In this episode of the History Explorer podcast series, students will hear from Xavier Carnegie, the Museum’s Creative Director and one of the lead actors for the “Join the Student Sit-Ins” theater program about the research he conducts to develop and enhance his performance.

Analyze museum artifacts and first-person accounts of World War I and the Vietnam War, then take on the role of soldiers and a news team to present a newscast about the experience of fighting in these two wars. This lesson plan (which includes background information and full-color primary sources

Engage students in analyzing and appreciating historical perspectives on the Battle of Little Bighorn/Greasy Grass, also known as "Custer's Last Stand." Students will interpret primary sources, develop critical thinking questions about the perspectives represented in the sources, and finally synt

This lesson plan outlines topics for short research projects and classroom performances related to the Mexican War. Have students select individuals connected to the Mexican War, perform research, and then interview each other to showcase the disparate views on the motivations behind the War and

Watch and discuss a 22-minute video of a Museum theater presentation. During the presentation, a fictional composite character from 1960 is conducting a training session for people interested in joining a student sit-in to protest racial segregation. The student speaks about the recent protests i

In this activity, children pretend to be an American during 1963 and decide whether or not to join the March on Washington. Children base their choice on information gathered through guided observation of a handbill from the march. Included in an OurStory module from Smithsonian's National Museum

This activity is a guided Internet hunt, or "Web quest," in which children play the role of newspaper reporters in order to research, write, and publish an article about the history of the Star-Spangled Banner. Children will be better able to synthesize ideas and facts in written and artistic pro

In this classroom activity, students will examine both the integrationist and segregationist arguments from Brown v. Board of Education through role play and begin to explore the impact of the Supreme Court's decision through a primary source photographic analysis activity.  This lesson acco