Lesson Plan
Smithsonian Institution

Watching Crystals Grow

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Amazing science can sometimes happen right before your eyes! The class gets cozy as they watch crystals grow. They use Epsom salts, rocks, and food coloring to create crystals. They'll observe the entire process, documenting every step...
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Revolutionary Money

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Examine paper money from the American revolution! Historians study the paper bills and discuss the history of money. How has money changed over the times? Activities are included. 
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Good Citizens

For Teachers 1st - 5th
Students consider what qualities and values make a good citizen. Students compare the requirements to become a U.S. citizen in 1896 to current requirements. Students create a country and write out the qualities a good citizen would possess.
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What Does It Mean To Be a Good Citizen?

For Teachers K - 8th
Young scholars study citizenship and what it means to be a good sitizen. They create their own country and determine its citizenship rules. They work together to create a visual representation of what makes a good citizen.
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Scientists Write!

For Teachers K - 12th
Learners use a journal to record observations. They make notes about what research may be needed to answer questions that have come up in the field and sketch or make connections in the curriculum. They research bioinformatics and...
Worksheet
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Cartoons for the Classroom: Herblock at 100

For Students 8th - 12th
In this current events worksheet, students analyze political cartoons by Herb Block and respond to 3 talking point questions.
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The Cuban Missile Crisis

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students reflect on the events that lead up to the Cuban Missile Crisis in the early 1960s.  For this history lesson plan, students explore the conflicts between the United States and the Soviet Union revolving around missiles in...
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The 36th President: Lyndon B. Johnson, US History

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers research and analyze Lyndon B. Johnson's achievements as the 36th President focusing on his legislative program. They consider how the passage of time can influence a President's reputation.
Worksheet
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English Lesson Plan on Barack Obama

For Students Higher Ed
In this English worksheet, students read about Barack Obama. Students engage in a variety of reading and listening comprehension activities related to the article on Barack Obama.
Lesson Plan
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WWI and Twenties & Thirties

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Learners study economics and timelines of events to understand changes in America.  For this Twenties and Thirties lesson, students navigate Internet sites to research famous reformers.  Learners recognize the economic changes...
Worksheet
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Seventh Grade Social Studies Test

For Students 7th
For this Georgia social studies assessment worksheet, 7th graders respond to 30 multiple choice questions based on 7th grade social studies skills. 
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Plants and Animals: Partners in Pollination

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students describe the complementary relationships between pollinators and the plants they pollinate, identify adaptations that flowers have developed to "encourage" pollination, and create and draw their own "designer" flowers.
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Mineral Scavenger Hunt

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students complete a scavenger hunt worksheet as they find examples in their classroom, at home, etc., of minerals. Excellent worksheet!
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Create a Classroom Exhibit: Rocks and Minerals

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students bring in rocks and minerals from home. They observe them and describe them carefully, completing a worksheet. Finally, a classroom exhibit is created.
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Letters from the Japanese American Internment

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Learners examine letters of Japanese-American children during internment in World War II. They discover what it was like in the camps and how they were treated once they were released. They also view photographs of the camps.
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Civil Liberties And National Security

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Learners experience profiling first-hand through creation of a Class ID, and daily persecution of a selected group of students. They examine the tension between the concern for national security and for the preservation of civil liberties
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Children in the Fields

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders research Hispanic child labor in California's agricultural period. They create dioramas reflecting the lives of migrant farm workers and political cartoons as produce crate labels, They illustrate farm scenes and hold a...
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Plants and Animals, Partners in Pollination

For Teachers 4th - 7th
Students participate in multiple hands-on activities to explore reproduction and pollination. In groups, using a cotton swab and powder, students simulate being pollinators and plants. They name the parts of the flowers and the function...
Worksheet
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Reading Comprehension

For Students 3rd - 5th
In this reading comprehension worksheet, students read facts about the origin of blue jeans and assess reading and vocabulary comprehension. Students answer nine multiple choice questions.
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Rocks and Minerals

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Learners bring rocks and minerals from home to investigate in the classroom. In this rocks and minerals lesson plan, students observe all the rocks and minerals brought into the class and answer 7 questions about the features of the...
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Under the Spell of Spiders

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Young scholars examine spiders. In these spider lessons, students will view spider images and live spiders to determine physical characteristics, habits, and habitats. Young scholars will examine fantasy and folklore about spiders to...
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"ART ZOO 'Blacks in the Westward Movement', 'What Can You Do with a Portrait', and 'Of Beetles, Worms, and Leaves of Grass'"

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students study black history, examine portraits and portrait making and create their own portraits, and  investigate their natural environment. This humanities lesson provides a text that can be used to teach lessons in black...
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The Westward Movement

For Teachers Pre-K - 8th
Students study the westward movement through examining stamps. For this westward movement lesson plan, students draw conclusions, determine cause and effect relationships and examine the westward movement of the United States by...
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How Size Shapes Animals

For Teachers Pre-K - 3rd
Learners investigate how size affects large and small animals differently. In this animal lesson plan, students determine how size affects different animals by constructing their own animal out of marshmallows. Once learners create...