Classroom Activities
I have designed this unit for five 90 minute class periods.
Activity One: Creating an Artist Journal
This activity will introduce my students to the topic of art and artists as well as set up their own Artist Journal, a place in which they will corral all of the unit's activity components and complete the processing activities. It is important for my students to feel at home with the idea of art prior to beginning the unit, to connect themselves to art as a natural part of life.
Essential Questions for Activity:
- Pablo Picasso stated that "All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up." Are you all artists? How will you know?
- How can you become part of a painting or image?
Materials:
sheets of construction paper (a variety of colors) that have been cut down to 8 x 10 inches; copy paper; scissors; stapler; role cards-one for each student, evenly mixed; small copies of painting for each student as well as an electronic copy to show on board: American Progress by John Gast
The Process:
First, we will discuss the Essential Questions for this activity as a class. I will allow time for students to share their ideas about these questions in their small learning groups before sharing as a whole. It is important for them to think about the questions prior to tackling the activity so that everyone feels has had an opportunity to tap into any prior learning or experiences. In my class, students are already at tables of four, so partners or small group will work best for me. We will then discuss together, with me leading the students to the idea that everyone is an artist in some way and that art is a creative expression of self. Not only do they all have an inner artist, but they all have the ability to appreciate and learn from art and image.
We will then discuss how many great artists have kept Journals in which they record their ideas (both visual and written), creative expressions, doodles, etc. I will explain that for our purpose, we want to critically analyze great works of art from our American past in order to learn more about an historical event: westward expansion and manifest destiny.
They will create an Artist Journal of their own to keep track of activities and the processing of those activities, as well as notes, handouts, procedures, etc. I will have students choose a piece of construction paper and fold it in half to create a book cover that is 8 inches tall by 5 inches wide. They will then attach at least twenty sheets of copy paper inside their book jacket and staple at the very outer left edge.
I will then introduce the Unit's topic of manifest destiny in art and image through a very iconic work of art, John Gast's American Progress. (1872, N and R Enterprises) I will post this visual on a large screen (Smart Board) and have the class participate in a Talking Statues activity. First, I will randomly hand out pre-assigned role cards to all students, a card for each individual or group of characters portrayed in the painting. Some of the cards will have a star on them to indicate those who will come to the front of the class when asked. (The topic of westward expansion falls later in our school year and by this time my students are quite used to presenting in front of their class and most feel quite comfortable. If this were at the beginning of the year, I would pre-select those students that I knew were comfortable in front of the class regardless of any situation.) I then will ask everyone to quietly read their role to themselves and locate themselves in the painting, allowing a little time for them to look back at the painting and imagine what their character is thinking, feeling, and/or seeing. Students with the stars on the back of their Role Cards will then be asked to come up to the painting, stand near where their character(s) are, and freeze into a similar position as those characters.
I will then function as an "on-the-scene" reporter. As I touch each character, they will come to life and answer my questions and/or those of the audience/class. This form of tableau is highly structured yet nonthreatening and can be done as quickly or as leisurely as your time allows. Leaving the painting on the big screen, I have students go back to their table groups with their personal copy of the painting (or one from a text to look at). Students will then glue their copy of the painting onto the opening page of their Journal. Underneath, they should write a five sentence summary of what they see, hear, feel, touch, taste, and/or smell in the painting below it as a caption.
Activity Two: Critical Analysis of Images Using Levels of Questioning
Essential Questions for Activity:
- How do we "see" art? How do we "read" art?
- How do artists, either of the time period of an historical event or before or after, impact the way we view the event?
Materials: American Progress by John Gast (on SmartBoard), handouts of Levels of Questions
The Process:
I want my students to be able to closely examine the concept of manifest destiny as a motivation and justification for westward expansion in the United States, as well as the impact of this on a specific group of Americans. How did these motivations and justifications impact the portrayal of the Native American in American art and culture? I need to teach them strategies for critical analysis in order for them to determine the role that manifest destiny and westward expansion have played in our national history. Therefore, I will introduce the overarching Essential Question of this unit of study: How was the Native American portrayed by artists during the era of manifest destiny? How was this a reflection of the zealous desire for expansion west by the European-Americans? I will remind them that they will come back to this question over and over again during this unit.
I will now introduce the students to the Levels of Questions. I will give them an instructional handout with the following information on it:
Level I: Gathering Evidence Think of yourselves as detectives, and regard your image as a scene from a time or a place that you need to investigate. At this level, the detective's task is to look for evidence—details that may reveal something about the scene. The evidence should be physical—material objects that you could actually touch if you were able to step into the scene.
