 10th
An exhibition delving into the life and works of one of the leading Dada artists, Marcel Duchamp. Includes examples of his alter-ego portraits and videos of interviews with the artist and with experts discussing his art. [Videos are...
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Smithsonian Institution

National Portrait Gallery: Presidents in Waiting

For Students 9th - 10th
Exhibition of portraits of fourteen vice presidents who later became president tells the stories of their careers in pictures and words. Includes videos of taped interviews with four former vice presidents. [Exhibition opening: January...
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Smithsonian Institution

National Portrait Gallery: Zaida Ben Yusuf: New York Portrait Photographer

For Students 9th - 10th
Exhibit documents the life and work of early twentieth-century New York portrait photographer Zaida Ben-Yusuf, who broke with many of the conventions of portraiture and, thereby, attracted the attention of prominent artistic, literary,...
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Smithsonian Institution

National Portrait Gallery: Mathew Brady's Portraits

For Students 9th - 10th
Exhibition of photographic portraits taken by Civil War-era photographer Mathew Brady, who made portraits of many illustrious Americans on both sides of the conflict before, during, and after the war. Includes an animated explanation of...
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Smithsonian Institution

National Portrait Gallery: Ballyhoo! Posters as Portraiture

For Students 9th - 10th
Visit an example-rich exploration of poster art and learn how famous faces have been used to convey meanings and messages across the decades. An excellent resource for discovering how art can be a window into a particular time, Ballyhoo!...
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Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of Natural History: Paleobiology: The Burgess Shale

For Students 9th - 10th
This terrific site from the National Museum of Natural History gives general information about the Burgess Shale and the fossils found within. Use the links to go the Burgess Shale specimens page where there are drawings of many of the...
Lesson Plan
Smithsonian Institution

Environmental Research Center: Forces of Change: Listening to the Prairie

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st
A large collection of lessons on prairie agriculture for Pre-K to Grade 12, organized into grade level groups. They cover such topics as foods that come from agriculture, animal farming, soils, and environmental issues. These lessons on...
Activity
Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of American History: Leaving Things Behind [Pdf]

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
This resource provides information about Japanese-Americans who were forced to relocate to interment camps during World War II.
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Smithsonian Institution

Civil War at Smithsonian: Weapons

For Students 9th - 10th
Examples of many of the weapons used in the Civil War are included in this exhibit from the Smithsonian Institution. Find rifles, swords, pistols, and hand grenades along with descriptions of who used them and how they were manufactured....
Unit Plan
Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of Natural History: David H. Koch Hall of Fossils: Deep Time

For Students Pre-K - 1st
The Smithsonian Institution provides a virtual tour of the new "Deep Time" exhibit at the National Museum of Natural History.
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Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian Learning Lab: Teaching With Primary Sources

For Students Pre-K - 1st Standards
Five lesson plans, complete with videos, primary sources, and document-based questions (DBQ) to encourage students to utilize primary sources and incorporate thinking and writing into daily learning. Topics include: Artifact &...
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Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian: National Museum of African Art

For Students 9th - 10th
A fabulous resource for students and teachers interested in African art! Click any of the icons to search for a specific artifact, or just browse their collection.
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Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian Magazine Migrant Madonna

For Students 9th - 10th
An article by Rebecca Maksel that delves into the mystery of the woman in the famous photograph by Dorothea Lange. The history of the photograph is revealed as is the woman's identity.
Handout
Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of Natural History: American Mammals: Hog Nosed Skunk

For Students 4th - 8th
The Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, in a section titled "North American Mammals," offers a general overview of the North American hog-nosed skunk. Additional content includes detailed drawings, photographs, and a map showing the...
eBook
Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian Libraries: Chronology of Middle Missouri Plains Village Sites [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
An extremely detailed and comprehensive publication from the Smithsonian concerning the anthropology of the Middle Missouri Plains Village Sites.
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Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of American History: Separate Is Not Equal: The Quest for Education

For Students 9th - 10th
Part of a larger piece on Segregated America, this section focus is on the commitment and perseverance of African Americans in the post-Civil War South to overcome the obstacles standing in the way of an education. Offers teachers and...