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Elliot Borg

Smithsonian Education - Lesson Plans - History and Culture - 0 views

    • Elliot Borg
       
      The SI uses their extensive collections to provide teachers with excellent resources.
    • Elliot Borg
       
      The Smithsonian provides lesson plans about American and other cultures around the world, including Japanese internment, African American life, currency, and much more.
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    Site provides activities on history and culture, straight from the Smithsonian Institute. Primarily geared toward elementary students, the Institute provides lesson plans from art to war to language.
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    What makes the resources "excellent"?
Jonathon Gordon

Smithsonian Teaching Sources - 2 views

  • Artifacts —the objects we make and use—give history its tangible form. They can be as important and useful as primary sources as are correspondence, pieces of legislation, and other documents. Studied together, artifacts and documents help students understand the complexity of any historical question.
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    This site provided by the Smithsonian provides teachers with lessons that help students understand how to use primary sources in historical research. It would be very useful for any upper secondary social studies teacher. 
Kenneth O'Regan

American Art - 2 views

  • Norman Rockwell Telling Stories Through January 2, 2011
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    This is the front page of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. This website is a lot more than just the site for an art museum. Inside, you can find information about current exhibits, collections, upcoming events, teacher resources, and much more. Over the next few months there are also some special events for high school teachers, including one on October 16th titled "Teaching History through Art." I think it is easy, in most high schools, to forget the importance of art in our society and how it can give a glimpse of our cultural history.
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    How might teachers use this site?
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    Art can define elements of our history. I would probably be better able to answer this question if I could attend the seminar on October 16th. Taking a look at a few of the featured exhibitions on the main page of the site, we can already make some history connections. Consider the current Norman Rockwell exhibition. Rockwell provides excellent visualizations of idealized, traditional American society in a broad period, roughly 1913 to shortly before his death in 1978. Rockwell paintings could be used in any kind of lesson plan dealing with either of the World Wars, the Boy Scouts, or the rise of middle-class America in the 1950s. Another lead exhibit on the page is titled The Pond, by an artist whose name currently escapes me. Taking a look at the photos of a pond somewhere in Maryland in the 1980s, the pictures tell a story of forgotten parts of the American wild that are surrounded by urbanization and industry.
Maria Mahon

Teaching Cops to See | Arts & Culture | Smithsonian Magazine - 0 views

  • Herman has taken her lessons to heart. When her 7-year-old son, Ian, was in preschool, his teacher worried that he wasn't verbal enough and suggested that Herman try some of her exercises on the boy. Herman pressed him to describe in detail what he saw when they were at home or on the street. "It worked!" Herman says.
    • Maria Mahon
       
      Here we are offered a much more personal way in which practicing descriptive techniques can help students/children. Herman worked with her own son and asked him to describe in great detail what he saw and this helped him become more verbal.
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    I just came across this article in the most recent issue of the Smithsonian Magazine. While it describes law enforcement officials being taught the skills of describing in great detail what they see, I thought it provided an interesting example of how helpful looking at works of art can be. While many students might at first not feel confident in describing works of art in the classroom, I think this shows how applicable the skills can be.... not only to use them as a starting point for a history discussion but for other things as well.
Samantha Greenwald

The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden - 1 views

    • Samantha Greenwald
       
      This timeline gives a brief description of all of the presidents as well what era they lived during and what that era consisted of. This can be used by teachers to give an introduction to the American presidents but students can use this to do further research.
    • Samantha Greenwald
       
      One thing is that this seems to be a bit out of date (the latest timeline did not include President Obama) so it is good to look at the past presidents but wouldn't be helpful for understanding the current presidency.
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    This exhibit from the Smithsonian Museum of American History looks at the American Presidents from how they got elected, life in the White House, and how they communicated with the public. There are primary source artifacts that can be seen for each president.
Jennifer Carey

