Found 480 Learning Lab Collections

Student activity collection analyzing the work of two very different Mexican American artists, identifying aspects of culture and exploring expressions about Latino experiences in art. Included in this collection, are five paintings highlighting Latino families, paired with observation and analysis questions and interviews with the artists, Carmen Lomas Garza and Jesse Treviño, as well as podcast analyses of the paintings from the museum's director. As a supplement, students could read a book by Garza depicting her childhood memories of growing up in a traditional Mexican American community, or lead a discussion comparing this artwork with other images of families found in the Smithsonian collections. #LatinoHAC

To explore this "essential question," the resources here offer different contexts for the novel To Kill a Mockingbird. They can help visualize and comprehend the setting of the book and the social issues of the Depression era in the South. With that understanding, students may better apprehend the choices and values of the characters in the novel.

Supporting question: "What was it like to live in small-town Alabama during that time?"

To Kill a Mockingbird is set in the ficticious Maycomb, Alabama, which author Harper Lee modeled on her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama. Students may approach the images from the time period and place of the story (1930s) to consider how race and social class make a difference in how one answers that question.

Supporting question: "What important matters were in the news during that time?"

It's not a fact that Harper Lee based the trial in the novel on the Scottsboro boys, but it may have influenced her. Have students look for similarities and differences. What other events were going on? (e.g., Great Depression).

Have students explain how these resources help understand the characters in the novel.

 Creation myths, or origin stories, tell us what a culture believes about how humans came to be. They can also tell us much about what that culture values. These are often religious or spiritual explanations for human life. 

Choose one of origin stories on this page to focus on. Read, watch, or listen to the story. Then, create a visual that illustrates a scene in the story that you think is revealing about that culture's values. Finally, write a paragraph summarizing what you learned about that culture based on their origin story.

To recap:

1. Read/watch listen.

2. Create a visual of 1 scene in the story. 

3. Write a paragraph summarizing what you learned about that culture based on their origin story.  

As we continue to read "The Grapes of Wrath," I'd like you to consider the way in which California represents the "American Dream." How has this changed over time? Has California always lived up to its image? Consider who has access to dreams and opportunities in California at any given time.

After you look through the collection, choose one of the following assignments to complete and submit your assignment using the "Submit File" option that is part of the last resource. Hint: you may want to take notes and/or save images as you are browsing the resources here.

Possible assignments:

1) Create a timeline of "Opportunities Gained and Lost" in California using at least 8 images from the collection. For each image, identify who is gaining or losing an opportunity in this instance, and what kind of opportunity is being referenced. Remember this is a timeline and will need to be in chronological order by year. Complete your timeline with an image that you have found (from the Learning Lab or an outside resource) that represents California today.

2) Would you argue that "California is a land of dreams"? How could you change that statement to make it more accurate? Write an essay defending your statement that references at least 4 images from this collection. You may want to do some additional research to supplement your essay.

Tags: point of view, change, continuity, cause, effect, Dust Bowl, drought, migrant, migration, chronology, Steinbeck

What defines a place? Is it its people? Economic life? Physical characteristics?

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?

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.

Tags: Portland, Seattle, Oregon, Washington, Vancouver, Native Americans, American Indians, grunge, space needle

This collection gathers depictions of Santa Claus from ads, paintings, photographs, stamps from 1837 to today. Also, includes analyses of his evolving image from the Smithsonian Magazine and the National Museum of American History blog. How does the description of Santa in the Christmas poem, "A Visit from St. Nicholas" compare with the images that follow? Includes a discussion question extension: How might you revamp Christmas stories to better reflect the time and country that you live in?

Keywords: Saint Nicholas, holidays, poetry

This teacher's guide explores how myths transcend time and place through three modern paintings by African American artists, who reinterpret Ancient Greek myth to comment on the human experience. Collection includes three paintings and a lesson plan published by the Smithsonian American Art Museum, which includes background information on myths and artists, as well as activity ideas. Also includes a video about the artist Romare Bearden and his series 'Black Odyssey.' The video details his artistic process, the significance of storytelling in his art, and the lasting importance of 'Black Odyssey.'

Tags: greece

Teacher's guide for using shoes to explore culture, history, place, and innovation. Includes images of thirty shoes and three different strategies, located at the end of the collection, for using these objects in the classroom. 

Strategies include: a small-group object analysis activity; a poster, "If You Walked in My Shoes," introducing students to basic primary source analysis questions through six pairs of shoes; and a vocabulary exercise for ESL learners.

Resources supporting the February 2016 Google Hangout facilitated by the Smithsonian American Art Museum in coordination with the Smithsonian Center for Learning and Digital Access.

#historicalthinking

How can American ideals be defined and expressed in different ways? The United States of America is associated the ideals of Democracy, Rights, Liberty, Opportunity, and Equality. Those values have served as sources of inspiration for artists as goals that the nation aspires to (even if they are not always achieved). This collection contains artworks inspired by one or more of the ideals listed above. Students should choose a work and identify which ideal it relates to: Democracy, Rights, Liberty, Opportunity, and Equality.

In a short essay based on the artwork, students should answer the following questions:

-How would the student define Democracy, Rights, Liberty, Opportunity, or Equality?

-What is the artist trying to communicate about how this idea plays out in America?

-Does the student agree or disagree with the artist's interpretation?

If desired, students could create their own artwork based on one of the American ideals.