These Smithsonian American Art Museum features contain interactive or media-rich content. Features such as Catlin Classroom, Oh Freedom! and Picturing the 1930s have been created specifically for a K-12 audience. Some web features, such as online exhibitions, contain sections created for educators and students, while other features contain primary sources such as artist interviews.
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Oh Freedom! Teaching African American Civil Rights Through American Art at the Smithsonian
Standards
Primary Subject and Grade: US History 5-12
Secondary Subject and Grade: Civics 9-12, Language Arts 5-12, Visual Arts K-12
Components: Images, Background Contextual Information, Artist Bios, Audio/Video, Interactive Timeline, Lesson Plans, Glossary, Bibliographies
Standards:
U.S. History (From McREL 4th Edition Standards & Benchmarks)
Standard 8: Understands the institutions and practices of government created during the Revolution and how these elements were revised between 1787 and 1815 to create the foundation of the American political system based on the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights
Standard 28: Understands domestic policies in the post-World War II period
Standard 29: Understands the struggle for racial and gender equality and for the extension of civil liberties
Standard 31: Understands economic, social, and cultural developments in the contemporary United States
Civics (From McREL 4th Edition Standards & Benchmarks)
Standard 1: Understands ideas about civic life, politics, and government
Standard 11: Understands the role of diversity in American life and the importance of shared values, political beliefs, and civic beliefs in an increasingly diverse American society
Standard 14: Understands issues concerning the disparities between ideals and reality in American political and social life
Standard 27: Understands how certain character traits enhance citizens' ability to fulfill personal and civic responsibilities
Language Arts (From McREL 4th Edition Standards & Benchmarks)
Standard 6: Uses skills and strategies to read a variety of literary texts
Standard 9: Uses viewing skills and strategies to understand and interpret visual media
Visual Arts (From McREL 4th Edition Standards & Benchmarks)
Standard 3: Knows a range of subject matter, symbols, and potential ideas in the visual arts
Standard 4: Understands the visual arts in relation to history and cultures
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1934: A New Deal for Artists
What was the role of art in the Great Depression?
Standards
In response to the Great Depression, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt established the Public Works of Art Project. This project was meant to aid artists in the hopes that their work would help inspire the American people in those troubling times.
Primary Subject and Grade: US History 5-12
Secondary Subject and Grade: Economics 5-12, Visual Arts K-12
Components: Images, Background Contextual Information
Standards:
US History 5-12.9 Era 8: The great Depression and World War II (1929- 1945)
Economics 5-12.16 Role of Government
Visual Arts K-12.4 Understanding the visual arts in relation to history and cultures
Additional Resources:http://americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/archive/2009/1934/
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Abbott Handerson Thayer
How can allegories in Thayer's paintings help us to better visualize literary concepts? How can hidden images in Thayer's painting help us to identify the scientific properties of camouflage?
Standards
In this Web site, Abbot Handerson Thayer's allegorical angel portraits along with his wildlife paintings offer a unique opportunity to blend art, language arts, and science.
Primary Subject and Grade: Visual Arts K-12, Language Arts 5-12
Secondary Subject and Grade: Science K-8
Components: Interactive Annotated Images, Artist Bio
Standards:
Visual Arts K-12.1 Understanding and Applying Media, Techniques, and Processes; K-12.2 Using Knowledge of Structures And Functions; K-12.3 Choosing and Evaluating a Range of Subject Matter, Symbols, and Ideas.
Science K-8.3 Life Science, Characteristics of Organisms and Environment.
Language Arts K-12.4 Communication Skills; K-12.6 Applying knowledge; K-12.12 Applying Language Skills.
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Achelous and Hercules
What does Thomas Hart Benton's 1947 mural for a department store tell us about regionalism in the United States, the taming of the Missouri river, and the Marshall Plan?
Standards
Smithsonian American Art Museum Director Dr. Elizabeth Broun speaks in this audio piece with accompanying text and detailed images about Thomas Hart Benton's mural entitled Achelous and Hercules.
Primary Subject and Grade: 7-12 Social Studies, Visual Arts, Language Arts
Components: Text, detailed still images, audio.
Standards:
US History K-12.5 Era 5 Expansion and Reform (1800-1861).Era 8 The Great Depression and World War II (1929-1945)
Visual Arts K-12.6 Making Connections Between Visual Arts and Other Disciplines; K-12.4 Understanding the Visual Arts in Relation to History and Cultures; K-12.3 Choosing and Evaluating a Range of Subject Matter, Symbols and Ideas; K-12.1 Understanding and Applying Media, Techniques and Processes.
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American Kaleidoscope
How do artists who reflect all kinds of cross-currents in American culture -- spiritual, regional, ethnic, political -- tell us more about an America we recognize and share than about any of the separate groups a particular artist might seem to represent?
