What do museums do? In this classroom activity, students will recognize the Smithsonian Institution and be able to explain what a museum does. This is accomplished through the use of discussion questions and activities in which they relate stories from prior museum visits or share ideas for a mus

Learn how architects use paper to represent plans for buildings. Make two- and three-dimensional representations of your home using close observation and measurements.  Part of an OurStory module entitled Building Beautiful Buildings, this activity includes step-by-step instructions

Use this guide to actively read Ballet for Martha an award-winning work of children's literature about the collaboration of three artists to create an American masterpiece. Part of an OurStory module entitled An American Story in Dance and Music, this activity includes discussio

Playing, singing, and cooking can bring learning about trains to life! Part of an OurStory module entitled All Aboard the Train!, this activity includes tips for incorporating special terms used by railroad workers into playing with trains, cooking a train café car menu, or singing trai

Do you live near the water? There is probably a body of water closer than you think!  In this activity, students will use Google Maps to first find their school, and then locate and learn about the closest body of water to their school. Included in an OurStory module entitled Li

Students will learn about life on the prairie and in sod houses in this OurStory module, entitled Life in a Sod House. The module includes the interactive activity Building a Sod House, hands-on activities and a list of recommended readings related. OurStory is a series of modules design

Maria's Comet is a work of children's literature about a young girl who longs to study the stars.  Included in an OurStory module entitled Exploring the Sky, this activity includes strategies that will help adults and children actively read Maria's Comet together.

Cartoons are great documents that can tell both funny and serious stories. In this activity, children will first read Mr. Lincoln's Whiskers. Then they will use what they have learned about Abraham Lincoln and their critical thinking skills to add a scene to the story in the form of a co

Architects design the buildings we use every day. Their designs solve problems, like how to make a sturdy building, and reflect their ideas about beauty and history. By using this OurStory module from the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, children and adults can learn about archi

Use this guide to actively read Baseball Saved Us, a picture book about the lives of children in Japanese American internment camps during World War II. Part of an OurStory module entitled Life in a WWII Japanese American Internment Camp, this activity includes discussion prompt