Designed for classroom teachers, SAAM's interactive workshops feature engaging "Monday-ready" activities that provoke deep thinking and invite students to apply content knowledge across the curriculum and in the world. Receive certificates of completion for seat hours and join a community of practice with teachers around the nation. For more information, send an email to AmericanArtEducation@si.edu.
2026 Programs
Experience how visual art can inspire multiple forms of poetry and build students’ understanding of literary devices. Model pairing a poem with an artwork to make text-totext connections and consider multiple perspectives. Leave with ready-to-use lesson ideas and writing prompts for your English/language arts classroom!
This free, interactive webinar is part of “Cultivating Learning,” a series hosted by the Smithsonian’s Office of Educational Technology.
How can placing two artworks in conversation with one another deepen our understanding of history and the American experience? Join educators from the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery for this interactive workshop that invites you to think like a curator. Following a guided analysis of two artworks in the galleries and a hands-on curation activity, you'll leave with new ideas and resources for the classroom.
Registration required. Breakfast included.
Meet in G Street Lobby
Self-Paced Courses
Discover how museum objects can help learners explore the challenges and opportunities of living in a democracy and inspire civic action.
Explore how museum objects and works of art can broaden our perspectives, reveal silenced stories, and make relevant connections to our world today.
Educators from four Smithsonian museums will explore connections among their collections and model teaching strategies that participants can implement with their students, whether online or in the classroom.
Recorded Workshop Archive
Discover a wealth of interdisciplinary teaching ideas by viewing SAAM's past online teacher workshops on YouTube.
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