Learning Activity

Jacob Lawrence Migration Series See, Think, Wonder

Subject Area

Arts Education
Social Studies

Grade(s)

6

Overview

Students will analyze visual art from Jacob Lawrence's The Migration Series using the digital resource and make connections to The Great Migration of the 1920s. 

This activity was created as a result of the Arts COS Resource Development Summit.

Arts Education (2017) Grade(s): 6 - Visual Arts

AE17.VA.6.12

Interpret art by discerning contextual information and visual qualities to identify ideas and meaning.

Unpacked Content

UP:AE17.VA.6.12

Vocabulary

  • Artistic ideas and work
  • Formal and conceptual vocabulary
  • Innovation
  • Investigation
  • Two-dimensional
  • Three-dimensional
  • Experimentation
  • Conservation
  • Craftsmanship
  • Linear perspective
  • Environmental responsibility
  • Prior knowledge
  • Museum
  • Gallery
  • Curator
  • Digital
  • Horizon Line
  • Brainstorming
  • Research

Essential Questions

EU: People gain insights into meanings of artworks by engaging in the process of art criticism.
EQ: What is the value of engaging in the process of art criticism? How can the viewer "read" a work of art as text? How does knowing and using visual arts vocabularies help us understand and interpret works of art?

Skills Examples

  • Select examples of how geographical, cultural, and historical perspectives are represented in visual artworks.
  • Compare and contrast the ways that personal aesthetic choices in visual arts influence personal choices.
  • Examine and describe the influence of art in a community.
  • Research examples of arts-related activities in communities around the world.
  • Describe what the global community would look like or be like without art.
  • Demonstrate the responding process, using, background knowledge, personal experiences, and context when examining artworks and determining personal meaning.
  • Examine and discuss how the geographical, cultural, and historical perspectives represented in visual artworks influence personal choices (economic, political, and environmental) and personal aesthetic criteria.
  • Compare attributes of artworks in the classroom, school, and community, or artworks of a specific culture, place, or time, and describe how they influence culture, ideas, and events.
  • Demonstrate the responding process, with attention to the elements and principles of design, to interpret and describe works of visual art.
  • Analyze how the uses of traditional and nontraditional mediums affect the mood of an artwork.
  • Demonstrate various presentation and responding processes for a work of art. Evaluate visual artworks by analyzing their structure and interpreting meaning using various criteria.

Anchor Standards

Anchor Standard 8: Interpret intent and meaning in artistic work.
Social Studies (2010) Grade(s): 6

SS10.6.4

Identify cultural and economic developments in the United States from 1900 through the 1930s.

Unpacked Content

UP:SS10.6.4

Vocabulary

  • Harlem Renaissance
  • Jazz Age
  • suffragettes
  • suffragists
  • flappers
  • personal credit
  • stock market crash
  • Immigration Act of 1924

Knowledge

Students know:
  • The cultural and economic developments of the early 1900s.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Characterize the impact of notable people and events that shape our world.
  • Compare multiple points of view to explain economic policies.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Major cultural and economic changes took place in the US during the early 1900's.

Phase

Before/Engage
Learning Objectives

Learning Objectives

  • Students will interpret the meaning of artwork from a specific time period.
  • Students will make connections to the Great Migration using artwork from the time period. 

Activity Details

The students will use the digital resource to analyze the artwork from Jacob Lawrence's The Migration Series. Have students browse the entire collection to determine an overall theme or mood of the collection. Then, have students choose or assign the students one piece, in particular, to analyze more closely. Students will use a graphic organizer to record their analysis.

See, Think, Wonder Graphic Organizer

In the first row, record what you see - just your observations. In the second row, record what you think about what you see - make interpretations and connections to what you see and what you already know. In the third row, record what you wonder - any questions you still have about the artwork or photograph.

 

 

 

Assessment Strategies

Assessment Strategies

Students will write a concluding statement about the artwork that they analyzed and its connection to the Great Migration of the 1920s.

See, Think, Wonder Graphic Organizer

Variation Tips

It might be helpful to explicitly teach the parts of the See, Think, Wonder Graphic Organizer before having students complete the graphic organizer on their own. Practice with an image of your choosing and show the students the differences between their observations, what they see, and their connections, what they think about what they see.

Background and Preparation

Background / Preparation

The teacher should be familiar with the Great Migration of the 1920s and the Harlem Renaissance. 

The teacher should make sure students have access to a computer and test the internet connection before the lesson to make sure students will be able to access the digital resource. 

The teacher should make copies of the See, Think, Wonder Graphic Organizer before the lesson.

Digital Tools / Resources

Jacob Lawrence Migration Series Collection Online
http://lawrencemigration.phillipscollection.org/the-migration-series

Approved Date

Owner (Author)

asiahester1
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