Organized by the Museum for African Art, New York, and presented online by the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, Grass Roots is a history of 300 years of African basket making, brought by African people to the American South. The grasses that grow in the marshes along the Atlantic coast in the Southern United States, where African slaves were brought to work on rice plantations, were ideal for making coiled baskets, similar to the ones they'd made in Africa. The plantation system of rice growing required large numbers of several particular shapes of work baskets, including flat trays for winnowing, or removing chaff from the grain, and carrying baskets. The web resource includes an 86-page teachers' guide with activities for students from grades 3 - 12, and additional images of the baskets.