<p>In this activity, students will analyze an artwork that celebrates the idea of Manifest Destiny and western expansion - Emanuel Leutze's 1861 mural study for <em>Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way</em>, the final version of which rests in the U.S. Capitol Building.  Through the use of two Project Zero Thinking routines - <em>What makes you say that?</em>, a Visible Thinking routine for interpretation and justification; and <em>Parts, Purposes, Complexities</em>, an Agency by Design routine for looking closely - students will consider what message this painting conveys, how choices made by the artist convey that message, as well as what perspectives are portrayed and what perspectives are missing.  After looking critically, students will watch a video and learn from senior curator Richard Murray how to read this painting and what messages/images they may have missed.</p> <p>This activity can be used as an entry point or supplement in studying westward expansion, the idea of Manifest Destiny, how public perspectives are shaped, and more.  Resources to extend this activity include: a website about the final mural located in the U.S. Capitol Building and a Smithsonian American Art Museum lesson plan about both the mural study and the final mural.</p> <p><em>Keywords: Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze, manifest destiny, westward expansion</em></p>

<p>This collection previews the first seminar of the 2017 Montgomery College / Smithsonian Institution Fellowship seminar series, <em>A Journey Through the African American Lens</em>. Five National Museum of African American History and Culture staff members will lead this event: Kinshasha Holman Conwill, Dr. Rex Ellis, Dr. Jacquelyn Serwer, Dr. Michèle Gates Moresi, and Mary Elliott.</p> <p>Resources and reflection questions included in this collection have been chosen by the presenters for participants to explore, consider, and answer before the seminar itself. Fellows will be asked to discuss their answers to the reflection questions during the seminar. </p> <p>#MCteach</p>

<p>This collection previews the fourth seminar of the 2016 Montgomery College / Smithsonian Institution Fellowship seminar series. Fellows will visit the National Air and Space Museum to learn about the design and development of space suits, as well as current conservation challenges and strategies. Two National Air and Space Museum staff members will lead this seminar: Cathy Lewis, Curator of International Space Programs and Spacesuits, and Lisa Young, Objects Conservator.</p> <p>Included in this collection: presenter bios, presentation description, and resources for attendees to explore before attending the session. The first resource in the collection - "A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words: Using X-radiographs of the National Air and Space Museum's Spacesuit Collection to Promote Preservation" - is required. The other resources are not required, but will help prepare for discussion the day of the seminar.</p><p>#MCteach<br /></p>

<p>Objects are time capsules; they embody values, aspirations, or problems of a particular time and place and mark a stage of technological evolution. This student activity examines voting machines used in U.S. elections over more than a century. Looking closely and understanding the historical objects’ design evolution will inform students’ design of new machine intended to overcome barriers to voting in today's elections. </p> <p>The first five images are voting machines from the late 1800s to the early 2000s. Students will explore their parts, purposes, and complexities, then read the Washington Post article "Broken machines, rejected ballots and long lines: voting problems emerge as Americans go to the polls." Finally, students will design (and may prototype) a voting machine.<br /></p> <p>This collection incorporates two Project Zero Agency by Design routines: <em></em><a href="https://learninglab.si.edu/collections/agency-by-design-voting/xf6JuBhCB1u29e8h/#r/517111">Parts, Purposes, Complexities</a>, a routine for looking closely; and <a href="https://learninglab.si.edu/collections/agency-by-design-voting/xf6JuBhCB1u29e8h/#r/517112">Imagine If...</a>, a routine for finding opportunity. Questions in each routine are open-ended and should be used to spark peer discussion in small groups or as a class. For more information on how to use and facilitate each routine, see their resource tiles at the end of the collection, as well as the <a href="http://www.agencybydesign.org/">Agency by Design website</a>.</p> <p><em>Keywords: vote, voter, maker, making </em></p>

<p>This teacher's guide provides portraits and analysis questions to enrich students' examination of Edgar Allan Poe, an American poet and author known for his stories of mystery, horror, and the macabre. Includes the video "Defining Portraiture: How are portraits both fact and fiction?" and the National Portrait Gallery's "<em>Reading" Portraiture Guide for Educators, </em>both of which provide suggestions and questions for analyzing portraiture.  </p> <p>Consider:</p> <ul><li>What do these portraits have in common? How are they different?</li><li>How are these portraits both fact and fiction?</li><li>How do these portraits reflect how Edgar Allan Poe wanted to be seen, or how others wanted him to be seen? Consider for what purpose these portraits were created (such as the photograph, the stamp, the painting, etc.).</li><li>Having read one of his works, does the portrait capture your image of Edgar Allan Poe? Why, or why not?</li><li>If you were creating your own portrait of Edgar Allan Poe, what characteristics would you emphasize, and why?</li></ul><p>Keywords: boston, massachusetts, ma, baltimore, maryland, md, allen, gothic, raven, tell tale heart</p>

