A wonderful resource on the lives and work of American authors, Louisa May Alcott and Samuel Clemens. You will get a unique look at them through the study of their portrait and their writing. Includes two great lesson plans.

This collection looks at an image and phrase used widely in abolitionist materials, and at how that symbol was adopted and adapted by Sojourner Truth and/or other women's rights activists. Students will examine an abolitionist medallion and then learn about Sojourner Truth through a short reading, image analysis, and video. They can then review two versions of Sojourner Truth's speech and consider why the second version, as reported by another suffragette, Frances Gage, is markedly different. This collection is designed to be used as a short stand-alone lesson on the topic of the abolition movement and its intersection with the women's movement in the United States.

Introduce students to environmental issues by studying a time of rapid global warming that occurred 50 million years ago. Lessons, video segments and interactive activities will engage students as they learn about average annual temperatures during that time. They will use their mathematical skills to calculate percentages as they explore the interactive activity.

In a lesson in this issue of Smithsonian in Your Classroom, students do the work of a team of paleontologists studying a time of rising carbon dioxide and rapid global warming during the Eocene epoch. By examining fossils of tree leaves, and then incorporating the findings into a mathematical formula, they are able to tell average annual temperatures 55 million years ago. Really!

Through interactive and engaging learning site, students become the scientists and learn how to determine earth's temporal past.

A two-lesson unit using the Smithsonian collection of currency to teach students about the first American money. Other resources are given and all materials are downloadable.

This site provides information on American inventors Benjamin Franklin, Robert Fulton, Eli Whitney, Thomas Jefferson, Isaac Singer, Wilbur Wright, Thomas Alva Edison, Elias Howe, and Alexander Graham Bell. It offers pictures from and links to exhibits in the various Smithsonian museums in Washington, D.C.

Brief biographies of 7 significant people of Civil War-era America. Each has a portrait from the National Portrait Gallery. Biographies on: Henry Clay, Thaddeus Stevens, John Ericsson, Robert E. Lee, Abraham Lincoln, Julia Ward Howe, and Ulysses S. Grant.

A useful article outlining the important features of a puppet and how to successfully use them in your classroom as a learning tool. A fun look at puppets around the world is also included.

This lesson plan has students read primary materials from the Smithsonian collection written by the Wright brothers, and compare and contrast them to secondary sources, such as newspaper stories from the next day. There is background information, the lesson plan, resources and finally documents all available on the site.

Interact with a work of art to discover how symbolism is portrayed with different characters and elements.

Teachers can download this comprehensive teaching package in which students work like marine biologists studying the North Atlantic right whale. As part of this learning exercise, students will research field photographs of one of these endangered species, along with sighting records, in an attempt to track the whale's movements. Students will appreciate the excellent photographs and background information. All accompanying handouts are included in the lesson package.

This lesson is great for young learners who like to collect things. It gives you ideas of ways to teach such concepts as classifying, sorting, arranging, multiplying, graphing, and measuring with collections of simple objects.

Five lesson plans, complete with videos, primary sources, and document-based questions (DBQ) to encourage students to utilize primary sources and incorporate thinking and writing into daily learning. Topics include: Artifact & Document Analysis, Compare & Contrast, Four Corners/Jigsaw, Graphic Organizers, and PERSIA (Political, Economical, Religious, Social, Intellectual, Artistic).

A lesson in which students gain empathy for people who lived during a historical time period by writing a first-person story with experiences that would have happened during that time.

Smithsonian Education presents Reviled and Revered: Toads, Turtles, Snakes, Salamanders, and Other Creepers and Crawlers. Get the facts about reptiles and amphibians. Learn about their unique characteristics, as well as explore why we love or hate them. Students will appreciate the excellent photographs and background information. Teachers will love the series of five lesson plans, complete with student handouts, discussion questions, lesson extensions, curriculum standards, and a resource list.

A lesson unit for Grades 4-9 on how the ocean affects climate and weather. Includes worksheets (also in Spanish) and maps.

Teachers can download this teaching package that looks at light and symmetry through the use of mirrors. Students will enjoy the nine mirror challenges, along with the hands-on activities described in the lessons. Teachers will appreciate the student handouts provided, as well as the list of resources.

Learn about their unique characteristics, how they hunt, and reproduce. Students will appreciate the excellent photographs and background information. Teachers will love the series of three lesson plans about spiders, complete with student handouts and resources.

Start with the questions all students ask: How big is the universe, how far away are the planets and stars, how did they form and when, how do they move and why? Build on their natural curiosity. The Smithsonian, in cooperation with NASA, brings you lesson plans to help students discover answers and questions that can't be answered!