This teaching collection was made to accompany the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum lesson plan "Saris, Kimonos, Togas & Smocks: Exploring Clothing Across Cultures." In addition to saris, kimonos, togas, and smocks, huipils and kanga are used as examples of culturally-specific clothing. The lesson asks students to complete think about the cultural importance of clothing, and then to research a specific type of clothing and build a presentation around that research. Students might use this collection as a source for images for their presentation, to inspire research topics, or as a common basis for discussion with their peers.

The period after the Civil War, known as Reconstruction, had lofty goals for reuniting the nation and preserving the new rights given to African-Americans. For a time, these goals were achieved and three important amendments were made to the Constitution. However, by 1876 Reconstruction was considered over and much of the progress that had been made was undone. This collection of detailed prints and cartoons highlight many different aspects of Reconstruction and asks students to consider the overall result of Reconstruction. Students can analyze each one using the embedded questions.

This collection uses a visible thinking strategy called "See-Think-Wonder" from Harvard's Project Zero to help students analyze a Civil-War era sketch to determine context and perspective. After completing the routine, students will learn more about the image and the artist who made it, as well as view art representing a very different point of view. For more on this strategy, see the "Notes to Other Users."

This collection consists of advertisements created for the Container Corporation of America in the 1950s. Each advertisement pairs a quote from a "Great Idea of Western Man" with a work of original art. After reviewing the collection, students will create their own art work to reflect a "Great Idea" that they think is important and meaningful in the world today.

<p>How did the writing of the Emancipation Proclamation reflect the political tensions of the time? This collection reviews the writing, impact, and legacy of the Emancipation Proclamation through videos, informational texts, and art. Students can work through the lesson independently and their understanding of the Emancipation Proclamation will be assessed via quiz questions. Students will be able to determine the short-term and long-term impacts of the Emancipation Proclamation.</p>

<p>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 version's 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.</p><p>Tags: compare and contrast, change over time, "Ain't I a Woman?", abolition, slavery</p>

<p>Mr. Rogers is quoted as saying, “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping." This collection will give students a framework to "look for the helpers"--the people who are trying to change society for the better during difficult times. Students will be introduced to a variety of strategies and tactics used in social movements, and consider how these might apply to an area of their own interest.</p><p>Included is a chart listing possible strategies for social movements that encourages students to find examples of tactics/strategies from the collection and determine the goals of each.</p><p>Opportunities for extension include:</p><p>Identify a social movement that relies on more than one strategy (most do). Can you create a "recipe" listing the various tactics used to create a successful movement?</p><p>Who is involved? Choose one of the examples from above to study further. Who was involved in that particular tactic or strategy? Consider different occupations (teacher, writer, church leader, student, mother) and also different demographics (gender, race, age, ethnicity, etc.)</p><p>What's missing? Are there strategies that you have encountered in your research that don't fit into this chart?</p>

<p>This collection includes artifacts and images that represent the Five Pillars of Islam. Students should complete the chart (included as the final resource) by first explaining what each pillar is. Then, after looking through the collection, they should identify an artifact that represents each one and explain why.</p><p>Tags: Islam, Muslim, religion, Muhammad, object analysis, practice, pilgrimage, hajj, fasting, Ramadan, Shahadah, zakat, tithe, salat, prayer</p>

<p>This is a topical collection of resources related to Jainism. It includes sculptures, manuscripts, and paintings from the Smithsonian Institution's collection as well as links to outside web resources for further background information. Some questions to guide thinking are embedded throughout. </p><p>As they explore the collection, users might consider how Jain art and architecture reflect the main beliefs of the religion.</p><p>tags: ancient, India, religion, Jain, tirthankara, Mahavira, faith, Digambara, Svetambara</p>

<p>How do religious rituals and practices reflect the core beliefs of a religion? This collection creates a virtual field trip to a Shinto shrine. Shinto is the indigenous religion of Japan, based on cultivating a positive relationship with the kami, or spirits present in the world. The religion of Shinto is centered around four affirmations. They are:</p><p>-Tradition and the family</p><p>-Love of nature</p><p>-Physical cleanliness</p><p>-Matsuri (festivals and ceremonies in honor of the kami)</p><p>Guiding questions include:</p><p>How are the four affirmations expressed in a visit to a Shinto shrine?</p><p>How does a shrine visit compare to visits to other houses of worship?</p><p>Tags: religion, culture, Japan, Shinto, shrines, analysis, compare contrast</p>

<p>This topical collection is meant to serve as a starting point to explore the concept of god in Hinduism. Students can review the images in the collection for clues to help them answer questions like:</p><p>-How are gods portrayed in relation to other gods, people, or animals?</p><p>-Do there seem to be one god or many gods? Do they seem to be male or female? </p><p>-What common symbols or poses are present? What do you think they mean? </p><p>-What kinds of powers do the god figures seem to have? In what ways are they like human beings and in what ways are they different? </p><p>The final resource in this collection is a video that gives insight into the Hindu concept of god. After exploring this collection, encourage students to choose one aspect of Hinduism that they would like to research further.</p><p>tags: India, religion, Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, trimurti, Ganesh, avatar</p>

<p>This student activity teaches students about the Chinese creation story of Pangu and introduces them to other common symbols in ancient Chinese mythology. </p><p>Guiding questions include:</p><p>-How does this story compare to other creation myths you may know? Are there common elements?</p><p>-In what way does this story reflect a distinctly Chinese culture or system of belief?</p><p>Tags: Pan gu, Panku, creation, origin, myth, compare contrast, yin yang, Taoism, Daoism, Buddhism, Buddhism, Confucius, Laozi, dragon, qilin, turtle, phoenix, ancient China, religion</p>