This teaching collection includes resources such as a dramatic reading, an online exhibition, a postage stamp, and an article related to Thomas Paine, a Founding Father of the United States, who famously authored the influential pamphlet, "Common Sense". Also includes excerpts of "Common Sense" and a Document Analysis Sheet with suggested questions for in-depth examination. Guiding Question: How did this document inspire change in the colonies? Use textual evidence to support your answer.

<p>Birds' beaks tell a lot about them, especially where they find their food and how they eat it. This collection includes a bird curator’s drawings that clearly show the different kinds of beaks, which evolved because they are good for breaking seeds, catching insects or filtering out shrimp or algae.</p> <p>Keywords: scientific illustration, sketches</p>

<p>This collection for teachers brings together relevant learning resources and an archived webinar (collaboration between the Smithsonian and American English "Shaping the Way We Teach English" webinars from the U.S. Department of State). It includes a webinar with three educators from the National Museum of American History, National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian Office of Educational Technology. During the webinar, strategies are explored for engaging students in looking at and analyzing portraits, as well as eliciting thoughtful questions about objects that help tell a story. The webinar also features an emphasis on how visuals, such as collection objects, photographs, artworks and videos with experts, can serve as a springboard for rich discussions and inspire curiosity in the classroom and beyond.</p>

<p>This collection uses the Harvard Project Zero Visible Thinking routine, highlighting interpretation with justification. The strategy is paired with an artwork from the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Once you have examined the artwork and answered the questions, view an archived webinar with a museum educator to compare your interpretation. How does viewing the artwork with the museum label change your interpretation? How did what you noticed in the artwork compare with what the educators shared?<br /><br />Suggestions for teachers regarding visual clues for this image are in the "Notes to Other Users" section.</p><p><em>#visiblethinking</em><br /></p>

This collection uses the Harvard Project Zero Visible Thinking routine, highlighting interpretation with justification. The strategy is paired with a photograph from the National Portrait Gallery. Once you have examined the photograph and answered the questions, view the original resource and the short video with a curator to check and see if your interpretation was correct. How does viewing the photograph with the museum label change your interpretation? Suggestions for teachers regarding visual clues for this image are in the "Notes to Other Users" section.

This collection celebrates the #HashtagHoliday of #InternationalPicnicDay. A picnic is an outing or occasion that involves taking a packed meal to be eaten outdoors. Often, picnics take place at urban parks or on the shores of a beachfront and are enjoyed in large groups, typically families. In this collection, you will view images of picnic scenes and a vibrant picnic poster series from the 1970s and 1980s. This collection includes a creative writing prompt around describing event sequences and using imagery in your writing. It was adapted from the Smithsonian's collection of "Summer Picnic" posters https://learninglab.si.edu/collections/summer-picnic/X7Rh5kBN7xYwnDoH.

This collection includes resources to support students' understanding and analysis of inaugural speeches by United States' presidents. Since the days of George Washington, American presidents have begun their terms by taking the executive oath of office and delivering an inaugural address. To a historian, inaugural addresses of the past give an idea of what the leader hoped to accomplish. They also shed light on what were the most important issues of the time.

In this student activity, you'll investigate human interaction with the natural world and discover ways to address global environmental concerns. It includes an archived interview with an expert, as well as an interactive timeline from the Environmental Protection Agency and steps that every citizen can take to be more environmentally aware.

The "Four Freedoms" speech, as the 1941 State of the Union address came to be known, were goals outlined by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt on January 6, 1941 to Congress and the American people. He proposed four fundamental freedoms that people everywhere in the world should enjoy and described the "unprecedented" threat that Nazi domination of Europe presented to the security of the United States. This Learning Lab collection includes four Norman Rockwell paintings, alongside a portrait of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and a stamp with this iconic phrase. An audio excerpt of the speech is available via the National Archives and included here.

<p>Developing an inquiry-based strategy to support students can allow them to investigate objects and images as historians do. In this example, students try to reveal the story behind the image. They raise questions for their own further research. Because the image has only a title, the photographer's name, the "sitter"'s name, the place and the date, students have to rely on their own analysis of evidence in the image, rather than someone else's interpretation. When they read the expert's analysis, they will have already considered many of the elements that the expert highlights and can compare their interpretations. </p><p>"Girl at Gee's Bend, Alabama" is a provocative photograph that can be used in discussions ranging from history of the South during the Great Depression, to social justice. </p>

<p>Through photographs, text, videos, interviews, a map &amp; a 3D model, students can explore the history of the oldest surviving American naval vessel, the <em>Gunboat Philadelphia, </em><em></em>which is in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. The <em>Philadelphia </em>(1776) played an important role during the Revolutionary War. The first five resources in this collection show the discovery and preservation of the sunken boat, while the last three offer more information on its historical significance. <span></span></p><p>This could be used by students to consider what each type of media reveals. What information can you learn from the single resource? From the collection of media combined? What more context is needed? </p>

<p>Chinese American designer and artist Maya Lin (b. 1959) achieved national recognition as a Yale University undergraduate student when her design for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial won a national competition. </p> <p>In this activity, students will analyze a unique artwork-filled room designed by Maya Lin, first using only a still visual with little context, then a hyperlapse video of the artwork's installation,  then the artist herself discussing  her process, materials used, and vision. Students will make predictions based on visuals, gradually learn about the context of the artwork, and reflect on how their perception of the artwork changed with the addition of new information.  </p> <p>This activity can be used as an entry point into studying Maya Lin's artwork and other artworks inspired by experiences with the natural environment. This activity opens with a Project Zero See-Think-Wonder routine and asks learners to look closely, prior to revealing additional contextual information. To learn more about other Asian Pacific American Artists, visit this collection: <a href="https://learninglab.si.edu/collections/asian-pacific-american-artists/bW68eE1p6kHVzsC7#r" target="_blank" style="background-color:rgb(63,63,63);">https://learninglab.si.edu/collections/asian-pacific-american-artists/bW68eE1p6kHVzsC7#r</a></p> <p><em>This Smithsonian Learning Lab collection received Federal support from the Asian Pacific American Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center.</em></p> <p>Keywords: Chesapeake Bay, Maya Lin, Asian American, marbles, Renwick Gallery, waterways</p> <p>#APA2018 #BecauseOfHerStory</p>