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From the Smithsonian, lesson plans and resources for teaching and learning about American culture, art, history, and other topics.

Teaching and learning resources on U.S. time periods, from the Department of Education.

This article, written for students, is about NASCAR, a popular auto racing sport in the United States. It offers the history of the sport, interesting pictures, and a piece on the importance of a pit crew. There is also a profile of Jeff Gordon, a popular and winning driver. Also included are a list of NASCAR vocabulary and websites of interest, an overview of the sport and its rules, and information on three legendary drivers.

"Animating Your Instruction: Using Comics and Graphic Novels in the English Language Classroom" explores the popularity of illustrated stories among teachers and students alike and offers suggestions on how to use them to “animate” your classes.

This session, ""What was it about?" Supporting Text Retelling and Response," discusses the importance of scaffolding techniques in post-reading tasks and showcases a tool, the story retelling wheel, which provides support for learners while giving them opportunities to be creative and take ownership of their reading.

The theme of health offers a variety of language-learning possibilities. This three-part lesson plan for young learners can be adapted to other audiences. It includes a reading, a dialogue, and a listening script. The first lesson asks learners to analyze lifestyle choices and give advice. The second lesson takes students to a sporting goods store, where they consider the language they need to talk with a sales clerk. The third lesson is about food choices, including ways to prepare foods. A follow-up activity researches how a famous athlete stays healthy.

This session, "Unleashing Your True Teaching Power: Interaction in Online Learning Environments," demonstrates how to engage learners in online environments by transforming traditional classroom tools.