 The Library
of Congress >> Research Centers |
|||
|
Folklife Resources for EducatorsMaterials Related to United StatesThere are 42 items in this list. Lewis & Clark - The National Bicentennial Exhibition Teaching Units and Lesson Plans Curriculum materials for grades 4-12 with a virtual exhibit of the "Lewis & Clark: The National Bicentennial Exhibition" that explores the cultural landscape the explorers encountered in the early 19th century. The teaching units with lesson plans and suggested activities cover the topics of: Preparing for the Trip; Politics & Diplomacy; Women; Mapping; Animals; Language; Warriors/Soldiers; Trade & Property; and Plants, each comparing and contrasting Lewis and Clark's experiences with what those of the Native Americans they met might have been. The lessons are geared to upper elementary, middle school, and high school levels, are inquiry-based, and use primary source materials, artifacts, and Indian interviews featured in the online exhibition. Also includes video clips, maps, and a variety of documents. Units are linked to Missouri State Standards and National Council for the Social Studies and National Science Teachers Association standards.
Sponsoring Organization: The World at the Fair: Experiences of the 1893 Columbian Exposition Curriculum materials with lesson plans and activities that introduce secondary school students to a variety of historical and anthropological issues related to the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The site includes primary source materials such as maps, photos, posters and articles from the late 19th century that allow students to analyze questions related to the event, including how different cultural groups and nations were exhibited and displayed on the fairgrounds and how this affected American attitudes towards immigration at the time. It also has three lesson plan modules for students: 1) Globalization Lesson Plan - China at the Fair; 2) Technology Lesson Plan - Electricity at the Fair; and 3) Anthropology Lesson Plan - Anthropological Exhibits at the Fair and the Midway. The curriculum materials address national standards for History and Educational Technology.
Sponsoring Organization: Skeleton Esqueleto Puppets and Día de Muertos Ofrendas Two activities associated with Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) for students in grades 1-8. Also known as All Souls' Day, Día de Muertos is rooted in both indigenous and Catholic religious belief and is increasingly being celebrated throughout the United States. The Skeleton Esqueleto Puppets activity will help students learn how puppets can reflect the cultures from which they come from, using Mexican skeleton puppets as an example. The Día de Muertos Ofrendas activity will give students an understanding of how ofrendas, or altars, are set up in people's homes for dead relatives during this holiday. The activities correlate to New Mexico State Content Standards for Art and Social Studies.
Sponsoring Organization: Cultural Protocols in Everyday Life Middle and high school classroom activities and web-based resources for the study of the cultural protocols or preferred behaviors that everyone uses in their lives. Using the themes of cross-cultural communication and cultural change, curriculum ideas incorporate examples of celebration and cultural forms of conduct from native groups in Massachusetts and Hawaii that can be used in the classroom to discuss these issues in a wider context. Includes links to photographs, video clips, and documents drawn from several museum collections. Curriculum materials conform to National Standards for Geography and can be used for teaching Social Studies, Language Arts, and History.
Sponsoring Organization: Bluegrass in the Schools Lesson plans and activities for the K-12 curriculum introducing students to bluegrass music. Topics include the musical instruments and sounds of bluegrass, vocal harmonies, song lyrics, bluegrass festivals, the history of bluegrass, and in-depth study of individual bluegrass songs and ballads.
Sponsoring Organization: Ethnic Fraternal Societies and Mutual Aid: An American Tradition with Old World Roots Lesson plan related to the origins, functions, rise, and eventual decline of fraternal and self-help organizations among immigrants and African Americans with activities for middle and high school students. The lesson focuses on ways that immigrants and African Americans developed alternative social structures and mutual assistance organizations that served their social, psychological, cultural, and economic needs. It also explores issues of diversity, ethnic identity, and whether the government or the people are responsible for providing the social and economic safety net of mutual aid. Background materials include a glossary, resources for teachers and students, and links to primary source materials, including photographs and oral histories, drawn from the collections of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania The lesson plan is correlated to the Pennsylvania Department of Education Standards for Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, History, and Geography.
