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Intermediate Level: Grades 4-5 Intermediate Standard: Artistic Creativity, Performance, and Expression
View and discuss the unit's 28 images, which date from the 12th to the 20th century and represent a variety of media.
Use arts terminology to describe the visual elements of the unit's images, to express ideas about the images, and to identify the artistic traditions and styles representative of the diverse cultures contributing to the history of art in America.
As a member of a small group, select one of the unit's images and make a presentation about it to the class, explaining why the image was chosen and feelings inspired by the image. (See Preview Activities, "Getting To Know You.")
As a member of a small group, research facts about one of the unit's images (e.g., subject, medium, technique) and present the facts to the class. (See Preview Activities, "Getting To Know You.")
Study a selected image to observe its details, list the observations, and then write a description of the image. (See Preview Activities, "What's Important?")
Research the definitions of various types of art (e.g., painting, sculpture, collage), and explain the definitions to class members in terms they can understand. (See Preview Activities, "Types of Art.")
Study a selected image to find clues to write responses to questions about what the image is made of, how it was made, what it was used for, and what it reveals about the people who made and used it. (See Preview Activities, "History.")
To complement study of Henry Lewis's St. Anthony Falls, listen to a reading of a report about Lewis's sketching trip on the Mississippi River, discuss how a similar contemporary trip would be alike and different, and write and illustrate a journal about the latter. (See Extension Activities, "The American Land: Changing Landscapes.")
As a small group activity, write and perform an imaginary dialogue that would occur with an original resident of the Connecticut Room (1740) or the Charleston Drawing Room (1772) after that person had stepped through a time machine into a comparable room in a contemporary house. (See Extension Activities, "The American People: Back to the Future.")
Discuss the term portrait and various examples of portraiture within the unit, and then create a "word picture" of one of these portraits. (See Extension Activities, "The History of America: Portraiture.")
Listen to a recording of Nina Simone's music while viewing Thompson's Homage to Nina Simone, and explore how the painting expresses the music's rhythm and melodies. (See Extension Activities, "The Arts in America: Music and Art.")
While listening to a variety of musical compositions, "draw" the music by using different colors and lines that suggest the rhythms, melodies, and instrumentation. (See Extension Activities, "The Arts in America: Music and Art.")
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