The Smithsonian’s gateway to more than 1,200 free educational resources, www.smithsonianeducation.org, now includes a feature that aligns those resources to standards of learning in every state. Simply by entering the name of the state into the search engine, teachers can find lesson plans, virtual exhibitions, photographs and artworks, and databases of research information that apply to their curriculum. The state standards are correlated to all subjects—from language arts and social studies to mathematics and technology. The Smithsonian will regularly update both the resource bank and the state-standards correlations on the Web site, which was recently honored with a 2007 Webby Award in the category of Cultural Institution Web sites.

“The Smithsonian’s educational resources reflect the authority of the nation’s largest museum and research complex,” said Stephanie Norby, director of the Smithsonian Center for Education and Museum Studies. “Every teacher now has access to these relevant, often highly visual materials that appeal to students at all ability levels.”

A sixth-grade teacher in Texas, for example, can find 43 Smithsonian resources that address Texas Standard 6.13(B): The student is expected to describe types of equipment and transportation needed for space travel. In New Hampshire, a state standard for eighth grade stipulates that students draw connections between the life sciences and careers. A New Hampshire eighth-grade teacher can find 10 Smithsonian resources that make those connections.

Many Smithsonian offerings address a crucial language-arts skill—how to “read a wide range of print and non-print texts.” The Smithsonian Center for Education and Museum Studies, for example, has created several lesson plans in which students learn to “read” a painting. The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian offers a lesson plan in which students use all five senses to study historical photographs as “texts.” These and hundreds of other lessons can be quickly accessed at www.smithsonianeducation.org/educators.

The Smithsonian Center for Education and Museum Studies provides leadership in education at the Smithsonian and works to increase its impact as a national educational organization.