Sponsoring Organization: Native Words, Native Warriors Interactive curriculum website for grades 6-12 that explores the lives and experiences of American Indian Code Talkers, the servicemen who used their traditional tribal languages to transmit secret messages for the US military during World War I and World War II. Includes lesson plans, correlated to National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies and National Standards for History, captioned photographs, maps and documents, discussion questions, activities, and audio recordings of spoken word and Native American music.
Sponsoring Organization: American Sabor: Latinos in U.S. Popular Music Classroom curriculum and educator resources for middle and high school students focused on Latino music and culture found in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Antonio, Miami, and New York City. Topics include the social and cultural history of Latino music, Latino music's impact on American popular culture, the vocabulary and styles of Latino music, and Latino musicians. Although created to accompany an exhibition of the same name, the educational materials can stand alone. The site includes lessons, activities, and word games, video and audio recordings, biographical information on Latino musicians, interpretive maps, and bilingual accompanying resources. Most of the materials on the site can be found in both Spanish and English and in PDF-format.
Sponsoring Organization: Other Organizations: The Sonic Memorial Project - For Educators Based on programs created for National Public Radio's Lost and Found Sound, the Sonic Memorial Project developed as a cross-media collaboration of independent radio and new media producers, artists, historians, and people from around the world who contributed recordings to the September 11 Digital Archive. SonicMemorial.org is an open archive with an online audio installation of the history of the World Trade Center, New York City. In addition to the audio recordings, the site includes a curriculum for educators with modules of lesson plans on the following topics: 1) History and Time; 2) Memorials; 3) The Places and Stories of Our Lives; 4) Civic Ideals and Practices; 5) Culture and Identity, and 6) How to Talk about 9/11. Accompanying follow-up activities and resources can be used with the lesson plans. The curriculum materials were written to support national standards in Social Studies education.
Sponsoring Organization: Other Organizations: Living Traditions: Museums Honour the North American Indigenous Games Activities and background for 8th grade students related to traditional North American indigenous games, such as lacrosse, Eastern Woodland games, archery, longball, paddling and canoe racing traditions, and the tag game known as wolf (or hunter) and moose (or caribou). The site also includes information about the North American Indigenous Games, a multi-sport event involving indigenous athletes.
Sponsoring Organization: Indivisible Educator's Guide An educator's guide for K-12 students that combines photography and first-person narratives to explore community life, identity, and civic action (72 p. PDF). Lesson plans are available on taking documentary photographs, collecting oral histories, and analyzing gathered fieldwork documentation. It includes descriptions of twelve community documentation projects undertaken throughout the United States. Created in 2000 in connection with a national documentary project called "Indivisible: Stories of American Community." A selection of slides and an audio cd of excerpted project interviews accompanies the lessons.
Sponsoring Organization: Other Organizations: Corridos sin Fronteras: A New World Ballad Tradition Bilingual (Spanish and English) interactive educational website for elementary, middle, and high school teachers and students. Site introduces students to the historical and cultural importance of the corrido, a popular narrative poem or ballad found in Spanish-speaking areas of the Americas. The site includes lesson plans and historical and contextual background on the development of the corrido, including its use in expressions of social justice and the telling of stories of oppression and history. Examples of corridos are presented through video and audio recordings on the site and students are encouraged to create their own corridos. Subject areas covered include music, the performing arts, history, language arts, and Spanish-language traditions of Mexico and the United States.