Saturday is Museum Day - Enjoy Free Admission! - 0 views

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    Enjoy free admission to museums across the country courtesy of Smithsonian Magazine
Debbie Moore

home - Smithsonian's History Explorer - 0 views

    • Erin Power
       
      This website relies on Smithsonian reference information, mostly online exhibits. This means the information is reputable. It's also organized in an incredibly efficient way. I think I would love to keep this site bookmarked, and check it out as I progress through a curriculum. It's so easy to use - pick your period, quickly scroll through to see if anything is interesting to you. This is valuable to Social Studies teachers who are looking to incorporate online materials without spending a ton of time looking for them.
    • Erin Power
       
      Oh! I just figured out that the websites posted are even marked to what grade-level they are targeted to.
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    This website is a great reference page for finding resources based on historical periods.
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    Smithsonian's History Explorer provides a multitute of resources for teachers including lessons, activities, interactive activities, examples of artifacts, and professional development opportunities for educators. One can easily search for desired resources by selecting the grade level, type of resource desired, and the time period. A variety of American History related subjects are displayed and from that list, one can select the desired resource.
Debbie Moore

The National Portrait Gallery/Education/Teacher Programs - 1 views

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    The National Portrait Gallery is one of the Smithsonian Museums in the DC area. The great thing about NPG is that it has resources available online for teachers. There are a variety of school programs and teacher programs but the best offerings are the online exhibitions. It is like having the gallery right there in your classroom. Some of those exhibits include George Washington: A national Treasure, Presidents in Waiting, and A Brush with History. The online exhibits are usable in the classroom directly from a computer or lap top. For example, the George Washington online exhibit begins with a famous portrait accompanied by an audio explanation of the portrait and the symbolic and historical items found within the portrait. Using the portrait as a starting point provides students with a visual association of that person and the historical events surrounding that person. There is also a link to biographical information about Washington and his role in our country's history. The Teacher's Guide associated with the George Washington exhibit includes lesson plans, activities and other teaching ideas; all printable and useable in class. NPG also offers two publications both of which are available on line. "The Patriot Papers," designed for students, features various historical events in an interesting and engaging fashion. For example, there is a "Special Edition on Slavery" featuring information on slavery and the key players involved. One of the articles in this publication is "A Chat with Harried: 1869" and also includes her portrait. The second publication, NPG in your Classroom, provides information to teachers on how to integrate NPG into classroom lessons. There are many more valuable tools on this site such as a "Reading Portraiture Guide for Educators." Check out the site….it is awesome!!!
Nate Merrill

SmithsonianTweenTribune - 0 views

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    Articles for kids, middle school, teens from Smithsonian | tweentribune.com | Current events, lesson plans, quizzes, assessments
Laura Wood

Federal Resources for Educational Excellence - 5 views

  • History & Soc Studies
    • Laura Wood
       
      Okay so there isn't quite as much information on this site as I was hoping there would be. You CAN search by time period within the United States History. So if you're working through a US History text, this might be a great one stop shop to hit up and see what sorts of primary documents are available in a wealth of federal sites. For example, 1607-1763 has links to colonial documents from: the National Park Service; the Smithsonian; the National Endowment for the Humanities; History Matters; the National Archives, etc You can also search by US History topics (Government, Famous People, Wars, or Ethnic Groups . . . hmmm) or by World Studies. Each of these branch out into more subtopics. It's worth checking out.
    • Laura Wood
       
      Haha. My new web browser hates Diigo. This is supposed to say "Animations" So the animations page is super science heavy. They do have a couple of links to global warming and environmental issues and a link to a Napolean Game where you can wage wars and see how well you do at Waterloo . . .
    • Laura Wood
       
      There are 135 Primary documents. I would recommend searching for these in a different way.
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    • Laura Wood
       
      The video section is also worth checking out. 30 links to videos, some are about science but some are clips of Roosevelt or McKinley. Again, US History stuff. The only place I've found World History stuff is specifically under the Social Studies, World History links.
    • Laura Wood
       
