Smithsonian's History Explorer Resources Related To ""Migrant Mother" by Dorothea Lange"

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.

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.

Treasures of American History: National Challenges

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 14:56:27 GMT

In this section of the online exhibition Treasures of American History, students will learn that by understanding the challenges of the past, they can draw lessons and inspiration for confronting new challenges in the present and future. The topics discussed in this section are: the American Revolution; slavery; westward expansion; the Civil War, women's suffrage, the Great Depression and World War II, the Civil Rights movement and AIDS. A Spanish version of the exhibition is available on the exhibition's homepage.

History Explorer Podcast: Investigating Portraiture

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 17:54:16 GMT

In this episode of the History Explorer podcast series, Curator Shannon Perich discusses how portraiture can be used in historical research. Shannon presents three historical portraits (including Dorothea Lange's Migrant Mother), describing the historical context of each, while also providing information on how curators and researchers look for clues within historical photography. The resource includes audio and image enhanced podcasts, a teachers guide and student worksheet, and related images.

History Explorer Podcast: Portraiture and Identity

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 17:54:45 GMT

In this episode of the History Explorer podcast series, Shannon Perich, curator in the Photographic Collection at the Museum examines three unique photographic portraits, showing how portraiture and the creation of an image between sitter and photographer, can be used to express many ideas, beyond that of simply a picture of an individual. The resource includes both an audio and image-enhanced podcast, a teachers guide and a student worksheet.