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History Explorer Results (55)

Related Books (11)

Religion in Early America

Grade Range:

K-12

Resource Type(s):

Reference Materials

Date Posted:

7/22/2017

The role of religion in the formation and development of the United States is at the heart of this one-year exhibition that explores the themes of religious diversity, freedom, and growth from the colonial era through the 1840s. National treasures from the Museum’s own collection are on view, s

Japanese American Incarceration: The Diary of Stanley Hayami

Grade Range:

5-12

Resource Type(s):

Lessons & Activities

Date Posted:

5/17/2016

Students will gain historical reasoning skills by studying primary sources and comparing them to secondary sources. They will become more familiar with the conditions in Japanese American concentration camps through the personal writings of Stanley Hayami, a high school student who was incarcer

Blog Post: Rebecca Lukens: A woman of iron

Grade Range:

8-12

Resource Type(s):

Reference Materials

Date Posted:

8/12/2021

“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

Blog Post: Does an amendment give you the right to vote?

Grade Range:

8-12

Resource Type(s):

Reference Materials

Date Posted:

12/30/2020

“In 2020, the Fifteenth Amendment—the first voting rights amendment added to the U.S. Constitution—celebrates its 150th anniversary. You’ve likely heard, perhaps on the news or in the classroom, that the Fifteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution gave or granted African American men the ri

Blog Post: The story behind the photograph: Gay Dads Kissing, 1983

Grade Range:

8-12

Resource Type(s):

Reference Materials

Date Posted:

12/30/2020

“For Michael and Robert, the quick peck before a walk around the lake with Michael’s son was an ordinary moment. For J. Ross Baughman, it was the moment he was positioned for and waiting to capture. Gay Dads Kissing was a history-making photograph that continues to hearten and resonate with many

Blog Post: When Watchmen were Klansmen

Grade Range:

8-12

Resource Type(s):

Reference Materials

Date Posted:

9/4/2020

““You know how you can tell the difference between a masked cop and a vigilante?” “No.” “Me neither.” This exchange between Laurie Blake, former costumed vigilante turned FBI agent, and Angela Abar, masked Tulsa police detective, lays out a conundrum at the heart of HBO’s 20

Blog Post: Church bells and the noise of democracy

Grade Range:

8-12

Resource Type(s):

Reference Materials

Date Posted:

9/4/2020

“Like many other churches in the early republic, the Congregational meetinghouse in Castine, Maine, served both sacred and secular functions. Built in 1790, it was home not just to worship services but town meetings and judicial proceedings. Taxpayers paid its pastor’s wages. Though the ratifica

Toussaint L'Overture Cane

Grade Range:

K-12

Resource Type(s):

Artifacts, Primary Sources

Date Posted:

9/3/2020

This cane belonged to Toussaint L’Ouverture, a military and political leader in the Haitian Revolution. The revolution began as a slave revolt in the French colony of Saint-Domingue in 1791 and ended with emancipation and the founding of the free nation of Haiti in 1804. Nearly half a million ensl

Meet the Wheelwoman

Grade Range:

K-12

Resource Type(s):

Interactives & Media

Date Posted:

9/15/2017

The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History presents a filmed version of its on-the-floor program, Meet the Wheelwoman. In this film, you’ll hear from a wheelwoman—a female bicycle rider from the 1890s—and learn about how women of that era used bicycles to change their l

Blog Post: How (not) to teach with drama

Grade Range:

8-12

Resource Type(s):

Reference Materials

Date Posted:

5/6/2017

For nearly a decade, the museum has used theater as a means of enlivening the visitor experience and engaging the public in dialogue on challenging topics in history. Thousands of visitors have joined a mock civil rights training session, debated the use of violence with John Brown, or met Louise

Bull Run

Author:

Paul Fleishman

Reading Level:

Late Elementary School,Middle School

Genre:

Fiction

Awards:

Fleishman's depiction of the first Civil War battle relies on individual voices to give a human face to history. The result is at once intimate and sweeping, a heartbreaking and remarkably vivid portrait of the Civil War and war itself.