Sponsoring Organization: Barn Again ! Celebrating an American Icon - Teacher's Guide Teacher resource guide with four lesson plans for grades 4-12 on the topic of the American barn as symbol, architecture, community gathering place, and window to the past. Created to accompany an exhibition of the same name developed by SITES, the materials can also function in a stand-alone capacity. They include research and activity-oriented lessons through which students gather information about barn raising, barn dances, corn husking, and quilting bees by reading oral history transcripts, examine architectural designs and historical photos of barns, and do interviews to learn more about barns and to hear barn stories. Lessons focus on the subjects of American Culture, American History, Architecture/Design, Folklife, Language and Visual Arts and address National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies. (48 p. PDF)
Sponsoring Organization: Key Ingredients: America by Food - Teacher's Guide Teacher resource guide with five lesson plans plus handouts for grades 4-12 on the topic of family and local food traditions. Created to accompany an exhibition of the same name developed by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES), the materials can also function in a stand-alone capacity. They include research and activity-oriented lessons during which students gather recipes, interview family members, create an exhibition on their state's agricultural history, and examine the effects of the media on their food choices. Lessons focus on the subjects of American Culture, American History, Multiculturalism, and Technology, and address National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies and Health Education. (32 p. PDF)
Sponsoring Organization: Shapes, Sound Holes, and Strings Teacher's Guide Teacher resource guide with ten lesson plans for grades K-8 designed to help teachers introduce their students to some of the traditional instruments featured in country music and to the sounds they create. The materials can be used in connection with a tour of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum or as a stand-alone unit. Lessons cover the topics of sound, the voice, country music instruments, including the guitar, banjo, fiddle, mandolin, and also the playing of country music. They address curriculum objectives in the Tennessee State Curriculum Standards in Language Arts, Music, Math, Social Studies, and Science. (24 p. PDF)
Sponsoring Organization: Family Tradition: The Williams Family Legacy Teacher's Guide Teacher resource guide with eight lesson plans for grades 3-12 designed to help classes prepare for a tour of "Family Tradition: The Williams Family Legacy," an exhibit held at the Country Music Hall of Fame. The materials can also be used as a stand-alone unit about Hank Williams and his family's contributions to American music. Lessons cover the topics of Hank Williams and his family, including their roles as songwriters, musicians, performers, and collectors of country music. The lessons address curriculum objectives in the Tennessee State Curriculum Standards in Language Arts, Music, Math, and Social Studies. (21 p. PDF)
Sponsoring Organization: Country Music Hall of Fame - Teacher Resource Guide Teacher resource guide with seven lesson plans for K-12 education focusing on the history of country music and its role in American culture. Materials are intended for pre- and post-visit lessons for classes coming to the County Music Hall of Fame, but can be used equally well in a stand-alone capacity. Lessons cover the topics of musical instruments, the characteristics and roles of museums, the public image of musical performers, country music in America, and music in general. The lessons contain curriculum connections to Language Arts, Music, the Visual Arts, Math, and Social Studies. (22 p. PDF)
Sponsoring Organization: Native American Lesson Plan: Someone's in the Kitchen Lesson plan for introducing students to Native American foodways, including information on how to measure ingredients and prepare traditional foods, as well as background on the role of food in Native American culture. Can be used with ESL students. Addresses the Illinois State Board of Education Goals and Standards for Math, Language Arts, and Social Science.
Sponsoring Organization: Plum Stone Dice Game Activity geared to students in grades 4-8 in which they learn some background about the Native American plum stone dice game and also the rules for playing it. Addresses the Illinois State Board of Education Goals and Standards. (3 p. PDF)
Sponsoring Organization: Other Organizations: Natural Dyes from Plants Lesson Lesson plan for grade levels 4-12 to learn about how fabric dyes were made from natural substances such as onion skins, walnuts, bark, and flowers by Native Americans and early European settlers. Includes guidelines for preparing natural dyes and dyeing fibers or fabrics. Additional background information is provided to help students understand how dyeing traditions express aspects of culture that may change when different peoples come into contact with each other. Addresses Illinois State Board of Education Goals and Standards for History, Social Science, and the Visual Arts. (10 p. PDF)
Sponsoring Organization: Other Organizations: Waiting for a Train: Trains in Country Music and American Life Teacher resource guide with lesson plan for K-12 classes on the topic of trains and other forms of transportation and their intersections with American life and with country music. Lesson has curriculum connections to Language Arts, Music, and Social Studies.
