Professional Development Programs for Educators
Designed for classroom teachers, SAAM's interactive web-based workshops feature engaging "Monday-ready" activities that provoke deep thinking and invite students to apply content knowledge across the curriculum and in the world. Get certificates of completion for seat hours and join a community of practice that stretches across the US!
In addition to our scheduled workshops, we are able to create customized, interactive digital workshops for in-service days. For more information, send an email to AmericanArtEducation@si.edu.
2021-22 Programs
Alma Thomas: Teacher, Artist, Trailblazer, Inspiration
Friday, September 17, 2021 at 2:00 – 2:50pm, EDT
Join museum educators and art conservators from the Smithsonian American Art Museum for a "behind the scenes" look at the trailblazing artist Alma Thomas and the unique way she created her exuberant abstract paintings.
This online workshop is part of the Smithsonian’s First Annual Educator’s Day.
Online via Zoom
Interdisciplinary Teaching with Museum Objects
Co-facilitated by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the National Museum of American History, the National Portrait Gallery, and the Smithsonian Center for Learning and Digital Access.
Register today for this self-paced course
Memorials and Memory (SEL)
Wednesday, October 20, 2021, 4:30 – 6:00 p.m. (EDT)
Some artists are also veterans. How might their artworks give us and our students a way to feel loss and also connection?
Online via Zoom
Heart and Head: A Call to Action (Global Competencies)
Wednesday, November 17, 2021, 4:30 – 5:45 p.m. (EST)
What lessons can artists teach students, our future global leaders, about inspiring action?
Online via Zoom
Neighborhood Historians (Continuity and Change Over Time)
Wednesday, December 15, 2021, 4:30 – 6:00 p.m. (EST)
How can photographs challenge students to gauge what has changed and what has stayed the same?
Online via Zoom
Big Art, Big Systems (Civics)
Saturday, January 22, 2022, 10:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Come to the galleries and uncover how the interdependence of elements of an artwork helps us consider interdependencies in society.
Smithsonian American Art Museum (G Street Entrance)
Visible Data: Making Meaning Through Art (STEAM)
Wednesday, February 16, 2022, 4:30 – 5:30 p.m. (EST)
How do artists convey complex interconnections clearly and compellingly?
Online via Zoom
A Tall Glass of... Glass? (Art)
Saturday, March 19, 2022, 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Teachers, take an art break in the galleries Luxuriate in the sparkly, over-the-top glory of Venetian glass.
Smithsonian American Art Museum (G Street Entrance)
Pairing Art and Text (ELA)
Saturday, April 9, 2022, 9:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Develop strategies for identifying artworks that can help build and extend student comprehension of texts.
Smithsonian American Art Museum (G Street Entrance)
Past Programs
A Woman’s Place Is in the Curriculum: Women’s History through American Art and Portraiture
Learn how American art and portraiture can bring diverse women’s stories into your classroom.
2020-2021 Archived Workshop Recordings
Look into our archive to find even more interactive, web-based workshops.
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