Pockets from the Past: Daily Life at Monticello
What do the contents of pockets say about their owners? TAH teachers model strategies for examining and questioning artifacts.
Smithsonian American Art Museum: "Inventing a Better Mousetrap"
Take a look at artifacts from the past—what might they be? Teachers model questioning objects in this Smithsonian exhibit on inventions.
The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum: Personalizing History
Make large-scale historic events like the Holocaust personal with artifacts and stories from individual human lives.
Penn Museum Online Collections
Exploring the material culture of Native Americans in North and South America? Search this museum’s online collections for artifacts!
The Short-Handled Hoe
History is imbedded in the smallest objects. In this lesson, students examine how a simple farming tool connects to the work done by United Farm Workers.
Teaching History with Archaeology
Teach your students to “think archaeologically” as well as historically!
Valerie Tripp on the Power of Everyday Objects in Teaching History
The meaning of an object is its story.
Integrating Material Culture into the Classroom
Use this guide developed by PBS and the Antiques Roadshow to teach about material culture.
"Join or Die"
Think the “Join or Die” snake first appeared during the American Revolution? Think again!