Sponsoring Organization: European and Native American Mapping Activity Activity for grades 6-8 to help students distinguish and describe the differences and similarities between European and Native American mapping concepts and methods after studying and drawing in both styles to represent the same location. Activity addresses the Illinois State Board of Education Standards and Goals for Geography and History. (5 p. PDF)
Sponsoring Organization: Ojibwa Sewn Bead Designs Activity geared to grades 6-9 to examine and recreate the Ojibwa sewn beading styles that were influenced by seventeenth-century French floral embroidery and fabric prints imported by French traders, using beaded objects found in the museum's collections and on the web. Includes discussion of Ojibwa beading styles and their motifs. Addresses the Illinois State Board of Education Goals and Standards for the Visual Arts and Social Science.
Sponsoring Organization: Weaving with Seed Beads on a Bead Loom Activity geared to grades 5-7 to demonstrate how Native Americans and others wove beads on a loom to create long, narrow bands for hair and bracelets in order to produce a patterned beaded bands using geometric patterns. Includes discussion of how color, shape, and value in Native American beading has changed over the years due partially to the influence of other cultures. Addresses the Illinois State Board of Education Goals and Standards for the Visual Arts and Social Science.
Sponsoring Organization: Work and Travel on the Rails Educational unit with lesson plans and activities designed to introduce students to the role and experiences of immigrant labor on the railroads in American history and the evolution of railroad travel from the perspective of the traveler. The materials in this guide are geared to the middle and high school classroom for use in the curriculum areas of history, geography, reading, writing, and the arts. The unit has two major areas of focus—Working on the Rails; and Public Space on the Rails. Background materials include a glossary, resources for teachers and students, and links to primary source materials, such as railroad ballads, travel accounts, and railroad reports, drawn from the collections of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and other materials. The lesson plan is correlated to the Pennsylvania Department of Education Standards for Reading and Writing, History, and Geography.
Sponsoring Organization: Native American Dolls Teaching guide for K-12 education with lesson plan and activities on diverse traditions of Native American dolls and dollmaking. Native doll makers describe how their work keeps old traditions alive and helps in developing new traditions. Includes examples of Navajo, Inupiat, Ojibwe, Seneca, and Seminole dolls exhibited in the National Museum of the American Indian and transcripts of interviews with their makers. The lesson is useful for teaching about cultural differences where students are encouraged to compare and contrast Native dolls with those from their own background. It meets national curriculum standards for History and Geography. Lesson plan originally published in the fall 2004 issue of "Smithsonian In Your Classroom." (28 p. PDF)
Sponsoring Organization: Other Organizations: A Native Place Teaching Guide for grades 4-8 that celebrates the establishment of the Museum of the American Indian on the National Mall in Washington, DC and the cultures and achievements of American Indian peoples. Included in this guide are three lesson plans with activities: "A Place of Pride," "A Welcoming Spirit," and "The Peoples' Knowledge." Curriculum materials focus on issues of Native history, museums, cultural representation, worldview, beliefs, philosophy, and material culture. They also encourage an understanding of, and respect for the strength, richness, and diversity of Native cultures. The Teaching Guide meets national curriculum standards for Language Arts, U.S. History, Social Studies, Geography, Science Literacy, and Fine Arts/Visual Arts. (5 p. PDF)
Sponsoring Organization: Other Organizations: A Life in Beads: The Stories a Plains Dress Can Tell Teaching poster for grades 4-6 with accompanying lesson plans and activities that explore the traditional art of dressmaking and dress decoration among women of Native American tribes from the Great Plains region. Through the stories and art of contemporary women from the Assiniboine and Sioux tribes in Montana, students will learn about materials used in the past and today, as well as the cultural values and meanings behind dress decoration. Meets national curriculum standards for Social Studies. (10 p. PDF)
Sponsoring Organization: Collections Seldom Seen Curriculum guide that grew out of an exhibition, "Collections Seldom Seen," at the Museum of International Folk Art which brought together objects from the permanent collections chosen by several museum curators. The guide includes cultural and historical background on the chosen objects organized by geographic focus (Asia, Latin America, the United States, and Europe) and textile arts in general, plus two lesson plans with student activities, based on New Mexico state standards. The lesson plans are "How to Make a Japanese Scroll" and "Print Making," based on woodblock printing traditions used in the making of Brazilian literatura de cordel. The guide also highlights the role of the curator in the development of museum exhibitions.
