This 12 day, 45 minute English Language Arts unit for 2^nd grade focuses on using artwork from Howard Pyle and Mary Cassatt to build critical thinking skills. This unit will be taught during the daily ELA block in an integrated setting. Students will look at art and think critically by asking questions, researching facts, discussing related topics, connecting learning with life experiences, promoting empathy, and writing opinion reflections. Students will examine and compare masculine images of pirates and feminine images of mothers and participate in collaborative conversations describing key details of the images to deepen their understanding of gender differences.

(Developed for English Language Arts, grades 2; recommended for Social Studies and English Language Arts, grades 2-4)