our curriculum
Live It Learn It offers a robust menu of 24 academic programs at some of the most interesting and important sites in the nation’s capital. We work closely with educators at our partner sites to develop rigorous and engaging activities that are interdisciplinary, age-appropriate, and aligned to Common Core standards.
Students use maps, critical thinking, reading and writing skills to discover information about DC’s history and culture to determine what makes it so unique.
Students take a journey through time as they learn about the challenges, triumphs, and contributions of Latino and families throughout American history.
Students explore the inner workings of the local DC government, including its branches and local leaders, gaining an understanding of the democratic process.
Students investigate symbols, words, and primary sources to understand how Frederick Douglass and Thomas Jefferson shaped the concept of freedom in the US.
Students launch into an exploration of flight as they study the Wright Brothers to better understand how the process of discovery and the evolution of innovations revolutionized human aviation.
Students uncover the factors that ignited the American Revolution and examine the differing perspectives that fueled the fight for independence.
Students explore watershed ecosystems in DC as they learn how to become stewards that can protect and preserve the Anacostia River and our environment.
Students think like zoologists throughout the Amazonia House observing species and learning how different adaptations help animals survive in unique habitats.
Students investigate the Civil War and how multiple “Freedom Defenders,” from Abraham Lincoln to Frederick Douglass to Sojourner Truth, fought to end slavery.
By embarking on a musical journey to explore the vibrant rhythms of go-go music, students delve into its history and trace its roots back to the djembe drum of West Africa.
By hearing stories from diverse individuals who lived in DC during the Civil War, students gain better insight into how those encounters influenced President Lincoln’s views on the Civil War and emancipation.
Students take a deeper look into Congress and the function, history, architecture, and art that can be found within the halls of the U.S Capitol Building.
Students embark on a journey to explore the planets within our Milky Way Galaxy to learn more about the solar system’s celestial bodies and their unique characteristics.
Students delve into the complexities of the Civil Rights Movement by investigating the experiences of participants at the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
Students create self-portraits to reveal and celebrate their identity after learning how artists tell stories of people through composition, symbolism, and expression.
Students trace Native Americans' enduring presence in shaping the nation’s identity through images and stories that bridge the past with contemporary American life.
By becoming storytelling detectives, students analyze personal narratives to discover how authors use storytelling to make their tales interesting before using these same moves to tell a story of their own.
Students (or perhaps, spies) will travel back in time to the summer of 1781 to understand the different tactics that were used to win the Revolution.
All plants have roots, stems, and leaves, but students must think like botanists in order to discover why plants in various environments adapt to look a certain way.
Through Jacob Lawrence’s paintings, students consider how historical events (from the Great Migration to the Civil Unrest of 2020) can create positive change.
Along the National Mall, students investigate monuments and memorials to understand how they can tell the story of important moments in our country’s history.
Students learn how African American athletes, politicians, and celebrities have created change and have overcome obstacles in the presence of challenge.
Thinking like geologists, students explore gems and mineral specimens of every size, shape, and color of the rainbow to understand how rocks and minerals are part of our everyday life.
Interested in partnering on a new unit?
Whether you are a local museum, environmental program, or the like, we invite you to reach out if you have a collaborative opportunity in mind.