Examples:
- What do you see in this image?
- What key details, or pieces of evidence, do you see?
- How would you describe the scene and the people?
- What do you hear or smell in this scene?
Level II: Interpreting Evidence Now begin to interpret the details or evidence you have gathered at the "scene". Formulate ideas or make inferences based on the existing evidence, such as the time period, place, or people in the scene. As you share your ideas with your team, state your interpretation, then follow up with a "because" statement that cites your supporting evidence. Typically, questions at this level are what, when, where, and who questions.
Examples:
- What do you think is the approximate date of this scene? Give one piece of evidence to support your answer.
- Where might this scene have taken place? Give two pieces of evidence to support your answer.
- What do you think is happening in this scene? Be prepared to support your opinion with two pieces of evidence.
Level III: Making Hypotheses from Evidence At this level, you will use the evidence and your own critical thinking skills to determine the "motives" behind the scene you are investigating. Make hypotheses about what is happening and why it is happening. Typically, questions at this level are why and how questions that require higher-order thinking skills such as justifying, synthesizing, predicting, and evaluating.
Examples:
- How do you think these people were feeling at this time and place?
- Why do you think these people are engaged in this activity?
- How is the image a reflection of the events of manifest destiny period of America?
I will allow time for students to work through each level of questioning with the American Progress painting, making sure to point out the underlying Essential Question for the unit again as a consistent framework for their understandings. I will have them work in groups at this point in order for better scaffolding and more harmonious class building. Once they have had ample time for analysis, I will ask them if their summary of the painting from yesterday's activity has changed. They should now add to or change their summary, rewriting an entirely new one.
Activity Three: Jigsaw Art
Essential Questions for Activity:
- How was the Native American portrayed by artists during the era of manifest destiny? How was this a reflection of the zealous desire for expansion west by the European- Americans?
- How do we "see" art? How do we "read" art?
- How do artists, either of the time period of an historical event or before or after, impact the way we view the event?
Materials:
A different painting from the westward expansion era for each small group of students, laminated and cut into four parts each, numbered on the back; a handout that lists each of the art work titles, artist name, and date of painting; music of your choice
The Process:
I want the students to be able to collaboratively practice the skill of questioning learned in Activity Two. I will prepare enough 4 x 6 size copies of a variety of different works of art for each small group, each image laminated and cut into four equal pieces. (Please see the comprehensive list of art works towards the end of this Unit) I will have them randomly choose a part of a painting and, using their Levels of Questions strategy from Activity Two, they will analyze their piece of the painting/image. I will have the students complete this part of the activity independently and will assist when needed. This will challenge them and intrigue them, possibly even frustrate them at first. However, I want them to see that there are many things we can get out of an image even if we cannot see all of it at once.
Once they have had enough time to work through their Levels of Questions with the one piece, I will have them mingle to music in order to find the other three parts (and people) to their image. Once they have found them, they will then form a new group and sit at a new table. I will have the students put their four pieces together to form the entire art work. They will then share their findings thus far as a group and begin working through the Levels of Questions again as a group, this time with the entire painting.
I will then give the students a handout that lists all of the paintings by the numbers on the back of their image. They now will have the artist name, the title of the work, and the date that it was created. The students will now be given time to briefly research the artist and the art work. Students will then rejoin their original table group and present their research of their painting. (If short on time, I will give the research as a homework assignment and have them present at the beginning of the next class.)
Activity Four: Direct Instruction of Content Background
Essential Questions for Activity:
- How was the Native American portrayed by artists during the era of manifest destiny? How was this a reflection of the zealous desire for expansion west by the European-Americans?
- How do we "see" art? How do we "read" art?
- How do artists, either of the time period of an historical event or before or after, impact the way we view the event?
- Was Manifest Destiny justified?
- Why did Americans of European descent feel so compelled to expand the country westward?
- What might 19th-century Native Americans have said about Manifest Destiny? Why would they have taken this perspective?
- What would it have been like to walk in the shoes of a 19th-century European American settler in the West? Of a Native American?
- Did artists of the nineteenth century and their art impact how Americans perceived the Native American?
Materials:
A comprehensive PowerPoint visual and informational lecture
The Process:
I will make sure that the Essential Question is posted, as always, and go over it again if necessary. Students should be thinking about the major Essential Question throughout every lesson.
