History Explorer Results (23)
Related Books (16)
Resource Type(s):
Reference Materials
“A sudden tragedy thrust Rebecca Lukens into the family business and into history, making her the nation’s first woman industrialist and the only woman to run and eventually own an iron mill in the United States during the 1800s. In 1825, at the age of 31 and expecting her sixth child, Rebecca L
Resource Type(s):
Artifacts, Primary Sources
In 1906 Ng Shee Lee packed her clothes and belongings in this trunk and left China for America. It was a difficult trip. She slept next to the noisy engine room; arriving tired and sick in San Francisco she was met by the devastating 1906 earthquake. Ng Shee then made her way alone by train across C
Resource Type(s):
Primary Sources
The story of America includes the history of those who have lived through extraordinary circumstances. One such person was Camilla Gottlieb, whose ordinary life in Vienna suddenly became endangered when the Germans invaded and annexed Austria in 1938. As a Jew, she confronted devastating cha
Resource Type(s):
Interactives & Media, Lessons & Activities
Explore jazz through listening activities, interviews with musicians, and background information on SmithsonianJazz.org. Prominently featured on this site are two suites of learning activities: one focusing on Duke Ellington for elementary students and one focusing on Louis Armstrong for middle a
Resource Type(s):
Reference Materials
This online exhibition explore the role of the portable printing press in conveying information during the Civil War. The ability to communicate quickly in wartime can profoundly affect military actions and outcomes. The invention of portable tabletop printing presses at the time of the American
Resource Type(s):
Artifacts, Primary Sources
This apparatus was designed by Catherine Stern, a physicist by training and the founder of a Montessori school in her native Germany. Stern and her husband were of Jewish descent, and emigrated to New York City in 1938 to avoid persecution by the Nazis. There she developed these materials, descri
Resource Type(s):
Reference Materials, Lessons & Activities
Children and adults can enjoy exploring the story behind one of America’s pioneers of jazz music, Duke Ellington, through children's literature, museum collections, and hands-on activities. Focused around Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra, a picture book biography of t
Resource Type(s):
Lessons & Activities
Use two online music tools to try your hand at picking instruments to change the mood of a song. Part of an OurStory module entitled Duke Ellington and Jazz, this activity includes instructions, discussion prompts, links, and background information. OurStory is designed to help children
Resource Type(s):
Lessons & Activities
Use this guide to actively read Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra, a picture book biography of the Washington, DC native and jazz pioneer. Part of an OurStory module entitled Duke Ellington and Jazz, this activity includes discussion prompts, a glossary, and bac
Resource Type(s):
Artifacts, Primary Sources
Born in New Orleans in 1901, jazz musician Louis Armstrong (d. 1971)was known for his distinctive trumpet-playing and vocal style. He often improvised jazz riffs using his voice rather than his instrument, “scatting” notes and melodies rather than singing actual words. Armstrong transformed t
Author:
Sherry Ayazi-Hashjin
Reading Level:
Middle School
The author traces rap and hip-hop back to African music roots (drumming and the griot) to America and the blues, spirituals, and jazz.
Author:
Sharon Bell Mathis
Reading Level:
Late Elementary School
This illustrated biography tells the story of Ray Charles from his childhood to age 4. It captures Ray’s feelings along his way to stardom.
Author:
Patricia MacLachlan
Reading Level:
Late Elementary School,Middle School
19th century tale of a widowed farmer with two children who advertises for a wife. The answer to his ad is Sarah, who arrives from Maine. The tale gently explores themes of abandonment, loss and love.
Reading Level:
Pre-School,Early Elementary School
Three little bears receive musical instruments for their birthday and learn to play them.
Reading Level:
High School
Traces the history of the blues from its African roots through the 90s, with a focus on key artists ranging from Louis Armstrong to Muddy Waters and B.B. King.
Reading Level:
Early Elementary School
A fly, who speaks jazz, seeks directions to town from animals and insects who respond to him with their sounds. The fly uses these sounds to jazz up his band’s music.
