<p>This is a topical collection of resources related to the fight to end apartheid. Teachers and students can use this collection to explore strategies used to fight against apartheid as well as famous leaders in the fight. Strategies include economic sanctions, boycotts, and divestment, raising awareness through artists and musicians, nonviolent protest, armed resistance, and external political pressures on the South African government. This is a work-in-progress based on the digitized materials within the Smithsonian Learning Lab's collection--it is not meant to be wholly definitive or authoritative. Think of it as a starting point for further inquiry!</p><p>Possible student activities include:</p><p>-researching one strategy of resistance and/or one well-known leader in depth.</p><p>-drawing comparisons between political organizations and movements like the ANC, PAC, Black Consciousness Movement, and United Democratic Front.</p><p>-creating a timeline of resistance to apartheid.</p><p>-debating the use of armed resistance and "sabotage."</p><p>-interviewing adults who may remember the end of apartheid.</p><p>-drawing comparisons between the civil rights movement in the United States and the anti-apartheid movement.</p><p>-choose 1-3 events and make a case for them as turning points in the fight against apartheid. What makes these events so significant?</p><p>tags: apartheid, South Africa, Mandela, Tutu, Huddleston, Soweto, townships, Sharpeville, Defiance Campaign, Biko</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 teaching collection chronicles the events and people associated with the end of the Cold War. Suggested teaching strategies are embedded throughout. Guiding questions include: -Who started the "revolutions" of 1989--Gorbachev and his reforms? People in Eastern Europe? -Evaluate the roles of the United States and the Reagan and Bush administrations, as well as the changes within the Soviet Union, in bringing about the end of the Cold War. -Why did the Cold War end? -What were the costs of the Cold War, both human and material? -What are the legacies/lessons of the Cold War? -What uncertainties or questions remained as the Cold War came to a close? What would come to characterize the 'New World Order' that followed? Tags: Wilson Center, Cold War, Reagan, Gorbachev, glasnost, perestroika, revolution, Soviet Union, USSR, Communism

<p>Teaching about the Black Power Movement can be challenging, but has rich rewards. Misconceptions about the Black Power Movement abound, but the ability to contrast their strategies and aims with the earlier Civil Rights Movement allows Social Studies teachers to discuss the complex ways that social movements evolve, change, and respond to the times. In addition, a study of the Black Power Movement helps give context for a broader study of the economic and political shifts in the 1970s and 1980s and the rise of identity politics. This teaching collection includes a variety of resources that could be used to teach about the Black Power Movement, organized into sections for:</p><p>-People in the Movement</p><p>-Goals and Strategies of the Movement</p><p>-Teaching Activities</p><p>General guiding questions for this collection include:</p><p>-What were the distinct problems that the Black Power Movement tried to address? Do they remain today?</p><p>-What were the strategies of the Black Power Movement? Do you agree or disagree with these? </p><p>-Why and how do social movements develop and evolve? </p><p>-What defines a successful social movement? Was the Black Power Movement successful?</p><p>- Can a social movement survive beyond the demise of its leadership?</p><p>-What is the role of the arts in promoting the ideals of social movements?</p><p>This is a work-in-progress based on the digitized materials within the Smithsonian Learning Lab's collection--it is not meant to be wholly definitive or authoritative.<br /></p>

<p>"On the relationship between the Black Power and Black Arts movements, Larry Neal writes, “Black Art is the aesthetic and spiritual sister of the Black Power concept. … The Black Arts and the Black Power concept both related broadly to the Afro-American’s desire for self-determination and nationhood.” The artists within the Black Arts movement sought to create politically engaged work that explored the African American cultural and historical experience and transformed the way African Americans were portrayed in literature and the arts."</p> <p>This topical collection includes background information as well as examples of poetry and art from the Black Arts Movement. Two excerpts from essays are also included. There are also some examples of works from artists who rejected the premise of the Black Arts Movement. </p> <p>Students could use this collection as a starting point for further research or to create an illustrated timeline of the movement. Works could be analyzed for their reflection or rejection of themes like: black nationalism, self-determination, "the black is beautiful" movement, and liberation. Students could also evaluate the merits of the arguments for and against a "black arts movement" as articulated by Karenga and Saunders in the text excerpts.</p> <p>This is a work-in-progress based on the digitized materials within the Smithsonian Learning Lab's collection--it is not meant to be wholly definitive or authoritative.<br /></p>