<p>This teacher's guide provides portraits and analysis questions to enrich students' examination of Langston Hughes, an American poet, novelist, playwright, and activist. Includes the video "Defining Portraiture: How are portraits both fact and fiction?" and the National Portrait Gallery's "<em>Reading" Portraiture Guide for Educators, </em>both of which provide suggestions and questions for analyzing portraiture.  Also includes "The Music in Poetry" lesson plan and website, which connect the rhythm of blues stanzas to Langson Hughes' poetry and may be used as a lesson extension.</p> <p>Consider:</p> <ul><li>What do these portraits have in common? How are they different?</li><li>How are these portraits both fact and fiction?</li><li>How do these portraits reflect how they wanted to be seen, or how others wanted them to be seen? Consider for what purpose these portraits were created.</li><li>Having read one of his poems, does the portrait capture your image of Langston Hughes? Why, or why not?</li><li>If you were creating your own portrait of Langston Hughes, what characteristics would you emphasize, and why?</li></ul><p>Keywords: missouri, mo, poetry, jazz, blues</p>

<p>This teacher's guide uses stamps, photographs, paintings, objects, videos, and music to explore the history and culture of Minnesota, Land of 10,000 Lakes. In the classroom, these resources can be used by students to investigate two essential questions: How do you define Minnesota as a place? What does it mean to be a Minnesotan? </p><p>Supporting questions and activity implementation ideas are located under this collection's Information (i) button.<br /></p>

<p>This topical collection gathers teaching resources on Inka architecture, focusing on building methods and architectural symbolism in Cusco, capital of the Inka Empire. These resources explore the symbolic layout of Cusco as well as the architecture of five specific structures: Saqsaywaman (upper temple of the sun), Hatunrumiyoc (a wall, once part of the palace of Inka Roca), the Qorichanka (lower temple of the sun), and the Double Jamb Doorway (a sacred entryway). Includes video interviews with archaeologists, interactive 3D models, and the exhibition website for "The Great Inka Road: Engineering an Empire." Resources also explore the continuing importance of these structures in Cusco today, both in terms of environmental stability and continuing cultures.</p> <p>Keywords: inkan, inca, incan, archaeologist, stonework, continuing legacy, peru, symbol, religion, ancient civilization, world history, culture, cuzco, andes, saksaywaman, qurikancha, archaeology, pre-columbian, latin america, south america, ruins</p>

<p>Includes iconic people, places, and things associated with New Orleans. In the classroom, these resources can be used by students to investigate two essential questions: How do you define New Orleans as a place? What does it mean to be a New Orleanian? </p><p>Supporting questions and activity implementation ideas are located under this collection's Information (i) button.</p><p>Keywords: louisiana</p>

<p>In this activity, students will explore what life was like during the Great Depression through the perspectives of multiple artworks. After using looking strategies to examine six paintings, students will write a short essay comparing and contrasting these artworks while considering what art can reveal about life in particular time periods.</p><p>Big Ideas: </p><p></p><ul><li>How did perspectives regarding life during the Great Depression differ during that historical period</li><li>How can you see these differing perspectives through artwork created during the historical period?</li></ul><p></p> <p>Keywords: Public Works of Art Project, Federal Arts Project, Works Progress Administration, New Deal</p>

<p>In this student activity, analyze how and why iconic symbols of America, such as the Capitol Building and the United States Seal, were inspired by Greek and Roman art and architecture.  </p> <p>Explores the big ideas:</p> <p></p> <ul><li>How were symbols of America influenced by those of Ancient Greece and Rome? </li><li>What might this desire to associate America with historic, successful democracies say about early American hopes for their new nation?</li></ul><p></p> <p>Includes: architecture, a seal, portraiture, a video, a primary source letter, discussion questions, and an opportunity to learn more through the full digitized text of "The Ruins of Palmyra," a publication that heavily inspired early American neoclassical architecture.</p> <p>Keywords: greece, symbolism, classic, classical</p>

<p>Teacher's guide for using shoes to explore culture, history, place, and innovation. Includes images of thirty shoes and three different strategies, located at the end of the collection, for using these objects in the classroom. </p> <p>Strategies include: a small-group object analysis activity; a poster, "If You Walked in My Shoes," introducing students to basic primary source analysis questions through six pairs of shoes; and a vocabulary exercise for ESL learners.</p>