<p>You could be exceptionally well-dressed if the Smithsonian were your closet. #MySmithsonianCloset</p>

<p>Preparing for World War II in the United States meant uniting the nation and encouraging citizens to support the war with their actions and funds. However, it also created divisions within the nations, as Japanese-Americans were interned, African-American soldiers were segregated, and Mexican workers recruited to help with war-time demands were discriminated against. This collection includes objects reflecting a variety of aspects of homefront life during World War II and works well as an independent activity for students to complete. </p> <p>Guiding questions for discussion before and after include:</p> <p><strong>-In what ways did World War II unite the nation? In what ways did it divide the nation?</strong></p> <p>-What new opportunities were created by the need for more workers in World War II?</p> <p>-How and why did government regulation of the economy increase during World War II?</p> <p>-Why do you think the examples of propaganda in this collection were so effective?</p>

<p><br><strong>Overview:</strong> When facing challenges in society, activists must determine not just what kinds of changes might need to be made, but how much change, and how fast. A study of the growing socialist and anarchist movement during the Gilded Age in the United States (with a focus on Pittsburgh), will help students analyze why some people might advocate for radical change while others fear it. Students will then apply their new understanding when discussing responses to current social movements. </p> <p><strong>Questions for discussion throughout the lesson include:</strong></p> <ol><li>What kind of change is/was needed?  How might the answer to this question depend on your perspective (worker, farmer, politician, or business-owner?)</li><li>How much change is /was needed? How might the answer to this question depend on your perspective (worker, farmer, politician, or business-owner?)</li><li>Why might radical change be scary for some individuals but appealing to others? </li><li>What kinds of demands and strategies result in the most progress?</li></ol> <p><strong>Pacing/curriculum: </strong>This lesson can be used when discussing the response of workers and the labor movement to Gilded Age industrialization, or as a point of comparison when studying the other social reform movements of the late 19th and early 20th century, Populism and Progressivism. Just prior to this lesson, students in my classroom would have been studying the problems of workers and city-dwellers during the Gilded Age and the rapid growth of industrialization.</p> <p><br>The lesson is designed to be used during 1-2 70 minute class periods and can be implemented in an entirely remote learning environment.  The first day could consist of the warm up around socialism, and the why did it appeal/why was it scary t-charts. The second day should focus on connections to today and the question of revolution vs. reform located in the second half of resources in the collection. <br></p> <p>#civicdiscourse</p>

This learner resource includes a 26 minute documentary where Charles Moore explains the context of many of his most famous civil rights images. Then, students examine the images and think about the importance of photojournalism to the civil rights movement. Finally, students are presented with Andy Warhol's image based on a Charles Moore photograph and asked to consider why certain images remain culturally significant. Guiding questions for this collection include: -How does seeing visual images of news events affect one differently than reading about them? Why? -How did the photographs in this collection impact the outcome of the Civil Rights Movement? -What makes some images more compelling than others? -Does photojournalism have a similar impact today? Tags: photography, Civil Rights, Birmingham, MLK, Martin Luther King, Charles Moore, photos, black and white

The Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 60s tackled many problems facing African-Americans at the time. This collection offers a brief video introduction into the March on Washington in 1963, which brought national attention to many of these issues, and asks students to analyze a photograph and three artifacts from the March. Students will answer the question "What problems did participants in the March on Washington aim to solve?" and consider how these issues continue to have relevance in the United States today. tags: Civil Rights, Martin Luther King, A. Phillip Randolph

<p>This is a finished version of the "Six Degrees of Separation" AP USH review activity, including annotations explaining the links between objects. This may be useful to share with students the first time you try the activity. Note that connections should be deeper than similarities or coincidental links; they should reflect a causal relationship. In addition, you might ask students to present some analysis of the resources they chose, identifying key details.</p> <p>The original activity is available here: <a href="https://learninglab.si.edu/collections/six-degrees-of-separation-an-apush-review-activity/C1stNx2FioYNAkWP#r" target="_blank">https://learninglab.si.edu/collections/six-degrees-of-separation-an-apush-review-activity/C1stNx2FioYNAkWP#r</a><br /></p><p><em>#historicalthinking</em></p><p><br /></p>

A learning resource for students about Thanksgiving. The images in this collection are different portrayals of the United States holiday of Thanksgiving. They are grouped in order of publication from 1863 to 1994. As you look through them and complete the activities, think about these three key questions:<br /> -How does the context in which the image is produced affect the result? Meaning, how does what is happening during the time period affect what kind of picture of Thanksgiving we see?<br /> -What do the images say about our national identity: who is a welcome part of the United States? What do we celebrate in this country?<br /> -Whose version of the Thanksgiving story is being told in these images?

A collection of resources used for a mini-session at the ISTE Conference 2016. Includes strategies and resources for integrating art into an American History course, utilizing Harvard University & Project Zero's "Making Thinking Visible."