TeachersFirst - Featured Sites: Week of May 15, 2022

Here are this week's features. Clicking the tags in the description area of each listing will present a list of other resources with this topic. | Click here to return to the Featured Sites Archive

 

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Smithsonian Open Access - Smithsonian

Grades
K to 12
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"What will you create?" asks Smithsonian as they share a digital collection of over 3 million items available to download without use restrictions. Materials include images and data...more
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"What will you create?" asks Smithsonian as they share a digital collection of over 3 million items available to download without use restrictions. Materials include images and data from across Smithonian's varied resources, including museums, the National Zoo, research centers, and more. Find information with keywords in the search bar or explore featured platforms such as Smithsonian Learning Lab, 3D Voyager, or Developer Tools. After obtaining search results, use filters to narrow down the results to fit your needs. For a better understanding of how others use downloaded materials, explore the remixes found on the site.

tag(s): art history (85), creativity (92), images (270), primary sources (113), Research (83), sculpture (21)

In the Classroom

Think of Smithsonian access as your virtual museum of downloads to use without copyright restrictions. Search and find images to use for any need. Use the images in newsletters, teaching materials, student projects, digital books, and more. For example, include images on shared Google Slides, reviewed here, and ask students to annotate features using text or the drawing tool. Share the site with students to use when creating webpages using Site123, reviewed here, or to create posters in Canva Edu, reviewed here.

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United States Holocaust Memorial Museum - United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

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7 to 12
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Learn about the Holocaust through the digital resources offered by the Holocaust Museum. Start with an introduction to the Holocaust containing key facts, articles, and a media gallery...more
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Learn about the Holocaust through the digital resources offered by the Holocaust Museum. Start with an introduction to the Holocaust containing key facts, articles, and a media gallery featuring a variety of Holocaust-related topics. Explore the many free resources for educators to teach about the Holocaust. These resources are found on the Learn About tab and contain lesson plans, guidelines for teaching the Holocaust, poster sets, podcasts, a virtual field trip, and more. Explore the Museum's collections to view documents, artifacts, and discover the first-hand stories of those that survived the Holocaust.

tag(s): europe (75), germany (25), holocaust (41), virtual field trips (80), world war 2 (149)

In the Classroom

Use these free materials as the starting point for any lessons on the Holocaust. Go on a virtual field trip of the museum to engage students' interest in the causes and outcomes of the Holocaust. Be sure to help students understand the personal toll of the Holocaust by visiting the "Who Were the Victims?" portion of the site. Organize your lessons using ActivelyLearn, reviewed here. Add articles, videos, and documents into an ActivelyLearn lesson to guide students through the learning process. Easily differentiate materials based on student interests and abilities within your ActivelyLearn unit. As a culminating project, and to enhance student learning, ask students to share what they learned using Odyssey, reviewed here. Ask students to create a story map for individuals involved with the Holocaust, or to tell the story of events leading up to the Holocaust.
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Google Arts and Culture - Google

Grades
6 to 12
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This unique collaboration between Google and many of the world's most respected art museums enables viewers to discover the museum's thousand of artworks in extraordinary detail. All...more
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This unique collaboration between Google and many of the world's most respected art museums enables viewers to discover the museum's thousand of artworks in extraordinary detail. All content pertaining to individual artworks was provided by the museums. Visit over 2,000 museums without leaving home through the lens of Google Arts & Culture's presentations. Explore the studios of famous artists, take tours of historical cities through virtual trips, or use the search bar to find the categories for "selfie" (then take a selfie to find a piece of art that looks like you). Use the menu (the three lines at the top-left of your screen) to choose from the different collections, themes, and experiments. Collections include resources to learn about art, music, and drama through many different options. Other choices include searches by artists, historical events, and art movements. You won't want to leave the profusion of engaging content at this site!

tag(s): art history (85), artists (77), museums (43), virtual field trips (80)

In the Classroom

Share this site with students and allow them time to explore on their own. Encourage students to find and share interesting art and activities with their peers. Use Padlet, reviewed here, as a collaborative tool for students to share items from this site. Ask them to include a link to a favorite portion, then add a comment on why they found it interesting. Include information from Arts & Culture when studying historical events to provide interest and perspective on that period. Have students use a map storytelling tool such as Google My Maps, reviewed here, to add information found on this site and others to tell the story of art around the world throughout history.

