K-12 Classroom Resources

K-12 Classroom Resources

Design has the power to change the world. Explore lesson plans and activities to help you empower your students to view the world with optimism and apply design literacy in their daily lives. Also visit Professional Development Resources for strategies and approaches on how to integrate design in your classroom. For information on Design Field Trips, visit School Programs.

Design Spotlight: A New Year of Connection

Get ready for the New Year with engaging activities that encourage students to connect with their friends, families, or themselves.

Design A Dinner Party

Grades: 3-6

Did you know that how we experience a place or event can be designed? Learn how you might design a dinner party experience for your friends and family.

Design A Book Portrait

Grades: 7-8

Make a self-portrait using books and objects from around your home that represent you!

Create A 3D Letter

Grades: 9-12

Explore spatial writing and create a 3D letter about a place that you want to share with someone special.

Related to Making Home—Smithsonian Design Triennial

Check out resources related to Making Home—Smithsonian Design Triennial. Visit often to find out what’s new.

Video: What is Home?

Grades: 2-12

East Jordan Middle/High School students, faculty, school leadership and community members answer the question what is home?

Video: Comidad, Conversación Y Comunidad

Grades: 6-12

Learn how the East Jordan, Middle/High School students engaged with community members through culinary and linguistic exchanges.

Youth Designing for Communities

Grades: 6-12

Explore how students from East Jordan Middle/High School in Michigan used the design process to collaborate with Spanish-speaking families and strengthened community connections.

Related to recent exhibitions

Check out resources related to recent exhibitions, including Acquired! Shaping the National Design Museum, An Atlas of Es Devlin, and Give Me A Sign: The Language of Symbols. Visit often to find out what’s new.

The Language of Symbols: Video Series

Grades: 1-7

These videos explore symbols as vital communication tools in our daily lives, constantly evolving to meet new needs and users.

An Atlas of Es Devlin: A Creative Curriculum

Grades: 8-12

Inspired by the ways Devlin sustains and adapts her artistic process, this 8-part curriculum is designed to foster creative thinking.

Faith Ringgold: Posters & Protest

Grades: 9-12

Analyze political posters designed by artist, author, and activist Faith Ringgold, and design your own protest poster about a civil rights issue today.

Design Process & Principles

Learn and practice the steps of the design process from flexing your creative muscle and brainstorming, research and observation, to prototyping.

Design it Yourself: Design A Prototype for a user

Grades: 2-5

Learn to think like a designer by prototyping a solution engineered for a specific user.

Design it Yourself: Practice Design Observation

Grades: 2-5

Follow along to practice observation, used in design, art, and science.

Design Terms & Strategies

Grades: 6-12

A simple one-page reference sheet of design terms and strategies.

The Design Process

Grades: 2-12

A simple step-by-step outline of the design process.

Explore more on Smithsonian learning lab

Discover more activities to try in your classroom on the Smithsonian Learning Lab. This digital platform inspires creativity and exploration with enriching materials. Access over 2 million images, recordings, and texts from the Smithsonian’s 19 museums, 9 major research centers, the National Zoo, and more.

Designing for Identity and Inclusion in Your Community

Grades: 2-6

Explore icons, symbols, and logos to create a design of your own to represent a community you belong to.

Design a Zine: Family Cornerstones

Grades: 6-8

Inspired by the way zines have amplified diverse voices, this activity explores how to craft a zine in celebration of our communities and identities.

Cas Holman: Good Toys Make Good People

Grades: 6-8

Explore how Cas Holman designs tools for imagination and empowers children through play.