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# Educator Resources: Art and Design 

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The Smithsonian's goal for art resources in grades PK–12 is to provide a well-rounded and inclusive artistic education that fosters creativity, critical thinking, cultural understanding, and an appreciation of the arts among students. To achieve these objectives, the Smithsonian employs a range of resources and media tailored to different grade levels, including a variety of activities in different artistic mediums, techniques, and cultural contexts. Also included are interdisciplinary resources connecting art with Smithsonian content including history, science, and literature.
Grades PK–2 (Early Learners/Primary)       Smithsonian Learning Lab  Talk With Me Toolkit: Music
Listen to a beatboxer make music and experiment with making different sounds with your voice with tips from this Smithsonian Music resource.

*Grades PK–1. Learning Lab collection containing conversation prompts, videos, and hands-on activities. *
       Smithsonian Learning Lab  Let's Make and Play: Coins in the Bank
Craft a piggy bank and fill it with paper coins from around the world!

*Grades PK–2. Learning Lab collection containing step-by-step activity, reflection questions, and extension ideas.*
       Smithsonian American Art Museum  Craft: Paper Lantern
Make and decorate a paper lantern inspired by an artwork. 

*Grades 1–5. Learning Lab collection containing 4 common craft supply activities, instructional videos, and artworks for inspiration.*

More Resources...
Grades 3–5 (Elementary)       Smithsonian Learning Lab  ArtBots!
Create your very own art-making robot out of everyday household materials and simple electronics. 

*Grades 3–8. Learning Lab collection featuring step-by-step instructions for beginning circuitry project, instructional video, PZ thinking routine, and scaffolded lesson plan. *
       Smithsonian Open Access  How to Make a Collagasaurus!
Learn about history, art, culture and science while creating a fantastic creature with the Smithsonian's Open Access collections. 

*Grades 3–8. Learning Lab collection featuring how-to activity guide and Open Access resources. *
       Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden  About the Artist (For Kids)
Get to know the artists who made some of your favorite artworks with kid-friendly, interactive artist biographies, available entirely online.

*Grades K–5. Website that includes artist biographies, related online resources, and extension activities*

More Resources...
Grades 6–8 (Middle School)       Smithsonian American Art Museum  Drawn to Art: Ten Tales of Inspiring Women Artists
Discover ten inspiring stories about trailblazing women artists in the this series of short online comics.

*Grades 3–10. Collection of short biographical comics. *
       Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden  Make It: World in a Box
Use your imagination to construct your own three-dimensional box inspired by artist Joseph Cornell.

*Grades 3–8. Learning Lab collection containing step-by-step craft instructions, thinking routines, and extension ideas. *
       Smithsonian Center for Arctic Studies  Making Connections: Athabascan Lifeways and You
Visit with Dene people from Alaska, look closely at their cultural belongings cared for by the Smithsonian Institution, learn about their ways of life, and make connections. 

*Grades 3–7. Learning Lab collection featuring downloadable activity guide, interviews, Athabascan crafts, and extension activities. *

More Resources...
Grades 9–12 (High School)       National Portrait Gallery  Open Studio: Word Portrait
Create a portrait that combines drawing and words.

*Grades 6–12. Video tutorial. Simple drawing supplies.*
       Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum  Design a Poster
Design a poster, using elements such as color, line, and composition.

*Grades 6–12. Learning Lab collection containing looking exercises, contextualization, design challenge, and extension activities.*
       National Museum of African American History and Culture  Henrietta Lacks: The Mother of Modern Medicine
Look closely at the composition and learn more about the context of this portrait of Henrietta Lacks, the mother of modern medicine.

*Grades 9–12. Learning Lab collection containing looking exercises, contextualization, and conversation prompts.*

More Resources...
Extended Learning
Resources designed for use by K–12 teachers, afterschool program providers, families, and individuals interested in lifelong learning.
       National Portrait Gallery  Reading Portraiture 101
In this portraiture guide by the National Portrait Gallery, educators will learn how to teach students to spot visual clues in portraits and respond to them, and use portraits as a springboard for a conversation in their classrooms.

*For educators. Learning Lab collection containing portraiture definitions, elements of portrayal, looking activities, thinking routines, curatorial videos, and activitiy worksheets.*
       Smithsonian American Art Museum  Integrating Social Studies and the Visual Arts
Sample "learning to look" strategies from the Smithsonian American Art Museum for combining visual arts with social studies. 

*For educators. Printable pdf with looking strategy examples and connected resources.*

More Resources...
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