Free American History Lesson Plans, Online Exhibits & Activities from the Smithsonian

The National Museum of American History offers a lot for homeschoolers in their Smithsonian’s History Explorer.

Here, you’ll have access to historical documents, interactive exhibits, lesson plans, and virtual tours of museum artifacts.

Here are a few places to get started:

• Lessons & Activities: here you’ll find lesson plans and interactive exhibits, such as this journal written by an American teenager, who was interned in the Japanese-American camps during World War II.  I got lost in his touching, patriotic, and brave story.

Some of these topics are current and some are historical – you’ll be able to filter through them to find the ones that fit your homeschool.  The lessons & activities may be searched by grade, historical era, or by subject.

• Interactives & Media: here you’ll find videos and online activities.  Browse through a mid-18th century merchant’s ledger, or listen to a civil rights leader in the ’50s.
• Artifacts: here you’ll find American historical items, from Thomas Jefferson’s portable desk to the Sony ‘Walkman’ ( I had one of those!)

If you’re teaching American history, this is a great place to begin, as there is much more to browse and research.