Standards
Take a virtual tour featuring works by contemporary artists. Explore audio interviews with those artists as well.
Primary Subject and Grade: Visual Arts 9-12
Secondary Subject and Grade: U.S. History 7-12
Components: Virtual Exhibit (QuickTime VR) with catelogue, audio interviews (mp3 audio), artist bios.
Standards:
Visual Arts K-12.6 Making Connections Between Visual Arts and Other Disciplines; K-12.4 Understanding the Visual Arts in Relation to History and Cultures; K-12.3 Choosing and Evaluating a Range of Subject Matter.
US History Era 9 Post-War United States (1945-early 1970s); Era 10 Contemporary United States (1968-present).
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American Photographs: The First Century
How were photographs initially used in the 19th Century to chronicle the United States?
Standards
The first American photographers used the new medium of visual art to collect images of the newly explored American west, as well as the conditions in urban centers due to early industrialization, and the practices and effects of the US Civil War.
Primary Subject and Grade: Geography K-12, US History 5-12
Secondary Subject and Grade: Visual Arts 5-12
Components: Background information, Slideshow of images with additional information for each image provided.
Standards
Geography K-12.2 Places and Regions; K-12.3 Physical Systems; K-12.5 Environment and Society.
US History 5-12.4 Era 4: Expansion and Reform (1801- 1861); 5-12.5 Era 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850- 1877); 5-12.6 Era 6: The Development of the Industrial United States (1870- 1900).
Visual Arts 5-12.4 Understanding the visual arts in relation to history and cultures; 5-12.6 Making connections between visual arts and other disciplines.
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Bottlecaps to Brushes
What can young viewers learn about American art and artists through online tutorials?
Standards
"Cappy" the giraffe takes young children through an activity-based exploration of art and artists of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Primary Subject and Grade: Visual Arts K-4
Components: Visual Media, Activity suggestions, Artist Bios
Standards:
Visual Arts K-4.1 Understanding and Applying Media, Techniques, and Processes; K-4.2 Using Knowledge of Structures And Functions; K-4.3 Choosing and Evaluating a Range of Subject Matter, Symbols, and Ideas.
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Campfire Stories with George Catlin
What happened to Native Americans, their ancestral lands, and the western landscape of the United States during the 1830s?
Standards
Take a virtual journey to meet American Indians of the 1830s with artist, ethnologist, and showman George Catlin. This site compiles paintings, historical documents, and commentary from contemporary experts so you can explore the intersections of two cultures, both in Catlin's time and today.
Primary Subject and Grade: Visual Arts, U.S. History
Secondary Subject and Grade: Language Arts, Social Studies, Geography, Life Science, Music, Dance, Theatre
Components: Multimedia Interviews with Transcripts, Images with Exhibition Labels, Timeline, Maps, Database containing Catlin's writings and hundreds of his artworks, Lesson Plans.
Standards:
Visual Arts: NSAE 1-6
U.S. History: NCHS 1-5, USHS Era 4, Era 6
Language Arts: NCTE 1-9, 11, 12
Geography: GESP 4, GESP 6, NGS 4, 6, 9, 10, 12-16
Life Science: NSES 3
Dance: NSAE 1-3
Music: NSAE 7
Theatre: NSAE 1-2, 5
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Cleopatra: Lost and Found
What can happen to a marble statue through inappropriate handling, exposure to the elements, vandalism, and well-intended though unprofessional attempts at restoration?
Standards
Tour an Edmonia Lewis exhibition that highlights historical, biblical, and literary figures in sculpture.
Primary Subject and Grade: Visual Arts, General Science 9-12
Components: QuickTime VR Exhibition, Images with Labels, Images and Text Explaining Sculpture Conservation, Artist Bio
Standards:
Visual Arts:K-12.6 Making Connections Between Visual Arts and Other Disciplines; K-12.4 Understanding the Visual Arts in Relation to History and Cultures; K-12.3 Choosing and Evaluating a Range of Subject Matter.
Science 9-12.5 Science and Technology; 9-12.6 Personal and Social Perspective
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Contemporary American Landscape Photography
What effects has contemporary American society had on the environment?
Standards
The United States has utilized its vast expanse of land for agriculture, waste disposal, mining of materials, and protection along the borders.
Primary Subject and Grade: Geography K-12
Components: Background information, Slideshow of images
Standards:
Geography K-12.1 The world in special terms; K-12.1 The world in special terms; K-12.2 Places and Regions; K-12.5 Environment and Society.
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¡del Corazón! Latino Voices in American Art
How can artists express their experiences through their artwork?
Standards
Many Latinos have immigrated to the United States. Whether their experiences are told firsthand or handed down from parents and grandparents, they seek to communicate the importance of their journeys and their culture.