Sponsoring Organization: Veterans' Stories: The Veterans History Project - Primary Source Set Primary source materials from the Veterans History Project Collection at the Library of Congress that support teaching about 20th-century U.S. history, social studies, and oral history. Materials on the site include a Veterans History Project teacher guide (8 p. PDF), photographs, drawings, letters, memoirs, and video interviews of American veterans. The primary source set links to "Primary Source Analysis Tools" and "Especially for Educators and Students," a guide on how to conduct interviews with veterans and submit them to the Library of Congress for inclusion in the Veterans History Project Collection. For the Veterans' History Project, go to: http://www.loc.gov/vets/
Sponsoring Organization: Honky Tonks, Hymns, and the Blues: American Music from Back Roads to Big City Study guides for NPR radio series on southern musical traditions in the U.S. The website provides audio of original radio presentations, including interviews and musical sound clips. Each section deals with a different theme, including: "Honky Tonk Women: The Changing Role of Women in Country Music," "Riding the Rails to Stardom: The Maddox Brothers and Rose," "Country Guitar: The Music Meets Technology and Changing Times," "A Pure Sound: Country Music and the Moral Message," "Thomas A. Dorsey: From 'Georgia Tom' to the Father of Gospel Music," "Música Norteña: Accordion on the Texas Border," "Country Fiddling: From Back Porch to Big City, "The Rise of the Country Blues," "Jimmie Rodgers: Birth of the Country Superstar," "Lone Star Swing: Bob Wills and the Texas Tradition," "Black and White: Crossing the Border, Closing the Gap," and "The Carter Family on the Air: Border Radio and Country Music." Appropriate for use in the secondary school classroom.
Sponsoring Organization: Folkstreams Generic Lesson Plan Generic lesson plan for grades 10-12 for use with films available as streaming video on folkstreams.net. Lesson plan template offers suggestions for viewing films as literary texts and primary sources, analyzing documentary filmmaking techniques, and guiding students in reflecting on the traditions, sense of place, identity, and beliefs of American cultural groups and communities.
Sponsoring Organization: Quilts in Women’s Lives – Teaching Guide Teaching guide for grades 10-12 to accompany an excerpt of the film “Quilts in Women’s Lives,” created by filmmaker Pat Ferrero in 1981. Fifteen minutes of the 28-minute film are as a focus for the teaching guide. This excerpt features three women quilters -- artist and teacher Grace Earl, artist and Bulgarian immigrant Radka Donnell, and African American traditional quilter Nora Lee Condra. The teaching guide and film explore the lives, art, work, and philosophy of the three women quilters from different backgrounds. The entire film is also available as streaming video on folkstreams.net.
Sponsoring Organization: Folk Arts in Education - A Resource Handbook II Resource handbook examining folklife, folklore, and folk arts in education throughout the United States with sample curricula from over fifty programs for youth in K-12 educational settings, museums, arts and humanities councils, and other non-profit cultural and arts organizations. The 262-page handbook includes many web-based educational resources, plus a webography and bibliography, for the study of folk arts that encourage students to become involved in hands-on, experiential learning, fieldwork, and place-based research in local community settings. It is available on the site in downloadable form or for sale in hardcopy or on CD through the Michigan State University Museum's Michigan Traditional Arts Program Store.
