Smithsonian Teach it Forward Part 1

The past two days I have had to opportunity to attend Teach it Forward, a workshop/professional development provided by the Smithsonian Museum of American History. This workshop was designed to share with teachers the resources available from the museum and to share how to incorporate primary sources, objects, etc. into lessons. Below is some of the awesome things we got at the 2 day workshop.

A- The binder full of lessons ideas and information for us.
B- USB drive bracelet. This holds digital copies of the hand-outs they gave us.
C- Hardtack, and hardtack cutter (similar to this one), plus the recipe to make it
D- Raw cotton. This was used to show the cotton gin and the progression of how it evolved.
E- Flint and steel. This was used to start fires.
F- A book called The Flag Maker which is part of the museums Our Story collection.
G- Replica of the Star Spangled Banner
H- A CD called Voices of the Civil Rights Movement. They showed us how to use this in lessons with our students.

Any idea what this is? What it's used for?
It's a steel and flint!

This workshop was great. We got to see some of the resources first hand and even got a private tour of the museums Star Spangled Banner exhibit. This was interesting because we got to hear how the flag was pieced together and preserved. Plus we had a curator who walked us through the exhibit and was able to speak as to why the exhibit was set up the way it was. If you get the chance to go down to D.C. this is a MUST stop on the list of things to do.

This is part 1. Watch for part 2 coming later this weekend.