Primary Subject and Grade: Visual Arts 9-12
Secondary Subject and Grade: Social Studies 6-12, Language Arts 9-12
Components: Images, Video, Artist Bios, Posters, Lesson Plans
Standards:
Visual Arts: NAEA 1, NAEA 3, NAEA 4, NAEA 5
Social Studies: NCSS 1, NCSS 5 Groups, NCSS 10 Civic Ideals
Language Arts: NCTE 1
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Eyeing America: The Prints of Robert Cottingham
How can examination of artworks provide insight on the nature of mediated images in advertisements, the news, and on the Internet?
Standards
An earlier career in advertising taught Robert Cottingham the commercial techniques of enlargement and cropping as well as the direct and subliminal power of selective letters and words. Understanding how advertisers manipulate meaning is an important aspect of media literacy.
Primary Subject and Grade: Visual Arts 7-2
Secondary Subject and Grade: Media Literacy
Components: Images, text, online exercise. Virtual exhibition with essay.
Standards:
Visual Arts.6 Making Connections Between Visual Arts and other Disciplines; K-2.4 Understanding the Visual Arts in Relation to History and Cultures; K-2.3 Choosing and Evaluating a Range of Subject Matter, Symbols and Ideas; K-2.1 Understanding and Applying Media, Techniques and Processes.
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Luce Center Media Archive
Locate media files, artist interviews and more from the Luce Center for American Art.
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Panoramas: The North American Landscape in Art
How are we affected by the landscapes we inhabit?
Standards
Investigate landscape art from the Smithsonian American Art Museum and museums in Canada and Mexico. The education section offers interactive ways to master concepts such as linear perspective, contrast, patterns, and more.
Primary Subject and Grade: Visual Arts 6-12, Geography 6-12
Secondary Subject and Grade: Social Studies 6-12
Components: Trilingual Presentation, Images with Captions, Contextual Information, Maps, Virtual Tour, Music and Movies, QuickTime VR, Educational Activities
Standards:
Visual Arts K-12.3 Choosing and Evaluating a Range of Subject Matter, Symbols, and Ideas; K-12.6 Making Connections Between Visual Arts and Other Disciplines; K-12.4 Understanding the Visual Arts in Relation to History and Cultures; K-12.3 Choosing and Evaluating a Range of Subject Matter.
Geography K-12.2 Places and Regions; K-12.3 Physical Systems; K-12.5 Environment and Society; K-12.6 The Uses of Geography.
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Posters American Style: An Artist's Perspective
How do poster artist's choices in technique, style, and process change the meaning of the message they are trying to portray?
Standards
Posters are a means of communication; each has a message or purpose. But there is more to it! Posters that demand attention reflect conceptual and design choices by the artist as well as artistic achievement. See posters from the artist's point of view.
Primary Subject and Grade: 7-12 Visual Arts
Secondary Subject and Grade: 7-12 Social Studies
Components: Online guide, Artist audio, text explanation of process.
Standards:
Visual Arts K-12.6 Making Connections Between Visual Arts and Other Disciplines; K-12.4 Understanding the Visual Arts in Relation to History and Cultures; K-12.3 Choosing and Evaluating a Range of Subject Matter, Symbols and Ideas K-12.1 Understanding and Applying Media, Techniques and Processes.
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Posters American Style: Impact of American Culture
What can poster images tell us about the social and cultural climate of the United States during the twentieth century?
Standards
This Web site examines the poster's power of persuasion and invites analysis of how posters promoted social ideas during World War I, WWII, Vietnam, the Civil Rights movement, and the moon landing.
Primary Subject and Grade: Visual Arts 5-12, US History 5-12
Secondary Subject and Grade: Language Arts 5-12, Music
Components: Multimedia Activities, Multiple Annotated Images, Audio Recordings
Standards:
Visual Arts K-12.6 Making Connections Between Visual Arts and Other Disciplines; K-12.4 Understanding the Visual Arts in Relation to History and Cultures; K-12.3 Choosing and Evaluating a Range of Subject Matter, Symbols and Ideas K-12.1 Understanding and Applying Media, Techniques and Processes.
US History Era 7: The Emergence of Modern America (1890-1930); Era 8: The Great Depression and World War II (1929-1945); Era 9: Postwar United States (1945-early 1970s); Era 10 Contemporary United States (1968-Present).
Language Arts K-12.2 Understanding the Human Experience; K-12.3 Evaluation Strategies; K-12.11 Participating in Society; K-12.12 Applying Language Skills.
Music 5-12.9 Understanding Music in Relation to History and Culture; 5-12.8 Understanding Relationships Between Music, the Other Arts, and Disciplines Outside the Arts.
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Singular Impressions: The Monotype in America
How are monotypes created?
Standards
Watch in-depth videos that describe the monotype process.