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Americans - Smithsonian Institution

Grades
6 to 12
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Take a virtual field trip to the National Museum of the American Indian Americans exhibit that features the American Indian identity since before the birth of the United States. Click...more
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Take a virtual field trip to the National Museum of the American Indian Americans exhibit that features the American Indian identity since before the birth of the United States. Click on gallery images to read and learn more about the artifacts shared including coins, dolls, posters, and much more. Additional links take viewers to videos and displays telling the story of Thanksgiving, Queen of America (Pocahontas), The Removal Act, and The Indians Win.

tag(s): battles (18), native americans (91), thanksgiving (24), westward expansion (38)

In the Classroom

Replace some of your current written Native America resources with the genuine artifacts and stories available for viewing on this site. Introduce the site to students on your interactive whiteboard to demonstrate the different features available and how to find them. After students have time to explore, create groups to do in-depth research within the four different featured areas. Create a Padlet, reviewed here, with four columns for students to share web and video resources found during their research. Instead of written or oral presentations, ask student groups to create quizzes for their classmates using a quiz-creation tool like Baamboozle, reviewed here. Baamboozle is a quick and easy resource for creating and sharing quizzes for teams of two. As a final project, transform student learning by using Book Creator, reviewed here, to create class books sharing information about Native Americans. Book Creator is a digital book creation site offering the ability to add images, text, video, and more. Be sure to share student-created books on your class website or blog after publication.

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National Cowboy Museum - Online Unit Studies - National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum

Grades
3 to 8
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Learn about the exploration and pioneers of the American West through several online unit studies for middle school students in PDF format. Scroll down the page to find "Emigrants...more
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Learn about the exploration and pioneers of the American West through several online unit studies for middle school students in PDF format. Scroll down the page to find "Emigrants Crossing the Plains" utilizes the paintings of Albert Bierstadt created during his journeys along the Oregon Trail. "End of the Trail" focuses on the sculptures of James Earle Fraser depicting spiritual representations of Native Americans. Madonnas of the Prairie: Depictions of Women in the American West is found under Previous Exhibits Educations Guide and features works focusing on women in the late 19th century to the early 20th century. Each unit includes an introduction, discussion questions, and teaching activities. There are many more unit studies to investigate. Also check out Collection Highlights from the top menu, scroll down and find many works of art; scroll over the art to get the title then click the image to find more information about many topics from the old west.

tag(s): art history (85), artists (77), native americans (91), westward expansion (38)

In the Classroom

Add these teaching units to your current resources for teaching about westward expansion of America, Native Americans, the 1800's, or explorers. Have all students research and discuss other artwork depicting American expansion, ask them to use Padlet, reviewed here, to organize and curate their saved resources. Ask your more tech-savvy students to build a timeline of events based on westward expansion or Native Americans using Timeline Inforgraphic Templates, reviewed here, or choose from other timeline creation tools located here. Include images, web links, and videos to create interactive timelines. Use the "Wandering Western Chest" links as a starter to creating your own Western Chest. Include books, artifacts, drawings, and more and share as an introduction to your western unit.
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BLVRD - Art. Virtually. Anywhere. - Robert Hamwee and Elizabeth L Reede

Grades
8 to 12
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BLVRD offers virtual field trips and access to the world's best-known art collections and cultural sites. View this site on any platform. For a virtual reality experience BLVRD is hardware...more
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BLVRD offers virtual field trips and access to the world's best-known art collections and cultural sites. View this site on any platform. For a virtual reality experience BLVRD is hardware agnostic (you can read about this under the FAQs). Select from the different museum and cultural topic options to begin your experience. Created in Great Britain, most content on this site features archives from British museums although there are a couple of American museums featured. Find curriculum ideas, timelines, and additional resources at the Educate link located on the top of the page.

tag(s): art history (85), artists (77), england (50), great britain (16), museums (43), virtual field trips (80)

In the Classroom

Take a "window walk" together with your students as you explore the large variety of art found on this site. Use a tool such as WordClouds, reviewed here to create and share word maps with features of art found in the different museums. Use this site to begin your exploration of different time periods in British history. Enhance learning by having students create an animated timeline including images and videos to share art from around the world during the same time frame or to demonstrate British art throughout the years. Use a timeline tool such as Time Graphics Timeline Maker, reviewed here that allows you to create interactive timelines.

