Smithsonian Education

http://smithsonianeducation.org/educators/resource_library/resource_library.asp

The website is full of diverse tools for teachers. I selected this website because I think it offers a lot of versatile tools that are not normally available to teachers within the school or classroom due to availability or budget. The website is broken down into four useful components: For Educators, Professional Development, Lesson Plans, and Resource Library.

In the "Four Educators" link, there are multiple links in which you can find resources that pertain to a variety of subjects, specific grade levels, as well as standards for your state. For example, the website gives you the opportunity to select "African Culture" as the subject, grades 9-12 as the grade level, Illinois as the state, 11th grade as the grade, and social studies as the subject. This way teachers have the ability to focus their lessons in regards to grade and state standards while still having a lot of latitude in which to decide which subjects to explore and teach. This will be an outstanding tool for teachers who are looking for some structural guidance when attempting to plan a lesson. While teachers may have a subject or theme in mind, they may need some inspiration to lead them in the direction of what the content and assessment should entail.

In the "Professional Development" link, there are a variety of links and videos that allow teachers to participate in virtual workshops and conferences which can expand and supplement their knowledge of a variety of topics. For example, there is a workshop for high school teachers which shows them how to use a museum exhibit as a basis for student writing. There is another opportunity for teachers to get involved in a virtual workshop in order to learn how the museum resources can be used to bring new ideas and activities within the classroom so that their lessons can come to life regardless of the activity. This will help to keep lessons innovative by using the latest technology as well as the plethora of resources that are available, regardless of whether or not they are readily available within the classroom.

The "Lesson Plans" link offer educators a variety of diverse lesson plans to use with an assortment of topics. Educators have the opportunity to pick a subject from: Art and Design, Science and Technology, History and Culture, Language Arts, and Idea Labs. From there, teachers are given the opportunity to focus the search for lesson plans by key word and grade level. Lesson plans range from "How Americans Elect Their President" to "Small Worlds: Stamps as Story Tellers." This shows the wide array of lesson plan topics. These lesson plans are especially useful because they focus on primary sources, photographs, virtual tools, cooperative learning techniques and the use of technology by students. Also, the lessons are often interdisciplinary so that each subject benefits from the other. For example, there are writing and reading activities in the social studies lessons and there are art and design projects in language arts. There are numerous lessons that stretch "outside the box" (i.e.: lessons that are not regularly taught within the classroom) which also allows for innovation within the classroom.

Finally, the "Resource Library" provides educators with an array of resources in which they can search for resources by subject, key word, grade level, and state standards. This link is also unique because it allows teachers to search through a large number of different museums, such as the National Museum of American History of the National Museum of African Art, which offer a countless number distinctive virtual resources. The possibilities are endless with these resources at your finger tips! Take advantage of these innovative tools that can add excitement and depth to the lessons in your classroom. The Smithsonian Museum is a worldly institution which can be used to facilitate diversity and global knowledge within the classroom. Teachers can extend education beyond the four walls of the classroom using this website and enrich the lives of their students.