Art & Education (Teaching with Historic Places)

These four lessons support understanding the significance of Tempe, Arizona-an American World War II Heritage City. Highlights of the first two listed lessons include military training, education, civilian contributions, and volunteerism. The third lesson shares on the Papago Park German prisoner-of-war camp in Tempe, which became well-known for a large prisoner escape. All lessons highlight specific contributions and connect to larger home front themes with primary sources.

Latino, African American, Native American and Indigenous peoples, and LGBTQ communities create murals to share their identity and history. While murals all share the large format and public presence, they depict a variety of artistic styles and cultures. When we look at these murals, we can see how communities celebrate their accomplishments, memorialize their pasts and advocate for the future.

This lesson is based on The Octagon in Washington, D.C., a National Historic Landmark. It is among the thousands of properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

This lesson is based on the Minute Man National Historical Park in Concord, Massachusetts. It is among the thousands of properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

This lesson is based on the Washington Monument, one of the thousands of properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Understand why George Washington was so revered during his lifetime and beyond, and learn why it took 100 years to complete this famous monument in his honor.

The Munemitsu family had four children; Seiko, who went by Tad, Saylo, Akiko “Aki”, and Kazuko “Kazi.” The children were “Nisei,” second-generation Japanese Americans who were American citizens. In 1942 they attended their local schools in Westminster, California. After Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066. The Munemitsu children were forcibly relocated to Poston, Arizona. This lesson is based on articles from Entangled Inequalities.

Welcome to historic Arthurdale, West Virginia, a New Deal village built from the ground-up for coal miners and their families during the Great Depression.

This lesson is part of a series teaching about the World War II home front in Los Alamos County, New Mexico designated as an American World War II Heritage City. The lesson contains primary sources, a secondary source, and pictures. The sources provide insight on Native American contributions to the home front in Los Alamos, like Dr. Floy Agnes Lee, in contrast to the usually limited employment opportunities for Native Americans. There are also resources on Pueblo pottery.

This lesson explore the history of Weir Farm where artist Weir painted landscapes.

Discover how and why industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie chose libraries to be among his greatest benefactions to the U.S., and assess the impact of libraries on American society.