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Imperial War Museums - IWM

Grades
7 to 12
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The Imperial War Museums are a family of five museums in the United Kingdom with a focus on conflicts from World War I through current times. From the top menu ...more
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The Imperial War Museums are a family of five museums in the United Kingdom with a focus on conflicts from World War I through current times. From the top menu bar choose Learn, then slide to Home Learning Hub which contains many resources for teaching and learning about wars through storytelling, photos, video stories, and Do It Yourself (DIY) Projects. Again from the Learn tab choose Learing Resources and select from many topics; examples are British Art of the First World War, D-Day: People and Planning, Contemporary Art and War, Secret Messages and Spies, Tales From the Trenches, and many more. Many of these Learning Resources include teaching suggestions, videos, and PowerPoint downloads. The site was created in the UK, so some of the pronunciations and spellings may differ from those in American English. The videos reside on YouTube and may not be viewable in your classroom.

tag(s): afghanistan (8), churchill (7), cold war (30), d day (9), europe (75), holocaust (41), middle east (43), russia (33), world war 1 (72), world war 2 (149)

In the Classroom

Discover the many ready-to-go, free resources on this site as you teach about wars and conflict. Use this information to compare and contrast British involvement in conflicts vs. those in your country. Have students create an annotated image including text boxes and related links using a tool such as Image Annotator, reviewed here, to describe images taken during wartime. Using Twiki, reviewed here, create a class wiki about the conflict you are studying. Not comfortable with wikis? Check out the TeachersFirst Wiki Walk-Through.
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MetKids - The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Grades
2 to 12
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Explore over 5,000 years of art in three exciting ways at this vibrant, interactive site from The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Along the menu at the top find Explore the ...more
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Explore over 5,000 years of art in three exciting ways at this vibrant, interactive site from The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Along the menu at the top find Explore the Map, where you choose and double click red or yellow markers to explore fun facts and videos about art worldwide. Next, hop into the Time Machine to learn more about specific times, geography, and big ideas such as inventions or creatures. Also, find Videos that teach about celebrations, share art made by kids, or provide detailed directions for creating your art, all on the menu bar across the top.

tag(s): africa (137), art history (85), artists (77), asia (68), china (62), europe (75), inventors and inventions (71), japan (56), middle east (43), myths and legends (21), russia (33)

In the Classroom

This site is perfect for use on classroom computers or for a blended class for students to explore on their own. Streghthen student learning by asking them to find information for a specific period of time or country and label what they find important using Webnote, reviewed here; tell students to be sure to save the URL to share their notes and questions with you and their peers. Next, transform classroom technology and extend learning by showing students how to embed media into an interactive time line using Sutori, reviewed here. With Sutori you can include images, text, and collaboration, or Preceden, reviewed here, for creating multi-layer timelines for over lapping events.

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National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection Stories - National Museum of African American History and Culture

Grades
4 to 12
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These Collection Stories look at the personal feelings and interpretation of the objects staff members have cataloged in the Museum. These stunning short stories focus on items from...more
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These Collection Stories look at the personal feelings and interpretation of the objects staff members have cataloged in the Museum. These stunning short stories focus on items from historical events and famous people. Click the Explorers tab from the top menu and select either Search the Collections or Stories. Example story categories are Our American Story, Five Things, Power of Place, and others. Use the search bar to find title like Dress for the Occasion; view the first day of school dress worn by Carlotta Walls as she entered Little Rock Central High School in 1957 as part of the Little Rock Nine's integration efforts. Other stories take a look at Muhammed Ali, Carl Lewis, The Wiz: The Super soul Musical 'Wizard of Oz,' and the watches that survived a brutal assassination of an NAACP leader and his wife (Moments Captured in Time). The Story Collections are updated constantly so be sure to click Learn and Explore from the top menu. The National Museum of African American History and Culture is part of The Smithsonian Institution. These stories reside on a Smithsonian URL site, so don't be confused when you get there.

tag(s): african american (109), black history (121), cross cultural understanding (156), cultures (132)

In the Classroom

Share stories from this collection to provide a personal look at events from African-American history in the United States. Use stories as an example, and ask students to find additional artifacts from the National Museum and research to discover the story behind the item. Have younger students use Kiddle, reviewed here, a kid-friendly search engine to find documents about their particular object. Younger students could bring an item from their home to tell the story of its history. For either of these ideas, enhance student learning by encouraging them to create online books for sharing the stories using a tool such as Ourboox, reviewed here. Ask students to find local residents with knowledge of historical events to come talk to your class about the "behind the scenes" story, or set up a Zoom meeting with an African-American leader. Use these stories for informational reading in your Language Arts classroom, and as a wonderful resource to use for covering the informational reading standards required with the CCSS.

