Smithsonian's History Explorer Resources Related To "Transportation in America Classroom Activity Guide"

America on the Move Homepage

Tue, 12 Jun 2012 18:12:13 GMT

This online exhibition explores the role of transportation in American history. Students will learn about communities wrestling with the changes that new transportation networks brought; how cities change, suburbs expand, and farms and factories become part of regional, national and international economies; and hear the stories of people who travel for work and pleasure, and move to new homes. This online exhibition also includes an interactive collection search, thematic essays by museum staff and guest curators, interactive games and learning resources for the classroom and home.

The website includes the following subsections: Transportation in America before 1876; Community Dreams (Santa Craz, California); Delivering the Goods (Watsonville, California); A Streetcar City (Washington, D.C.); People on the Move; the Connected City (New York, New York); Crossing the Country; Americans Adopt the Auto; Lives on the Railroad (Salisbury, North Carolina); The People's Highway: Route 66; Roadside Communities (Ring's Rest, Muirkirk, Maryland); Family Camping (York Beach, Maine); On the School Bus (Martinsburg, Indiana); Suburban Strip (Sandy Boulevard, Portland, Oregon); City and Suburb (Chicago and Park Forest, Illinois); On the Interstate (I-10); Transforming the Waterfront (San Francisco, California and Oakland, California); and Going Global (Los Angeles, California)

Creating Stories Activity Kit

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 13:57:31 GMT

In this activity kit, students will use primary and secondary sources, and conduct oral history interviews to construct a family immigration or migration story. The kit contains step-by-step instructions, sample interview questions, and research guidance. The kit can be used in conjunction with a 28 minute streaming video called Creating Stories: America on the Move Electronic Field Part 2. It is included in the online exhibition entitled America on the Move, which focuses on transportation in US history.

Creating Stories: America on the Move Electronic Field Trip, Part 2

Fri, 20 Jul 2012 11:05:38 GMT

In this electronic field, curators from the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History's exhibition America on the Move take students behind-the-scenes to show how they develop individual stories for exhibitions and provide guidance to students who want to create their own family stories by analyzing objects, documents, and other resources.

Immigration, Migration, and How We Got There - Electronic Field Trip Part 1

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 17:41:25 GMT

This electronic field trip was designed to introduce grades 4–8 to the America on the Move exhibition on transportation in U.S. history. Curators and a student host visit the exhibition and examine the impact of immigration and migration and the influence of various forms of transportation on American history.

1880s Agricultural Nation Classroom Activity Guide

Thu, 30 Aug 2012 09:45:04 GMT

In this set of classroom activities developed for the exhibition America on the Move, students will use visual, analytical, and interpretive skills to examine primary sources including historical maps to answer questions about farming, transportation, immigration, and racism in the 1880s, and will answer questions about the history and impact of railroads on their own communities. The activities provide opportunities for historical analysis, interpretation, evaluation, analyzing cause/effect relationships, understanding multiple points of view, performing original research, debating and persuasive writing and help students develop and strengthen map-reading skills and the ability to identify issues and problems in the past and connect the past to the present.

1920s Industrial America Classroom Activity Guide

Fri, 20 Jul 2012 11:01:19 GMT

In these classroom activities developed for the exhibition America on the Move, students will use visual, analytical, and interpretive skills to examine primary sources including historical maps and answer questions about them to learn more about railroads, transportation, racism, Jim Crow, travel in industrial America in the 1920s, as well as the impact of the Great Migration (1915-1940) and changes in transportation had on their own communities. The activities helps students develop and strengthen map-reading skills, provide opportunities for historical analysis, interpretation, evaluation, analyzing cause/effect relationships, understanding multiple points of view, performing original research, debating and persuasive writing, and help students identify issues and problems in the past and connect the past to the present.

1930s and 1940s Highways Classroom Activity Guide

Thu, 30 Aug 2012 09:45:22 GMT

In these classroom activities, developed for the exhibition America on the Move, students will use visual, analytical, and interpretive skills to examine primary sources including a historical map and photography by Dorothea Lange and answer questions about them to learn more about road travel and the role highways played in 1930s. Students will also conduct research and answer questions about the impact of the Great Depression, WPA and CCC on their own communities. The activities provide opportunities for historical analysis, interpretation, evaluation, analyzing cause/effect relationships, understanding multiple points of view, performing original research, debating and persuasive writing and helps students develop and strengthen map-reading skills. Students also will employ research skills to obtain historical data, analyze and make decisions, identify issues and problems in the past and connect the past to the present.

1950s and 1960s Suburban America Classroom Activity Guide

Mon, 16 Jul 2012 15:49:43 GMT

In these classroom activities, developed for the exhibition America on the Move, students will use visual, analytical, and interpretive skills to examine primary sources including a historical map and answer questions about them to learn more about the expansion of transportation systems and the impact on their own communities, city planning, the rise of suburban life, and culture in 1950s America. The activities provide opportunities for historical analysis, interpretation, evaluation, analyzing cause/effect relationships, understanding multiple points of view, performing original research, debating and persuasive writing and help students develop and strengthen map-reading skills, identify issues and problems in the past and connect the past to the present.

1970s-2000 Global Economy Classroom Activity Guide

Mon, 18 Jun 2012 15:18:34 GMT

In these classroom activities, developed for the exhibition America on the Move, students will use visual, analytical, and interpretive skills to examine primary sources including a historical map and answer questions about them to learn more about global consumption, production, and transportation and the impact of globalization in their own communities. The activities provide opportunities for historical analysis, interpretation, evaluation, analyzing cause/effect relationships, understanding multiple points of view, performing original research, debating and persuasive writing will help students develop and strengthen map-reading skills and identify issues and problems in the past and connect the past to the present.