Picture Writing

Activities:

Unit Questions

Students will be provided the following Unit Questions in the beginning of the unit, which will guide their participation, on a document shared by students, teacher, and parents. Students will periodically be asked to write on these questions:

1. How can historical fiction enhance historical understanding and vice versa?
2. How does one closely read complex images, graphs, and nonfiction texts to illuminate historical fiction, and how can these skills help each other?
3. What metaphors, both literary and visual, are fundamental to this novel, and how do other literary devices and elements interrelate to create this story?
4. How do outside images and texts, as well as your own research, help with understanding a historical novel, and prompt future historical research?
5. If we find hypocrisy in stories of America's past, can we still trust our ideals to build a better future?

Image/Text of the Day

During the second and third weeks of the month-long unit on Forge, daily warm-ups of the image/text of the day will be presented on the computer projector. For these short exercises, students will follow the "observation, interpretation, analysis" model, following the work of Serafini and Youngs described above. They will be instructed to respond at first by observing without interpretation, "turn and talk" to a neighbor or tablemates, individually write again - this time with interpretations linked to Forge, and finally discuss and analyze with the whole class.

Two types of images will be used in the warm-ups: first, images or videos of historical artifacts (sometimes in use) and second, paintings or other artworks of the period. Some of the images that could be introduced as warm-up are of muskets (stills or video), forged slave shackles and chains, daily activities or clothing of slaves and masters, a colonial compass, colonial blacksmithing, military medical equipment including field surgery equipment, a chart showing the order of the battles of the war, or a chart showing the order of major wars fought by the U.S. so that students really get how long ago this is (for students who confuse the Revolutionary and Civil War, Civil Rights, and the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries). Any of these might be combined with a short nonfiction reading and then followed by a quick interpretive writing assignment tying the image and nonfiction material back to Forge.

The Revolutionary War era artworks that will be presented include several of John Trumbull's famous paintings of Revolutionary War heroes and battles; paintings or etchings depicting the contrasting lives of slaves and their masters, particularly when a "founding father" is shown; political cartoons of the era; and portraits of the actual people in Forge (see the list in Image Resources). A single artwork will be viewed first as an opportunity for observation only. After individual writing and "turn and talk," students will be given interpretive questions to answer that refer back to Forge. For example, with David Edwin's Apotheosis of Washington, an etching that sets a draped George on a cloud with angels, "How do you believe Curzon (the main character) would view this etching if he or saw it after the war, given his experiences with Washington at Valley Forge? Give examples from the text." For the painting reproduced at the top of this unit, "Look for evidence of African Americans in this depiction of a Revolutionary War battle. What do you think it says about their presence in battle? How does this representation compare to Curzon's experience at Saratoga and Valley Forge?"

David Edwin, after R. Peale, Apotheosis of Washington, 1800, Yale University Art Gallery.

Find the Visual Metaphors

Some of the historical artifacts described in the Image/Text of the Day also serve as visual metaphors in Forge. A particularly powerful one is the title of the novel, Forge, which is also an unfamiliar term to many of my students. YouTube videos of blacksmithing from the era and photos of forged slave shackles begin this exercise. After an observation-only period, students will be asked to suggest their own connections to the novel; then they will be presented with a writing prompt, "In what ways is the title of the book a metaphor for the encampment (Valley Forge), and for the transformations occurring in the soldiers over the long winter there? Explain your answer with examples from the book." ³⁵ Other recurring visual metaphors include Isabel's seeds, which Curzon carries with him from his adventures in the first book Chains, and a surveyor's compass, which serves as a metaphor for the main character losing and finding his way. Some students are also unfamiliar with this instrument. This could become a "Metaphor of the Day" exercise for one week of the unit.

Visualize the Text

Students will be asked to draw part of their gist some of the time, and more often as part of their choices of a "significant moment." They must also explain why they "see" the event or setting the way they do and provide quotes from the text to back it up.

Observing Primary Sources

One of the concepts to teach in this unit is the difference between primary and secondary sources in historical texts and research. The primary source quotes at the beginning of each chapter offer an opportunity to practice close reading as warm-ups. Other primary sources, such as photographs of the "Book of Negroes," an official list created by the British after defeat that listed all slaves who had "earned" freedom and could move to British land or colonies, will be used as an opportunity to "read" an image closely. Runaway slave ads from the era will also be observed and interpreted.