Butterfly Yellow

Author:

Thanhhà Lai

Reading Level:

High School,Middle School

Genre:

Fiction

Bilingual:

Yes

In the final days of the Việt Nam War, Hằng takes her little brother, Linh, to the airport, determined to find a way to safety in America. In a split second, Linh is ripped from her arms—and Hằng is left behind in the war-torn country. Six years later, Hằng has made the brutal journey from

Colonial Voices: Hear Them Speak

Author:

Kay Winters

Reading Level:

Early Elementary School,Late Elementary School,Middle School

Genre:

Fiction

Different colonial Bostonians introduce themselves through Kay Winter's poems or free-verse vignettes that describe their work and their feelings about the current political situation on December 16, 1773. The poems are enhanced by historical notes and a glossary.

I Have Heard of a Land

Author:

Joyce Carol Thomas

Reading Level:

Early Elementary School

Genre:

Fiction

Awards:

The story of a brave African-American woman in her pursuit of pioneering a home.

Julia Morgan Built a Castle

Author:

Celeste Davidson Mannis

Reading Level:

Early Elementary School,Late Elementary School

Genre:

Non Fiction

This picture book tells the story of American architect Julia Morgan's life, education, and work.

My Papi Has a Motorcycle

Author:

Isabel Quintero

Reading Level:

Early Elementary School

Genre:

Fiction

Bilingual:

Yes

A celebration of the love between a father and daughter, and of a vibrant immigrant neighborhood, by an award-winning author and illustrator duo. When Daisy Ramona zooms around her neighborhood with her papi on his motorcycle, she sees the people and places she's always known. She also sees a commun

Seven Brave Women

Author:

Betsy Hearne

Reading Level:

Pre-School,Early Elementary School

Genre:

Non Fiction

Author Betsy Hearne entertains readers with stories about seven generations of women in her family, from the Revolutionary era to today. In the lives they built and the objects they left behind, the author finds a legacy of strength, courage, and wisdom that spans the link between mothers and dau

Sulwe

Author:

Lupita Nyong’o

Reading Level:

Early Elementary School,Late Elementary School

Genre:

Fiction

Awards:

When five-year-old Sulwe's classmates make fun of her dark skin, she tries lightening herself to no avail, but a shooting star's tale of the sisters Night and Day helps her understand there is beauty and worth in every shade.

The Bracelet

Author:

Yoshiko Uchida

Reading Level:

Early Elementary School

Genre:

Fiction

Emi, a young Japanese American, realizes that although she is forced to leave her home and school, she will always have the memories of her friends in her heart.

The Only Road

Author:

Alexandra Diaz

Reading Level:

Middle School

Genre:

Fiction

Jaime is sitting on his bed drawing when he hears a scream. Instantly, he knows: Miguel, his cousin and best friend, is dead. Everyone in Jaime’s small town in Guatemala knows someone who has been killed by the Alphas, a powerful gang that’s known for violence and drug trafficking. Anyone who re

Featured Artifact

Silence = Death T Shirt

"This black t-shirt, which says “Silence = Death” with a pink triangle, symbolizes the struggle against AIDS.

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Search History Explorer

Religion in Early America

Japanese American Incarceration: The Diary of Stanley Hayami

Blog Post: Rebecca Lukens: A woman of iron

Blog Post: Does an amendment give you the right to vote?

Blog Post: The story behind the photograph: Gay Dads Kissing, 1983

Blog Post: When Watchmen were Klansmen

Blog Post: Church bells and the noise of democracy

Toussaint L'Overture Cane

Meet the Wheelwoman

Blog Post: How (not) to teach with drama

Bull Run

Butterfly Yellow

Colonial Voices: Hear Them Speak

I Have Heard of a Land

Julia Morgan Built a Castle

My Papi Has a Motorcycle

Seven Brave Women

Sulwe

The Bracelet

The Only Road

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