      This lists all of the topics contained on the site in each of the subheadings (Of particular interest: World History, US History, US Time Periods. Check it out!
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    FREE is a website pool of teaching and learning resources from various branches of the federal government. From the website: "More than 1,500 federally supported teaching and learning resources are included from dozens of federal agencies. New sites are added regularly. . . . FREE is maintained by Peter Kickbush and Kirk Winters, Office of Communications and Outreach, with support from the Development Services Team in the Office of the Chief Information Officer, U.S. Department of Education."
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    This site is amazing, I was just playing around with it and I am definitely using some of the resources for my unit. :)
Jamie Gravell

America on the Move | Home Page - 2 views

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    American History Museum's website on the history of transportation. Great artifacts and lesson plans
Maria Mahon

Teaching Cops to See | Arts & Culture | Smithsonian Magazine - 0 views

  • Suspecting that some of the cops were first-timers to the Met, she tried to ease the pressure. "Remember," she said, "there are no judgments and no wrong answers."
    • Maria Mahon
       
      As we talked about in class, making students feel comfortable to start exploring works of art is a crucial step if teachers are going to use them in their lessons. In much the same vein, Herman had to make sure the policemen felt comfortable in this new environment and did not feel inhibited from sharing their ideas or observations just because it was a new medium.
Alan Edwards

"The Public Be Damned" A Thematic and Multiple Intelligences Approach to Teaching the G... - 3 views

    • Alan Edwards
       
      This article and lesson plan was created by two professors (a secondary social studies prof and a history prof) at Ball State University. It was published in The Magazine of History, a publication of the Organization of American Historians. Each edition of the magazine includes a section on educational materials. Often they include websites that are helpful for teachers and students.
    • Alan Edwards
       
      The first part of this website is a brief summary of important themes of American history between the end of the Civil War and the beginning of the 20th century. The second half of the page is a 5 lesson plans on the time period. Each of the lesson plans is designed for a different multiple intelligence.
    • Alan Edwards
       
      The mathematical intelligence lesson asks students to compare rents charged to white and black tenants in the late 20th century. This reflects the move to the cities as well as racial discrimination. The information on rents comes from Jacob Riis' How the Other Half Live. Like all the other lesson plans offered, they include procedures, handouts, and possible assessment questions. This is a great resource for teachers who are looking for fresh ideas and methods of incorporating MI into their classrooms.
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  • Urbanization--Logical/Mathematical Intelligence. The first activity allows students to compare the rents charged to white and black tenants during the Gilded Age.
  • Rise of Jim Crow--Verbal/Linguistic Intelligence. Paul Laurence Dunbar's poetry provides an ideal vehicle for students to analyze the various perspectives taken by African Americans toward Jim Crow laws and civil rights. Lyrics of Lowly Life (1895) illustrates one perspective, the accomodationist paradigm adopted by Dunbar and others during this period.
  • V. Immigration--Body/Kinesthetic Intelligence. In his 1890 landmark book, How the Other Half Lives, Jacob Riis discussed the dismal conditions in which thousands of New York immigrants lived. Most of the residential tenements were "unventilated, fever-breeding structures" that housed multiple families. Riis's floor plan of a twelve-family tenement provides an ideal prompt for an activity that illustrates the dark, cramped living quarters germane to these Gilded-Age dwellings.
  • VI. Westward Expansion--Naturalist. Like many Americans during this period, John Wesley Powell was lured by the majestic beauty of the West. Following his service as a Union army soldier (in which he lost his arm at the Battle of Shiloh), Powell ventured westward. In 1869, he initiated the Powell Geographic Expedition, sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution. Powell recorded his experiences in a diary, which today serves as an outstanding resource for students to better understand the transformation the West went through during the Gilded Age.
  • VII. Industrialization--Interpersonal. During the Gilded Age, technological innovations provided an impetus for unprecedented industrial growth and urbanization. While laborers fueled this growth, they certainly did not reap the rewards. Instead, they found themselves economic victims of industrialization and urbanization. In an 1884 study, the Illinois Bureau of Labor Statistics detailed the economic status and living environment of numerous laborers in Chicago, Illinois.
  • VIII. Imperialism--Intrapersonal. Numerous Americans witnessed firsthand the impact of imperialism on indigenous people, through their military service during the Spanish-American War. One particular American soldier, James Miller, discussed what he witnessed during his exposure to the war in Puerto Rico.
  • IV. Politics--Musical/Rhythmic Intelligence. One of the most effective instruments at the disposal of politicians has always been the campaign song. The Populists, perhaps more than any other political party or movement in the late nineteenth century, were prolific songwriters. The Populists were often quite critical of monopolies, railroads, and old party bosses in their songs. The 1890s campaign song My Party Led Me, by S. T. Johnson, provided voters with a rationale for leaving their old political party and joining the Populist cause.
  • III. Populism--Visual/Spatial Intelligence. Political cartoons have always been a popular and powerful means for critiquing society's ills.
Adrea Lawrence

