​rethink.

Lesson Overview:

 

In this lesson, we will be looking at different Stephen Marc pieces related to slavery and discussing certain aspects of his art and how they tie in with slavery or the Underground Railroad. This would be at the end of a history unit about that part of American history.  After we have analyzed a few pieces of Stephen Marc’s art, the students would then be asked to make their own “Stephen Marc” art piece. First, students would write a poem about slavery and how it makes them feel. Then, each student would be given access to a computer and would print out a picture of something that relates to slavery or the liberation of the slaves. After they have chosen a picture, they would write their poems on top of the picture, much like Stephen Marc’s art. Each student would present their art to the class and explain what they were thinking.

 

 

Preparation:

 

Prior knowledge

For this lesson, students will need to have knowledge of slavery in America, which we would be covering in our history class beforehand. They also must know how to write a basic quatrain poem for their picture. They also must know how to operate a search engine online in order to find the picture for their piece.

 

Materials:

1. PowerPoint of Steve Marx’s art

2. Access to computers

3. Paper and other writing materials

4. A thin sharpie for writing their poems on the picture

 

Instruction steps::

1. We will look at Stephen Marc’s art as a class in PowerPoint form.

2. We will discuss all of the aspects of his art and what the students like and dislike. We will write the aspects on the board so students know what to mimic when creating their own piece.

3. After that we would have a review of a how to write a basic quatrain poem with a rhyme scheme.

4. Students would then write a short poem about slavery and how it makes them feel (hopefully focused on the injustice of it).

5. After they write the poem, the students would share them with a partner and check for spelling/proper rhyme scheme.

6. Ideally, we would have a computer lab and we would go as a class to print out pictures of what they think of when they think of “slavery.”

7. After they all found pictures, we would print them out and go back to the classroom to write their poems on top of the picture in a Stephen Marc fashion.

8. After each student finished, they would present their finished piece to the class and explain why they chose what they did and their thought processes.

 

Standards

            1.4.3.A: Write poems and stories including detailed descriptions of people, places, and things.

            1.5.3.A: Write with a focus, with an understanding of topic, task, and audience

            1.5.3.F: Use grade appropriate conventions of language when writing and editing including spelling common, frequently used words

correctly, using capital letters correctly, punctuating correctly, and using correct grammar and sentence formation.