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Smithsonian Learning Lab - The Smithsonian Center for Learning and Digital Access

Grades
4 to 12
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Discover, create, and share digital resources from the Smithsonian Museum, the National Zoo, and nine major research centers with this visually appealing site. Use the search feature...more
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Discover, create, and share digital resources from the Smithsonian Museum, the National Zoo, and nine major research centers with this visually appealing site. Use the search feature to find digital resources including photos, recordings, videos, and text. Sign up to create your own collections, including those found on the site and your own resources. Also, click Discover and use the search bar to find topics already on the site your class is studying like dinosaurs, explorers, black history, volcanoes, etc. Add annotations and develop quizzes. Easily share your creations or curated collections using social networking links provided. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable.

tag(s): animals (278), architecture (64), art history (85), aviation (38), black history (121), civil war (133), dinosaurs (38), explorers (64), images (270), inventors and inventions (71), Learning Management Systems (22), oceans (146), scientists (62), shakespeare (93), Teacher Utilities (146), volcanoes (55)

In the Classroom

The Smithsonian Learning Lab is a must-add to your list of classroom bookmarks! Search for collections and information throughout the year on all topics. Add a link to classroom computers for the entire site or specific collections. Be sure to take advantage of the many features of this site to create customized collections, then have students add additional resources. Have students create quizzes for review of topics. Enhance student learning by challenging them to create a simple infographic sharing their findings using Canva Infographic Maker, reviewed here.

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The Walters Art Museum - The Walters Art Museum

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K to 12
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The Walters Art Museum opened in 1934 in Maryland. This site has information about the museum, its founders, the long history, and more. Take a deeper dive by looking at ...more
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The Walters Art Museum opened in 1934 in Maryland. This site has information about the museum, its founders, the long history, and more. Take a deeper dive by looking at exhibits and the pieces of art found there. Use this link to find the PreK-12 Educators page. Scroll down the page to find resources to support your classroom. You will also find Art Lessons for Integrating the Arts to teach cross-curricular lessons in any of the core subject areas. Use the Search bar to find the Teacher Resource Kits with integration lessons for ancient civilizations such as China or Islam. Also, there are quite a few lesson plans that include different topics such as Ancient Storytelling, Egyptian Symbols, Coat of Arms, Warhol Stained Glass, The Nutcracker, Mapping the Past - Mapping the Present, and many more.

tag(s): art history (85), artists (77), museums (43)

In the Classroom

Find printable lesson plans to create cross-curricular lessons. The lesson plans include objectives, multiple activities, examples, and a wrap-up. Students can then use the site to find other pieces of art that demonstrate or support the same concept.

Connect middle and high school students to the museum through one of the prescheduled video conference calls to learn about specific topics. Be sure to prepare students for the conference call, and encourage students to participate with comments and questions to enhance the learning experience. After the conference, have students navigate through the pieces of art on the site that relate to the topic from the video conference. Enhance student learning by posing questions on Flip, reviewed here, for students to answer and comment on each other's answers.

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Disability History Museum - Disability History Museum

Grades
8 to 12
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The Disability History Museum is dedicated to raising awareness about how culture, identity, and law have helped define the lives of those with disabilities. A digital archive of photographs,...more
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The Disability History Museum is dedicated to raising awareness about how culture, identity, and law have helped define the lives of those with disabilities. A digital archive of photographs, artifacts, cartoons, and other primary source material offers important context to the discussion. A small collection of lesson plans will assist in helping students talk about and understand their own assumptions and knowledge of what it means to live with disabilities, both historically, and in the present. A collection of digital exhibits is expected to be added in the near future.

tag(s): character education (75), disabilities (29), primary sources (113)

In the Classroom

Use the resources here to help students talk about the role and experiences of those living with a disability. How have attitudes changed over time? What has driven those changes? Helping students understand why some people experience physical and emotional challenges, and the importance of honoring their contributions and abilities can be difficult. The resources in this archive may be helpful in sparking discussion.
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