<p>Chinese American designer and artist Maya Lin (b. 1959) achieved national recognition as a Yale University undergraduate student when her design for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial won a national competition. </p> <p>In this activity, students will analyze a unique artwork-filled room designed by Maya Lin, first using only a still visual with little context, then a hyperlapse video of the artwork's installation,  then the artist herself discussing  her process, materials used, and vision. Students will make predictions based on visuals, gradually learn about the context of the artwork, and reflect on how their perception of the artwork changed with the addition of new information.  </p> <p>This activity can be used as an entry point into studying Maya Lin's artwork and other artworks inspired by experiences with the natural environment. This activity opens with a Project Zero See-Think-Wonder routine and asks learners to look closely, prior to revealing additional contextual information. To learn more about other Asian Pacific American Artists, visit this collection: <a href="https://learninglab.si.edu/collections/asian-pacific-american-artists/bW68eE1p6kHVzsC7#r" target="_blank" style="background-color:rgb(63,63,63);">https://learninglab.si.edu/collections/asian-pacific-american-artists/bW68eE1p6kHVzsC7#r</a></p> <p><em>This Smithsonian Learning Lab collection received Federal support from the Asian Pacific American Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center.</em></p> <p>Keywords: Chesapeake Bay, Maya Lin, Asian American, marbles, Renwick Gallery, waterways</p> <p>#APA2018 #BecauseOfHerStory</p>

<p><em>Pecha Kucha </em>is a storytelling format for sharing information in a fast-paced setting (Japanese for "chit-chat"). In preparation for the City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department's workshop on the <a href="https://learninglab.si.edu/collections/digital-museum-resources-for-the-high-school-ethnic-studies-classroom-city-of-austin-parks-recreation/44WqBJtvMHyVXzFB" target="_blank"><em>Innovative Teaching of Ethnic Studies</em></a><em> </em>(Oct 30, 2019), educators, archivists, and researchers convened to learn more about relevant digital resources available for curriculum creation in Ethnic Studies coursework. </p> <p>The Oct 29, 2019 program included an Asian American community archivist at the Austin History Center; a Social Studies educator at the University of Texas, Austin; a professor and media producer in sharing relevant talks by African American scholars; a Mexican American Studies professional development coordinator; and an archaeologist and historian team combining oral histories with artifacts found in a recent dig. </p> <p>This thematic collection includes digitally-accessible resources that highlight the content shared by these experts. </p> <p>#EthnicStudies</p>

<p>In this activity, students will analyze a portrait of Norman Mineta (b. 1931), a U.S. politician and the first Asian American to hold a post in the presidential cabinet, serving as Secretary of Transportation and Secretary of Commerce under President George W. Bush. The son of Japanese immigrants, Mineta and his family were incarcerated in the Heart Mountain camp in Wyoming under Executive Order 9066 during World War II. </p> <p>This activity can be used to build students vocabulary in discussing visual elements of a portrait or as an entry point for studying Norman Mineta's life and achievements, U.S. history, and more.  Questions from the National Portrait Gallery's<em> "Reading" Portraiture Guide for Educators</em> and a Project Zero See-Think-Wonder routine guide the student inquiry.  The complete guide and instructions are located at the end of the collection. To learn more about other Asian Pacific American activists and leaders, visit this collection: <a href="https://learninglab.si.edu/collections/asian-pacific-american-activists-and-leaders/MR1jszd7YDA7gujx#r" target="_blank">https://learninglab.si.edu/collections/asian-pacific-american-activists-and-leaders/MR1jszd7YDA7gujx#r</a></p> <p><em>This Smithsonian Learning Lab collection received Federal support from the Asian Pacific American Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center.</em><span></span> </p> <p>Keywords:  internment; Japanese American; Nisei; San Jose, California </p> <p>#APA2018 #EthnicStudies<br /></p>

<p>This collection includes videos demonstrating key principles of the science of sound, using some of the Smithsonian's scientific instrument collection. These videos are paired with the Visible Thinking Routine, "What's going on? What do you see (or hear) that makes you say that?" as a way to check for understanding. Learners can select one or more of the videos to watch and then provide their interpretation of what's happening and support it with a justification from the video. Learners can also explore additional short experiments, under the heading "Additional Resources" to further understand these principles in action.  #SmithsonianMusic</p>

<p>Resources to support two year olds learning about jazz music and musicians. Includes portraits of Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Miles Davis. Students connect the musician to their instrument, identify the parts of a trumpet and listen to Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World" to identify specific instruments in the song. Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center's blog includes an interview with the teacher who originally created and implemented the lesson. Included here are supporting resources of the elements mentioned in her interview.</p><p>#SmithsonianMusic<br /></p>

