| A Walk on the West Side |
| Lesson on the infrastructure needed to make a community of successful, sustainable, and livable neighborhoods. Students document their explorations of the local community and make scale maps. |
| Provider: Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 9–12 |
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| Lewis & Clark: Mapping the West |
| Website about the history of the Lewis and Clark expedition. Includes an extensive retelling of the expedition, Lewis and Clark maps and other primary resources, related activities and lesson plans, and biographies of historic figures. |
| Provider: National Museum of Natural History |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
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| Workers at the White House |
| Documentary of White House workers including butlers, maids, doormen, chefs, plumbers, and others. Watch and listen to the workers’ experiences as they give the historical home and landmark a more personal narrative. Targets grades 6-12. Video available for purchase. |
| Provider: Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
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| Map of the Plains Indians |
| Printable map showing the territories occupied by various Plains Indian tribes as well as many other tribes in what is now the continental United States. Useful for anyone wanting to learn more about Native Americans. |
| Provider: National Museum of American History |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
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| Between Fences Teaching Guide |
| Lesson plan exploring how the fence is entwined with American history, politics, industry, and daily life. Four lesson plans look at differing concepts of property between Native Americans and English colonists, the “Texas Fence Cutting War” to explore how industrialization generated tensions between participants in old and new economic systems, how barbed wire solved the Great Plains “fence crisis,”and Robert Frost’s “Mending Wall.” |
| Provider: Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service |
| State Standards: View state standards for this resource |
| Grade(s): General audience |
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| Community Dreams |
| Online exhibit exploring the impact that the development of coast-to-coast railroads had on life in America. Railroads made it possible for towns and cities to flourish away from the coasts and waterways that had been America’s main transportation networks, creating new social, political, and economic ties. This is the second section of the online exhibition America on the Move. |
| Provider: National Museum of American History |
| Grade(s): 9–12 |
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| Crossing the Country |
| Online exhibition exploring how the idea of driving across the country captured the imagination of millions of Americans. Even before roads stretched across the nation, well-publicized cross-country automobile trips advertised car manufacturers, promoted political causes, and proved that the automobile could be more than an expensive toy. This is the seventh section of the online exhibit America on the Move. |
| Provider: National Museum of American History |
| Grade(s): 9–12 |
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| Delivering the Goods |
| Online exhibit showing how the completion of transcontinental railroads in the 19th century changed American agricultural practices. Railways linked farms to the wider commercial world by making it possible to ship food farther and faster before it spoiled. This is the third section of the online exhibition America on the Move. |
| Provider: National Museum of American History |
| Grade(s): 9–12 |
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| First Person Account: Jose Maria y Mendivil |
| Video about Jose Maria Tornel y Mendivil, Mexico's secretary of war, who warns that Mexico's loss of Texas may lead to other territorial losses to the United States. This historical recreation accompanies The Price of Freedom: Americans at War online exhibit and is meant for use with the “Conflicting Voices of the Mexican War” lesson plan. Targets grades 2-12. |
| Provider: National Museum of American History |
| Grade(s): All grades |
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| Inland Waterways 1820-1940 |
| Section of the online exhibit On the Water: Stories from Maritime America, focused on how the vast U.S. system of rivers and lakes has helped people settle the land and create communities. Learn how commerce on the Great Lakes, canals, and rivers played an important role in the development of the country and about the professions and technologies that developed to safely navigate the perils of these vital waterways. |
| Provider: National Museum of American History |
| Grade(s): 4–8, 9–12 |
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