Primary Subject and Grade: Visual Arts 9-12
Components: QuickTime Movies. Virtual Exhibition with Essay.
Standards:
Visual Arts K-12.1 Understanding and Applying Media, Techniques, and Processes; K-12.2 Using Knowledge of Structures And Functions; K-12.3
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Staged Stories: Renwick Craft Invitational 2009
What can the elements of an artwork tell us about the narrative expressed in it?
Standards
This tour of the works of four artists: Christyl Boger, Mark Newport, Mary Van Cline, and SunKoo Yuh, breaks traditional fundamentals of crafts to provide narratives rather than practicality usually associated with the genre.
Primary Subject and Grade: Visual Arts 9-12
Components: Images, Artist Bios
Standards:
Visual Arts 9-12.1 Understanding and applying media, techniques, and processes; 9-12.2 Using knowledge of structures and functions; 9-12.3 Choosing and evaluating a rnage of subject matter, symbols, and ideas; 9-12.5 Reflecting upon and assessing the characteristics and merits of their work and the work of others.
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The White House Collection of American Crafts
How can the President and First Lady recognize our country's longstanding tradition of craftmaking?
Standards
Discover the White House craft collection with video footage of former First Lady Hillary Clinton, curator Michael Monroe, museum director Elizabeth Broun, and the artists themselves.
Primary Subject and Grade: Visual Arts 7-12
Components: Virtual exhibition with captions. Artist bios and interviews.
Standards:
Visual Arts K-4.1 Understanding and Applying Media, Techniques, and Processes; K-4.2 Using Knowledge of Structures and Functions; K-4.3 Choosing and Evaluating a Range of Subject Matter, Symbols, and Ideas.
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William H. Johnson
How can the work of William H. Johnson help us to understand the Harlem Renaissance, segregation in the Army, the rural South, and the history of civil rights in the United States?
Standards
This guide, which comes complete with inquiry-based classroom activity suggestions, looks closely at the work of William H. Johnson in the context of the U.S. social climate.
Primary Subject and Grade: US History 5-12, Civics 7-12, Visual Arts 5-12
Secondary Subject and Grade: Music, Language Arts
Components: Student Activities, Inquiry-based lesson ideas, Artist Bio, Annotated Images, Video (available for purchase), Glossary of Art Terms, Artist Chronological Timeline
Standards:
US History Era 5 Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877); Era 7 The Emergence of Modern America (1890-1930); Era 8 The Great Depression and World War II (1929-1945).
Civics K-12.1 Civic Life, Politics and Government; 5-12.3 Other Nations and World Affairs; 5-12.3 Roles of the Citizen.
Visual Arts K-12.6 Making Connections Between Visual Arts and Other Disciplines; K-12.4 Understanding the Visual Arts in Relation to History and Cultures; K-12.3 Choosing and Evaluating a Range of Subject Matter.
Music K-12.9 Understanding Music in Relation to History and Culture.
Language Arts K-12.1 Reading for Perspective; K-12.2 Reading for Understanding; K‐12.6 Applying knowledge.
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William H. Johnson's World on Paper
In what ways were American artists influenced by other cultures and international affairs?
Standards
Through an examination of the work of William H. Johnson, the infusion of German and North African Art can be seen in the works of the American artist, as well as the effect of World War II on his own life, and on his surroundings.
Primary Subject and Grade: Visual Art K-12, US History 5-12, World History 5-12
Secondary Subject and Grade: Geography K-12
Components: Slideshow with Contextual Information
Standards:
Visual Art K-12.1 Understanding and applying media, techniques, and processes; K-12.2 Using knowledge of structures and functions; K-12.3 Choosing and evaluating a range of subject matter, symbols, and ideas; K-12.4 Understanding the visual arts in relation to history and cultures; K-12.6 Making connections between visual arts and other disciplines
US History 5-12.8 Era 8: The great Depression and World War II (1929-1945)
World History 5-12.8 Era 8: A half- century of crisis and achievement, 1900-1945
Geography K-12.2 Places and regions; K-12.4 Human Systems
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Young America
In what ways were the American artists of the 19th Century influenced by the hope of their new nation, and their connections with Europe?
Standards
Many of the early American artists used their paintings to show narratives of American lives as well as ancient myths.
Primary Subject and Grade: Visual Arts 5-12
Secondary Subject and Grade: Geography K-12, English K-12, US History 5-12
Components: Slideshow of images with background for each image provided.
Standards:
Visual Arts 5-12.4 Understanding the visual arts in relation to history and cultures; 5-12.6 Making connections between visual arts and other disciplines.
Geography K-12.4 Human Systems
English K-12.1 Reading for Perspective
US History 5-12.3 Era 3: Revolution and the new nation; 5-12.4 Era 4: Expansion and Reform.
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