This collection includes a variety of resources representing styles of writing from around the world. It encourages viewers to consider writing not only for its ability to communicate through letters and symbols, but also for its artistic value. The collection includes a video on Sumerian writing, a website on African writing systems and art, and artifacts that are examples of the writing of East Asian, Arabic, Cherokee, Hebrew, and Modern European alphabets. In addition, a few tools used for writing are included. There is some background material on each type of writing as you read through the collection. Questions for classroom discussion and research might include: -What is the purpose of writing? Why use hand-writing or calligraphy instead of using a computer? -How do alphabets differ? -How can a style of calligraphy (or font change) the interpretation of a written work?

<p>This collection gathers resources and artifacts pertaining to the Chicano Movement of the post-WWII era. The following paragraphs, from the Educating Change website, briefly define the movement:</p><p>The "Chicano Movement" has been used by historians to describe a moment of ethnic empowerment and protest among Americans of Mexican descent beginning in the 1960s. "Chicano" had long existed as a pejorative term among young Mexican Americans prior to this period. By the 1960s, however, young Mexican Americans embraced the label, reinscribing it with notions of pride in ones' Mexican heritage and defiance against institutions and individuals who practiced or condoned discrimination against Mexicans.</p><p>The "movement" or movimiento was really a convergence of multiple movements that historians have broken down into at least four components: [1] A youth movement represented in the struggle against discrimination in schools and the anti-war movement; [2] the farmworkers movement; [3] the movement for political empowerment, most notably in the formation of La Raza Unida Party; and [4] the struggle for control and ownership over "homelands" in the US Southwest (<a href="http://www.brown.edu/Research/Coachella/chicano.html">http://www.brown.edu/Research/Coachella/chicano.ht...</a>). We will add an additional component of [5] creating art and music to reflect and voice cultural pride. </p><p>Students will review the collection here and identify five items that connect to one of the components listed above. They will then create their own collection that acts as a digital exhibit, teaching others about the Chicano Movement. This assignment is described in further detail on the last resource in this collection.</p><p>This is a work-in-progress based on the digitized materials within the Smithsonian Learning Lab's collection--it is not meant to be wholly definitive or authoritative.<br /></p>

This collection includes artifacts, lesson plans, and teaching ideas about Andrew Jackson, including his role in the War of 1812 and his presidency.

<p>This collection of resources invites students to examine how societies have been convinced to take action regarding air pollution over time, and to craft their own persuasive message regarding pollution. Students will identify several different means of compelling individuals and groups to change their behavior in order to benefit the environment. They will then evaluate the effectiveness of those strategies. Finally, they will create their own message convincing others to take steps towards improving the environment. </p><p>Tags: smoke control, smog, pollution, environmentalism, earth day, advertising, persuasive writing, ad campaign</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>

<p>This collection includes items that will help you understand the conditions that led to the growth of slavery and the ways in which enslaved persons resisted slavery. <br /><br />Guiding Questions:</p> <ol><li>Why did slavery become increasingly important, especially in the Southern colonies?</li><li>How did "slave laws" support the system of slavery?</li><li>What does it mean to "resist" slavery? </li><li>How did white slave-owners respond to such actions? </li><li>Is maintaining a distinct cultural heritage a form of resistance? Why or why not? </li><li>How do religion, art, and music encourage resistance?</li></ol><p>You will answer your group's assigned question using at least 3 pieces of appropriate evidence from the collection included here. </p> <p><br /></p> <p><br /></p> <p><br /></p>

This collection includes items representing various forms of slave resistance and rebellion. Students should determine what kind of actions are pictured in the case of each item and use them to create a robust definition of slave resistance. Guiding Questions: What does it mean to "resist" slavery? How did white slave-owners respond to such actions? Is maintaining a distinct cultural heritage a form of resistance? Why or why not? How do religion, art, and music encourage resistance?