<p>Have you ever sat while someone painted your picture or took a photograph? How does it feel? What do you think about while it occurs? This student activity begins with a portrait of George Washington and a letter describing his attitude towards portraits. After students reflect on these, they will choose another portrait from the set and focus on developing observational skills and an attitude of empathy by examining the work closely and imagining the perspective of one of the people in the image. </p><p>Tags: portrait, point of view, perspective, Washington, Pine, de Kooning, John F. Kennedy, JFK, Norman Rockwell, Mitchell, Spalding, video, self-portrait</p>

<p>Let's take a journey to see what the Smithsonian has for you and your students. We will use this as a FRIENDLY challenge, and as a way to explore the types of diverse resources and features found in the Learning Lab.</p>

<p>This is a topical collection of resources related to the Negro Leagues. Students and teachers can use this collection to supplement United States history lessons from after the Civil War through the mid 20th century. Sports often echoes social and cultural changes that take place in the nation and reflect the norms of the times. </p><p>tags: baseball, civil rights, African-Americans, Homestead Grays, Satchel Paige, Hank Aaron, Buck Leonard, Josh Gibson, Cuban Giants</p>

<p>This collection was prepared for a workshop with Pittsburgh Public School teachers about integrating the visual arts with Social Studies curriculum. It models how to use the claim-support-question visible thinking strategy as well as the use of historic lenses that suggest different questions to ask about a work of art.</p><p><br /><br /></p><p>The content focus of this collection is Pittsburgh during the Great Depression. </p><p><br /><br /></p><p>Tags: Pittsburgh, Great Depression, 1930s, New Deal, steel mills, workers, economy</p>

<p>This student activity teaches students about the Chinese creation story of Pangu and introduces them to other common symbols in ancient Chinese mythology. </p><p>Guiding questions include:</p><p>-How does this story compare to other creation myths you may know? Are there common elements?</p><p>-In what way does this story reflect a distinctly Chinese culture or system of belief?</p><p>Tags: Pan gu, Panku, creation, origin, myth, compare contrast, yin yang, Taoism, Daoism, Buddhism, Buddhism, Confucius, Laozi, dragon, qilin, turtle, phoenix, ancient China, religion</p>

This collection looks at how a tragic incident like the murder of Emmett Till is remembered in American history and national memory, as well as the significance of the decision of Till's mother, Mamie Mobley-Till, to share her son's loss publicly with an open-casket. Her actions created a galvanizing moment for the modern civil rights movement, heightening its significance and influence. The collection includes photographs, art work, and two newspaper articles about modern memorials to Till and other lynching victims. Teachers might use the following images as the basis for silent discussion (see the Big Paper strategy from Facing History, included on the last resource) prior to a group conversation on the following questions: -How did this case impact the civil rights movement? -What were the effects of having an open casket at Till's funeral? How does media continue to impact the civil rights movement? -How should Emmett Till be remembered and honored? How should his mother be remembered and honored? -Should national memorials and museums include objects like Till's original casket or the soil from lynching sites? Why or why not?

<p>This collection of photographs provides insight into the Scopes Trial in 1925. "Marcel C. LaFollette, an independent scholar, historian and Smithsonian volunteer uncovered rare, unpublished photographs of the 1925 Tennessee vs. John Scopes “Monkey Trial" in the Smithsonian Institution Archives. The nitrate negatives, including portraits of trial participants, and images from the trial itself and significant places in Dayton, were discovered in archival material donated to the Smithsonian by Science Service in 1971."</p><p>"Science Service is a Washington, D.C.-based organization founded in 1921 for the promotion of science writing and information about science in the media. Watson Davis (1896-1967), the Science Service managing editor, took these photographs when covering the Scopes trial as a reporter. In the 1925 trial, John Scopes was tried and convicted for violating a state law prohibiting the teaching of the theory of evolution. William Jennings Bryan served on the prosecution team, and Clarence Darrow defended Scopes."</p><p>Collection users might consider the following questions:</p><p>-How effective are court cases at swaying popular opinion? Can you think of other examples of this?</p><p><span></span>-How did this trial reflect the changes in mass media, science, and religion occurring in the 1920s?</p><p>-It is said that Bryan "won the case, but lost the argument." What is meant by that statement?</p><p>-How do these archival photographs challenge previously held conceptions of the case?</p><p>Source for text in quotes throughout collection: Smithsonian Institution Archives. Web. Accessed 16 Aug. 2016 <a href="http://siarchives.si.edu/research/scopes.html">http://siarchives.si.edu/research/scopes.html</a>.</p>

<p>This topical collection contains resources related to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pittsburgh_Survey" target="_blank">Pittsburgh Survey</a>, a groundbreaking Progressive Era research study of the living and working conditions in turn-of-the-century Pittsburgh. This study, published in books and magazines, led to the passage of worker-safety laws and encouraged other Progressive Era reforms. The images, readings, and links to archival materials in this collection can be used to support exploration of the questions below.</p><p>Guiding Questions:</p><ul><li>In what way did the Pittsburgh Survey reflect Progressive Era concerns, strategies, and achievements?</li><li>How did Progressive Era beliefs about social change differ from those held previously?</li></ul><p>Tags: Progressives, child labor, worker safety, scientific management, muckrakers, reform movement, Lewis Hine, Paul Kellogg, Crystal Eastman. Joseph Stella, Homestead, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania</p>

This collection asks users to consider how unresolved issues from WWI may have led to the outbreak of war again in the 1930s. Included is a letter from a soldier on the end of the war, a summary of the Treaty of Versailles, a painting and a political cartoon. The collection asks students to evaluate the predictions about future wars made by the letter's author and then to evaluate how and why the Treaty of Versailles may have failed. Tags: World War I, Treaty of Versailles, League of Nations, armistice, interwar, World War I, Hitler

This is a topical collection of women's suffrage postcards that could be used to supplement lessons on the women's rights movement and/or gender equality. They are also excellent practice in artifact analysis. Some questions to consider: -What do these postcards tell us about the arguments for and against women's suffrage? -Why are so many of the postcards focused on geography? -Who do you think each postcard is meant to appeal to?

<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>

Use this collection as a starting point for an AP United States History review activity that emphasizes connections and cause-and-effect. Students will copy the collection and add in four resources that form a chain of connection from one item to another (ending with six resources total). For each resource, they should add an annotation describing each of the events or items included, analyzing any important details in the resources themselves, and explaining how each connects to the next one.