During this electronic field trip, experienced museum educators will use the artifacts and stories in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's permanent exhibition, The Holocaust, to help students explore the Nazi rise to power and how countless individuals, traditionally relied upon to uphold the public good, became the active participants in civil rights violations and mass murder. Through the lens of history, students will then be asked to explore the consequences of their own daily decision making, both on their immediate environment and the world at large.

Native people have lived on the lands and waterways along the North Pacific Coast for more than 10,000 years. Their stories and traditions link them to the natural world in which they live. Through songs, dances, and ceremonies, the Native people of the North Pacific Coast honor their past and celebrate their present. Start your visit at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. where you will hear stories of eleven different Native communities from the North Pacific Coast. See how they present their own stories and give voice to their own world views through the museum's collection.

Imagine being forcibly relocated from your home, your school or your family to a bleak prison surrounded by barbed wire and armed guards. This was not a nightmare from Nazi Germany but an American injustice endured by nearly 120,000 persons of Japanese ancestry living in the United States following the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. Thousands of innocent Japanese Americans were forced into isolated internment camps because of racial prejudice and wartime hysteria. Remarkably, they created courageous communities where patriotism prospered, loyalty to the U.S. did not falter, and they played baseball to sustain their pride and morale.

A cosmic story unfolds in the Moon, Meteorites, and Solar System Gallery as Smithsonian scientists explain how space "artifacts" help us understand the origin and shape of the Earth, moon, and solar system.

Join the staff at the world famous Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City to experience the works of renowned African-American artist Jacob Lawrence. For more than 65 years, Jacob Lawrence was both an impassioned observer and storyteller who explored the diverse aspects of the African-American experience.

The fine art of sports is portrayed in broad-brush strokes across the canvas of American culture. From advertising to motion pictures and literature to the lyrics of a Top 40 song, ours is a nation endowed by an uncommon creativity found on the field of play. Through the paintings and sculptures of America's best-known talents - such as Warhol, Rockwell and Neiman - our social history comes alive in a colorful palette of fastballs, fashion and folk art.

Families everywhere collect and pass on stories to preserve their traditions. For many Native American communities, these stories represent a unique perspective on history and culture.

During the electronic field trip, students visit the National Museum of the American Indian - where stories are brought to life through dances, music, baskets, weavings, and other objects of everyday use. The Museum's Cultural Interpreters, representing a variety of Native American tribes, will each share stories from their own communities using objects dance, and music traditions. Students will experience the diverse cultures among Native American peoples and have a better understanding of how many indigenous people preserve, share, and practice their traditions today.

Written in Israel between the years of 250 BCE and 68 CE, the first Dead Sea Scroll fragments were discovered in 1947 by a Bedouin shepherd looking for his lost sheep in a cave. This electronic field trip, from the Field Museum in Chicago, IL, will examine the scrolls alongside eighty artifacts from the Qumran.

Discover a whole new world beneath your feet and under the prairie. Based on the exhibit, "Underground Adventure" from the Field Museum in Chicago, IL, this program allows students to watch museum staff shrink to a half-inch tall and walk through a soil environment and stand face-to-face with the organisms that live there.

Many students are familiar with the feats of Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, and Mickey Mantle, but what about the accomplishments of baseball stars such as Minnie Minoso, Sam Jethroe, and Masanori Murakami? Their courage as Latino, African-American, and Asian athletes helped make baseball one of the first great melting pots in professional sports. As a result, diversity and athleticism remain time-tested teammates on the field of excellence.

Join Smithsonian scientists and explore coastal ecosystems in Central America, along the coast of Belize. Here thousands of small islands, called cays (pronounced keys) lie in the lagoon between the mainland and barrier reef. Mangrove forests dominate this coastal zone, along with sea grass beds and coral reefs. Discover how these three ecosystems are inextricably linked, and how the distribution of mangroves parallels the distribution of coral reefs worldwide.

Join Smithsonian scientists and explore coastal ecosystems in Central America, along the coast of Belize. Here thousands of small islands, called cays (pronounced keys) lie in the lagoon between the mainland and barrier reef. Mangrove forests dominate this coastal zone, along with sea grass beds and coral reefs. Discover how these three ecosystems are inextricably linked, and how the distribution of mangroves parallels the distribution of coral reefs worldwide.

This lesson plan is designed to help 5th grade students explore the events and effects of the Battle of Bunker Hill during the American Revolutionary War through research of informational text, video presentation and pictures, with the ultimate goal of understanding the effect of the battle on the war. The lesson is best delivered in an in person whole group setting, but could be modified to be used in an online format. Time Frame: 45 - 60 minutesPhoto by Melanie Nixon

The student will learn about Ute culture by investigating the Bear Dance tradition.

Students will use predicting, questioning, commenting, and connecting to the text as strategies while they read. They will also practice retelling the story to a partner to demonstrate comprehension. This detailed lesson plan is based on the "Bear and Deer" story booklet adapted by Merry Adams; Cultural Consultants: Genevieve Fields and Chrissandra Murphy. The Native American Indian Literacy Project was made possible by funds from the Utah State Office of Education (USOE). It is a joint effort of the USOE and San Juan School District Media Center.  Lesson Plan Author: Patricia Helquist

In this lesson plan, students will create a digital story that answers the question: "Who should own Bears Ears?" Students will use a case study from the Utah History textbook as research to make their argument, and use tools such as Google Slides and Screencast O Matic to create their digital story.UT Standard 1.5:Students will describe the cultural change and continuity of at least one of Utah’s current sovereign nations as it has responded to changing political, social, and economic forces. Students will use a variety of resources that may include written primary and secondary sources, oral histories, photographs, artifacts, and art. (economics, civics)

Take Bee-Bot coding to the next step by creating a community map using squares in a 3x5 grid and then coding Bee-Bot to reach different places on the map. 

In this webinar by iCivics and the Center for Civic Education, Henry L. Chambers, Jr., Emma Humphries, and Mike Fassold explain the long and troubled history of voting rights in the United States and share tips for teaching representation and the expansion of suffrage.

Mike Fassold, an educator from Fishers Junior High School in Indiana, explains how he teaches the expansion of voting rights using the We the People middle school curriculum. Fassold is followed by Professor Henry Chambers, the Austin E. Owen Research Scholar & Professor of Law at the University of Richmond, who discusses the 2020 Census, apportionment, and gerrymandering. Finally, Emma Humphries, the Chief Education Officer at iCivics, explores compelling new infographics and Web activities on the census, gerrymandering, and voting that will engage your students.

We still celebrate the birth of the great statesman, Benjamin Franklin, more than 315 years later. What do you know about Ben Franklin? Go to Ben’s Guide to the U.S. Government for help with the answers.