Read All About It/The British War for Freedom

The focus of this unit is on the images, not the nonfiction supplements to Forge, but a few could be mentioned. Our district furnishes readings on military medical practices of the times, musketry, women in the military, and an article from a small reader on slavery titled, "Fighting for Britain in the American Revolution." ³⁶ With information from Simon Schama's book (see Bibliography), this last article could be paired with video from Schama's Rough Crossings series and with images from the "Book of Negroes" (see primary source section above), and a longer writing assignment with this prompt: "Should Curzon have tried to join the British army instead of the American one? Why or why not? Use your knowledge of his character, the events of the book, our supplemental readings about the British and slavery, and your imagination to support your answer."

Picture Valley Forge

Half way through the book, students will be asked to collect as many visual descriptions as they can of the conditions and setup of Valley Forge during the winter of 1777/8. They will share these in groups, then in pairs, and they will be given computer time to research images to match these descriptions. Following models of publications of the times, they will then create an illustrated newspaper article or a flyer about Valley Forge. Since newspapers of the day were illustrated only with line drawings, they will turn photos or paintings into drawings to accompany their articles. They must use descriptive words from the novel, adding only a few extra words to connect them.

"Picturing a Different America" Assignment

(1.) Letter from Valley Forge or (2.) Postal Wormhole to 1778. Students could be offered both choices and asked to choose one, or both could be required.

(1.) Choose a character from the novel, Forge, such as Curzon, Isabel, Eben, or another. As that character, write a persuasive letter to the signers of the Declaration of Independence, such as Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Rush, and Ben Franklin, urging them to revise the document to include freedom for all African-Americans. (Since many of the characters in Forge are illiterate, you can imagine using a "scribe," a literate member of society, who volunteers or whom you pay to write down a letter as you dictate it.) Use details from both (a) your character's life (use examples from the book, and then you can make up something else) and from (b) the supplemental materials you have been provided to support your arguments. Be sure to empathize with the founding fathers' ways of looking at the world in 1778 as you try to convince them to change their worldview on slavery, defy their peers, and revise this founding document. Use a "voice" consistent with your 1778 character as well. In addition to your persuasive arguments, include near the end your contrasting visions of the America that your character can imagine developing if the founders do decide to abolish slavery at this early moment in our country's history and the America that could develop if they do not. Use literary devices such as sensory imagery or visual metaphors to bring these visions to life. End with a call to action suggesting the words they should use in the revised Declaration. Visual extension: Illustrate your two contrasting visions of America if the signers of the Declaration did or did not take your advice to revise the document.

(2) Write another persuasive letter, this time assuming a postal wormhole that can pass mail from the present, the 2010s, directly to George Washington more than two hundred years in the past, 1778. Use (a) the experiences of Curzon, Isabel, Eben and others in Forge, (b) information from the supplemental materials you have been given, and (c) your knowledge of American history after 1778 or the way our society is shaped today, to persuade George Washington to grant slaves freedom when and after serving in the army, to take a stand against the other founding fathers by opposing slavery, and to release his own slaves immediately. Be sure to use examples and support from all three kinds of sources listed above. Be sure to empathize with Washington's dilemma as a military leader who needs the support of slave-owners to survive and as a husband whose family members depend on slaves for their lifestyle. In addition to your persuasive arguments, include towards the end the contrasting visions of the America you can imagine developing if he does and if he does not decide to take a stand against slavery at this early moment in our country's history. Use literary devices such as sensory imagery or visual metaphors to bring these visions to life. End with a call to action suggesting the first practical actions he should take. Visual extension: Illustrate your two contrasting visions of America if George Washington does or does not take your advice.

More Activities

Numerous other activities could be created in a four-week unit, for example: Our Founding Slaveowners: Developing Empathy for Complex Men. Defend the choices of one of the slaveowners from the novel, using Forge and your knowledge of the culture of the times from our readings and from Social Studies. Compare the Classes: Write about what you observe in visual comparisons of the daily life of the masters, gentry, middle class, farmers, "house" slaves, and field slaves. Consider Flexible Groupings: Combine the students in different ways to work through their close-readings of image/texts. Finding the African American Presence in Revolutionary America (based on a famous book of nearly this name). We could treat our daily warm-ups for a week on finding the small African American faces in Trumbull's painting, "The Battle of Bunker Hill" or in the names on lists, etc. This could almost be seen as a scavenger hunt.) Re-viewing History: Rewrite Part of the Book from a Different Character's Point of View. Isabel and Eben are vivid characters in Forge who participate in many of the events of the novel. Rewrite the middle and end of Forge from Isabel's, Eben's or some other character's POV; include historical allusion and vivid literary devices (metaphor and sensory imagery). Illustrate one scene from your revised story showing Isabel's or Eben's point of view.