<p>This teaching collection includes a variety of resources to complement a study of Jazz compositions and performers. Through these lesson plans, sheet music, artworks, and video performances, teachers can introduce the musical evolution of jazz styles and contributions of key performers. Teachers might also introduce musical techniques involved in the creation and performance of jazz.<br /><br /><br />This collection was created for the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) Arts Professional Development Day.</p><p>#SmithsonianMusic<br /></p>

<p>This collection begins with the analysis of a series of images from 19th and 20th century classroom settings. Next, learners will apply <em>Agency by Design</em> thinking routines to explore elements of their own classroom that could be re-designed. Learners will go through the design process to: </p> <ul><li>identify the precise challenge</li><li>brainstorm a solution, and</li><li>create a prototype.</li></ul><p>This lesson introduces the design process to learners through a familiar system, the classroom. It allows for learners to collaborate in the improvement and re-design of their own learning environment, while taking into account the needs of other users of the space. </p> <hr /><p><em>This collection was created as an example used in the "Smithsonian Learning Lab, Focus on Design" session at the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association (NJPSA) Arts Integration Learning Institute. </em><br /></p>

<p>This topical collection includes resources related to featured women artists, actresses and performers. This collection includes portraits of the artists, actresses and performers, related artifacts, articles, videos with experts, and related Smithsonian Learning Lab collections. Use this collection to launch lessons about the women's life stories, primary source analysis, and examination of the context in which these women lived and made their contributions. This collection is not comprehensive but rather provides a launching point for research and study.  <br /></p> <p>Keywords: Hattie McDaniel, Aretha Franklin, Frida Kahlo, Anna May Wong, Selena Quintanilla, Maria Tallchief, Maya Lin, Gladys Bentley, #BecauseOfHerStory<br /></p>

<p>Developing an inquiry-based strategy to support students can allow them to investigate objects and images as historians do. In this example, students try to reveal the story behind the image. They raise questions for their own further research. Because the image has only a title, the photographer's name, the "sitter"'s name, the place and the date, students have to rely on their own analysis of evidence in the image, rather than someone else's interpretation. When they read the expert's analysis, they will have already considered many of the elements that the expert highlights and can compare their interpretations. </p><p>"Girl at Gee's Bend, Alabama" is a provocative photograph that can be used in discussions ranging from history of the South during the Great Depression, to social justice. </p>

The "Four Freedoms" speech, as the 1941 State of the Union address came to be known, were goals outlined by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt on January 6, 1941 to Congress and the American people. He proposed four fundamental freedoms that people everywhere in the world should enjoy and described the "unprecedented" threat that Nazi domination of Europe presented to the security of the United States. This Learning Lab collection includes four Norman Rockwell paintings, alongside a portrait of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and a stamp with this iconic phrase. An audio excerpt of the speech is available via the National Archives and included here.

<p>This teaching collection focuses on the surrealist artwork of Cuban artist, Cundo Bermúdez (1914-2008), entitled "Cinco Figuras" from the Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum's collections. By applying the Project Zero Visible Thinking Routine, "See, Think, Wonder" to the artwork, teachers can lead students in a discussion that allows them to make observations and support interpretations with details, while noting areas for further exploration. </p> <p>Additional resources are included in this collection to help contextualize the artist, his life and other related works. </p> <p></p> <ul><li>For more information about Project Zero routines and to add them to your own Smithsonian Learning Lab collections, please visit <a href="https://learninglab.si.edu/collections/project-zero-thinking-routines/oWYbEjpf19oxcFUp#r" style="background-color:rgb(63,63,63);">https://learninglab.si.edu/collections/project-zero-thinking-routines/oWYbEjpf19oxcFUp#r</a></li><li>For more artwork from the Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum's collections, please visit <a href="https://learninglab.si.edu/collections/latin-american-artists/aEFC5NX6L38A31L5">https://learninglab.si.edu/collections/latin-american-artists/aEFC5NX6L38A31L5</a></li></ul><p></p> <p>Keywords: surrealism, Latino, painting, symbolism, ladder, mirror, clock, five figures</p> <p>#LatinoHAC #VisibleThinking</p> <p><br /></p>

<p>This topical collection includes images from Wilson A. Bentley's snowflake photography collection, which was donated to the Smithsonian in 1903. Bentley used a bellows camera that had a microscope inside to capture these small and unique natural objects. Also included in the collection is the original correspondence between Bentley and the Smithsonian, as well as ideas for using these sources in the classroom from the Smithsonian Institution Archives.</p>