As students take notes in their interactive Artist Journal, I will talk them through a comprehensive PowerPoint lecture about America's period of manifest destiny and westward expansion, as well as the artists and artistic rendering of that era. The PowerPoint should focus on how the Native American was portrayed in art by artists and the underlying reasons for these European-American depictions. It is here that the students will view numerous other important art works of the period and subject, many from the holdings of the museum we will be visiting. We will practice our analysis strategies together as we build excitement to see the original and authentic works that we will soon be interacting with at the museum. I will use the Content Background information below for the information and art works shown in the PowerPoint. The Teacher Resource section has a comprehensive list of works that may be used as well.
Activity Five: Take it to the Museum
Materials:
Permission slips and transportation requests, students' Artist Journals, small pencils, sack lunches brought by students
The Process:
We will go over all of the procedures and behavior expectations for visiting the Gilcrease Museum. I want the visit to be an enriching one with many opportunities for mastering the content and Essential Questions of the unit. Making sure that students understand the unique behavior expectations when at an art gallery full of priceless art works is essential to them receiving the most profound learning experience we can hope for. Our museum funds our visit completely and we owe it to their staff to be as prepared and forearmed as possible.
Prior to departing for the museum, I will give my students a handout that they will glue into their Artist Journals. The handout will have a list of paintings/sculpture/engravings along with the artist name and date. Their task will be fully explained and modeled: find at least eight works on the handout and analyze each of them using the Levels of Questioning strategy, also glued into their Artist Journals. These are the art works that they will be examining in order to determine the Essential Question: how have artists of the nineteenth century interpreted the concept of manifest destiny? How have they portrayed the Native American within the realm of westward expansion? Students will record all of their thoughts, questions, etc. into their Artist Journals.
I will also allot some time for students to view any of the other artworks in order to determine their favorite work from any of the rooms visited at the museum. This they will note in their Artist Journal with an explanation of why it is their favorite. The trip will be rounded out by a leisurely picnic lunch on the lovely museum grounds.
Activity Six: Assessment: Fishbowl Discussion and Poem for Two Voices
Materials: Artist Journals,
The Process:
As a way to debrief and assess at the same time, I want my students to participate in a Fishbowl discussion. We will begin with the Essential Question: How was the Native American portrayed by artists during the era of manifest destiny? How was this a reflection of the concept of manifest destiny and the zealous desire for expansion west by European-Americans in the nineteenth century? I want my students to be able to organically discuss all that they have learned from class activities and primarily the visual art works. I will have them copy down the following Discussion Guiding Questions:
- During our unit on art of the manifest destiny period, what has surprised you?
- What has interested you about this topic and unit?
- What other questions do you have about this topic that have not been answered for you?
- What connections do you see with other events or ideas?
I will allow the students some time to address these questions in their Artist Journals. This may be done quietly and independently or collaboratively. As there has been so much collaboration up to this point in the unit I will have them work through these questions independently.
Once they have had ample time to gather their thoughts about our Essential Question, I will have volunteers form an inner circle, pulling their chairs over in the middle of the classroom. The other students will pull their chairs up around that circle, facing the backs of the discussion group. As discussion group members share and make points, they must support their ideas by going back into their Artist Journal and referring directly back to the art works. The observing group will record statements from the discussion with which they agree or disagree. They also will keep tabs on how many points each discussion makes. By keeping tally, they remain engaged in the discussion and are ready to enter it when they want to. The Fish Bowl is a favorite in my classroom as the students feel empowered by their roles as well as by knowing they may choose when to go in and out of the discussion circle. I will act as a facilitator only, staying completely outside both circles, gently redirecting if necessary only occasionally. My goal is that they are provided ample opportunity to get to the heart of the topic: the image of the Native American was created by artists who were caught up in the acculturation stemming from the causes and effects of the manifest destiny-driven westward expansion of the United States in the 19 th century. That this resulted in a marginalization of the Native American is a tragedy borne of nationalistic success.
After the Fish Bowl discussion, I will have my students work with a partner to complete a Poem for Two Voices. They will choose to write one part of the poem: the voice of the Native American in the second half of the nineteenth century or a white frontier settler. They will write the lines of the poem for the character they chose separately. Together with their partner they will decide what both characters would say together. One character's thoughts are on the left side of the poem, the other character's thoughts on the right side, and both characters speaking together in the middle. When the rough draft is complete, I will assign them to complete a final draft for the next class and present the poem in choral form to the class.
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