
Kate Harris
Social Studies teacher
Pittsburgh CAPA
Middle School (13 to 15 years old), High School (16 to 18 years old)
Teacher/Educator
Language Arts And English, Civics, Literature, Cultures, Economics, Social Studies, Geography, Writing, US History, Arts, Other
I'm a history-lover, art fan, and bookworm. I taught high school history (U.S. History and World Religions) for ten years in North Carolina, teach currently in Pittsburgh, PA, and am working to help teachers make the most of this new resource!
Kate Harris's collections
Communes, Counterculture, and the Back to the Land Movement
<p>This collection includes a variety of photographs taken by Lisa Law. Students will examine the photographs and a few artifacts and try to draw conclusions about the ways in which the commune or back-to-the-land movement challenged the norms of traditional United States society in the 1960s and 1970s. A link to an exhibit website is include and allows students to check their assumptions, and students are asked to compare elements of the counterculture with that of mainstream 1960s and 1970s culture. </p><p>Tags: counterculture, commune, hippie, granola, back to nature, communal living, co-op, cooperative, sixties, seventies, Woodstock, change over time, compare, ashram, silent majority</p>

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3-D Resources from the Smithsonian
<p>This collection provides an introduction to the 3D resources available from the Smithsonian Institution. All of the items in this collection are videos showing 3D models or sharing the process of creating such materials. To explore the models directly in a 3D viewer, download file information, and discover tours and other educator resources, please visit <a href="http://3d.si.edu" target="_blank">3d.si.edu</a>.</p><p>Models of interest to K-12 teachers might include:</p><ul><li>Apollo 11 command module</li><li>Amelia Earhart's flight suit</li><li>Liang Bua (archaeological site where <em>homo floriensis</em> was discovered)</li><li>Funerary bust of Haliphat (from Palmyra)</li><li>Jamestown burial sites and artifacts</li><li>David Livingstone's gun</li><li>Porcelain dishes and other home items in the Freer Gallery of Art (from Asian cultures)</li><li>Killer Whale Hat</li><li>Whale and dolphin fossils</li><li>Cosmic Buddha</li><li>Woolly mammoth skeleton</li><li>Wright Brothers flyer</li><li>Gunboat Philadelphia</li></ul>

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Discover the Story: A Miner's Life
This collection includes objects and artifacts representing life in as a miner. Students are challenged to write a creative story or narrative based on the objects in the collection, illustrating life at the time. The last two resources in the collection are a worksheet that teachers may use to frame the assignment and a grading rubric for the assignment.
Tags: Pennsylvania, narrative, Pittsburgh, mining, miner, immigration, coal, worker safety, child labor

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Political Campaigns
How have political campaign strategies evolved over time? Use this collection of a variety of resources (artifact, poster, photograph, news article, video, and painting) to find an answer to the question. As you review the collection, take notes on the variety of issues, audiences, and tactics you see represented.
Tags: politics, campaign, election, vote, ballot box, Kennedy, Nixon, 1960, Obama, 2008, 1956, Eisenhower, Ike, Nixon, Harding, Republican, Democrat, suffrage, Lincoln, 1860

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What Do You Think? Dropping the A-bombs to End World War II (WW2)
This collection asks students to create their own exhibit on a controversial subject: the use of atomic weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end World War II. Students will create a collection that includes five items reflecting their answers to the following questions:
-How should the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki be remembered?
-Was it necessary to drop the atomic bombs in order to end World War II?
Students should consider both long-term and short-term effects in their responses.

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New Deal Organizations: Relief, Recovery, or Reform?
For each of the images in the collection, determine which New Deal organization it is representing. Think about whether that organization is a good example of relief, recovery, or reform. Some images can be used in more than one way, so be prepared to defend and explain your answers to the class.

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The Military Draft
<p>This collection can be used for a teaching activity on the military draft in the United States and how it has changed over time from the Civil War to the Vietnam War. Students will consider attitudes towards the draft, its effects, and means of avoiding the draft in different eras. What trends or patterns emerge? What changes? Why is the draft no longer in use?</p><p>Tags: conscription, draft, selective service, Civil War, World War I, World War II, WWI, WWII, WW2, Vietnam War, change over time, continuity and change, exemption</p>

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Ancient Egypt: Canopic Jars
This is a collection of canopic jars, which were used to store the organs of the deceased in the burial chambers of ancient Egyptians. As you look through these images, think about what kinds of characteristics they all have in common. What differences do you see? Pay attention to materials used, shape of the jars, and images on the lids.

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Fourth of July Celebrations
A topical collection inspired by the Fourth of July holiday. Have a picnic, see some fireworks, and enjoy our nation's independence!

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Alexander Gardner's Photographic Sketchbook of the War
<p>This is a collection of photographic plates from Alexander Gardner's Civil War Sketchbook that can be used for teaching about the Civil War in a number of ways. Students can explore the collection and look for images that help them learn about one of the following themes:</p><p>1) Technology</p><p>2) Military Strategy</p><p>3) Life in Military Camps</p><p>4) Death and Destruction</p><p>5) Photography as Art and Communication</p><p>The plates are in order as they appeared in the book, although some have not been included in order to limit the size of the collection. Note that some of the images have additional information linking to external websites with lesson ideas or simply more background on the particular photograph. In addition, be aware that each plate has two images, the first showing the photograph and the second showing Gardner's caption. The three final photos are not from the sketchbook, but show some of Gardner's more famous images and reveal more about the man himself.</p><p>WARNING: Some of the images in this collection include pictures of the dead on the battlefield, which some viewers may find disturbing. Please carefully consider whether use of this collection is appropriate for your specific audience.</p>

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Portraits of James Baldwin
<p>This student activity begins with an analysis of two portraits of James Baldwin by different artists. Then, students are asked to create their own portrait of Baldwin by remixing source material from this collection. Student portraits should answer the following questions:</p><p>1. How do you think James Baldwin should be remembered?</p><p>2. What are Baldwin's contributions to American life and culture?</p><p>Students may need to do additional research on Baldwin and his life in order to complete this assessment. This is an opportunity for students to learn about and explore the life of a revolutionary writer who presents a unique view of the civil rights movement and status of African-Americans in the United States.</p>

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Investigating a Place: The Pacific Northwest
<p>What defines a place? Is it its people? Economic life? Physical characteristics?</p><p>Examine this collection of images from or about the Pacific Northwest (loosely defined as Washington and Oregon states and British Columbia) to answer these questions: What are its unique set of physical and cultural conditions? How do these physical and cultural conditions interact? How does the economy of the PNW connect to its culture and geography? What are the consequences of human activity on the cultural and physical landscape? </p><p>Ask students individually or in small groups to create a collection in Learning Lab to represent the physical and cultural characteristics of another place (city, region, state). Using these collections, ask students to write summary statements describing the unique human and physical characteristics of places researched. Discuss student collections and what makes each place unique.</p><p>Tags: Portland, Seattle, Oregon, Washington, Vancouver, Native Americans, American Indians, grunge, space needle</p>

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