untitled - 2 views

  • Anthropology, the study of both ancient and modern peoples, helps us to understand the full range of human diversity. Each of anthropology's four major fields (socio-cultural anthropology, biological anthropology, linguistics, and archaeology) shares the same goals - to understand what we are and how we came to be.
    • jbdrury
       
      The "general anthropology" sub-section has more resources based on introducing anthropology to the classroom. Many of the sites link back to Smithsonian websites. If you were looking for introductory material its best to start here.
    • jbdrury
       
      The AAA suggests that this website could also be used by science teachers, and so the subsections of "biological anthropology are included", some of which still might be used in a social studies classroom - or better yet - in some sort of unified, inter-disciplinary unit.
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    • jbdrury
       
      I personally find linguistics fascinating; whether it is appropriate to introduce in a social studies classroom I suppose would be a personal choice of the teacher.
    • jbdrury
       
      One of the cooler features of this website is that they breakdown their resources by continent; in this way, as a teacher one could provide background/anthropological information on the countries studied in a variety of units.
    • jbdrury
       
      A useful word bank for anthropological terms
  • Anthropology: The study of humankind from a biological and cultural perspective. Archaeology: The study of past cultures based on material remains. Biological Anthropology: The study of human biological diversity. Cultural Anthropology: The study of living peoples by describing and explaining social and cultural similarities and differences. Cultures: The learned patterns of behavior (i.e., traditions and customs) characteristic of a society. Ethnology: A comparative and historical study of culture. Ethnography: The study of present-day cultures through fieldwork. Linguistic Anthropology: The study of the variety of human languages.
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    Following off of my lesson plan from last week, I wanted to see what kind of resources there are for the social studies teacher to introduce the discipline of anthropology in the classroom. This website, produced by the American Anthropological Association, is a treasure trove of links to other sites regarding anthropology. You could literally search for hours on this site for potential resources, divided by both region and sub-discipline.
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    We might be able to use this in 542 next semester when we get into the epistemologies of each social studies discipline.
Maria Mahon

How Arlington National Cemetery Came to Be | History & Archaeology | Smithsonian Magazine - 2 views

  • In correspondence, her husband referred to the place as "our dear home," the spot "where my attachments are more strongly placed than at any other place in the world."
    • Maria Mahon
       
      Finding some direct quotes from figures like Robert E. Lee that shows his link to Arlington could be an interesting way to express the struggle between loyalties to nation, state, land, etc.
  • Orton Williams was not only Mary Lee's cousin and a suitor of her daughter Agnes but also private secretary to General in Chief Winfield Scott of the Union Army.
  • Orton Williams was not only Mary Lee's cousin and a suitor of her daughter Agnes but also private secretary to General in Chief Winfield Scott of the Union Army.
    • Maria Mahon
       
      Mary Lee received a warning from her cousin/a suitor of her daughter... who was also a private secretary to a general in the Union Army.... this underscores how complex relationships were at this time and how families were torn apart.
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  • A sprawling Freedmen's Village of 1,500 sprang to life on the estate, complete with new frame houses, schools, churches and farmlands on which former slaves grew food for the Union's war effort.
    • Maria Mahon
       
      The Freedmen's Village is also an important part of Arlington's history.... a rich cultural community sprung up here.
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    This article provides a great hisory of something in our own backyard here in DC - Arlington National Cemetery and its history in the Washington family and as the home of Robert E. Lee. Studying this could be a way to link the Civil War to the area.
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