Sponsoring Organization: Other Organizations: American Indian Perspectives on Thanksgiving Teaching poster, designed for educators and students in grades 4-8, examines the deeper meaning of the Thanksgiving holiday for American Indians through the themes of environment, community, encounters, and innovation. Appropriate for use at any time of the year, the poster includes information on teaching about American Indians and ideas for classroom activities. (10 p. PDF)
Sponsoring Organization: Thanksgiving - Primary Source Set Study photographs, paintings, letters, and official proclamations to discover historical perspectives on American Thanksgiving holiday traditions, beginning with the pilgrims who came to North America on the Mayflower. The resources in this primary source set are intended for classroom use. Includes a Thanksgiving teacher's guide (6 p. PDF), and photographs and manuscript materials drawn from the Library of Congress' online digital collections, and a link to primary source analysis tools.
Sponsoring Organization: Dust Bowl Migration -- Primary Source Set Photographs, recorded music, and song lyrics document the daily ordeals of rural migrant families from the Great Plains during a decade marked by both the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression. The resources in this primary source set are intended for classroom use. Includes a Dust Bowl Migration Teacher Guide (8 p. PDF), photographs, and sound recordings collected at California migrant labor camps, and a link to primary source analysis tools.
Sponsoring Organization: Association for Cultural Equity - Teaching Resources Educational resources and activities for use in the Pre-K through 12 classroom, based on archival materials in the Alan Lomax Archive. Can be incorporated into the curriculum areas of history, geography, language arts, social studies, visual arts, music, and dance. Includes lesson plans and streaming video for four of Alan Lomax's films in the American Patchwork series: "Appalachian Journey;" "Dreams and Songs of the Noble Old;" "Jazz Parades;" and "The Land Where the Blues Began." The site also includes classroom activities with streaming audio, focused on a variety of musical genres and characteristics, with examples recorded by Lomax in Spain, Italy, the Bahamas, England, Scotland, Trinidad, and the American South.
Sponsoring Organization: Veterans' Stories: Struggles for Participation - Primary Source Set Primary source materials from the Veterans History Project Collection at the Library of Congress that support teaching about U.S. history and social studies. Women and people of color have often had to overcome obstacles in order to participate fully in the U.S. armed forces. In these materials, veterans tell their stories of discrimination and struggles for recognition in the U.S. armed forces through interviews, memoirs, and photographs. Materials on the site include an accompanying Teacher Guide (8 p. PDF), and audio and video recordings. For the Veterans' History Project, go to: http://www.loc.gov/vets
Sponsoring Organization: Baseball: Across a Divided Society - Primary Source Set Sheet music, video clips, images, trading cards, and photographs tell the story of how baseball emerged as the American national pastime. Featured primary source items show Americans from different backgrounds and social experiences embracing the sport. A Teacher Guide (7 p. PDF) provides background on baseball in the context of American social and economic history, including a focus on minority participation, and a discussion of baseball in both urban and rural contexts.
Sponsoring Organization: Civil War Music - Primary Source Set Sound files, sheet music, photographs, letters, and maps help students better understand the American Civil War through the study of the popular song, "When Johnny Comes Marching Home." The resources in this primary source set are intended for classroom use. Includes a Civil War Music teacher's guide (6 p. PDF), and photographs, audio recordings, maps, and manuscript materials drawn from the Library of Congress' online digital collections. There is also a link to primary source analysis tools.
Sponsoring Organization: Hispanic Exploration in America -
Primary Source Set Maps, drawings, a sound recording, paintings, written documents and presentations outline the role of Hispanic explorers in the discovery, exploration, and development of America. The resources in this primary source set are intended for classroom use. Includes a Hispanic Exploration in America teacher guide (7 p. PDF), and audio recordings, maps, and other manuscript materials drawn from the Library of Congress' online digital collections. There is also a link to primary source analysis tools.
Sponsoring Organization: |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Back to
Top
| ||||