Lesson Plan
Title: Do We See What We Know?
Creator: Beth Shaw McGuire
Subject: Individual Impact
Course: American
history
Grade Level: 8
Unit Plan: Slavery and Its Opponents
Standards:
COMPETENCY GOAL 3: The learner will identify key
events and evaluate the impact of reform and expansion in North Carolina during
the first half of the 19th century.
Objectives:
3.03 Identify and evaluate the impact of
individual reformers and groups, and assess the effectiveness of their
programs.
3.04 Describe the development of the
institution of slavery in the State and nation, and assess its impact on
the economic, social, and political conditions.
Lesson Goals:
Students
will compare two visual works of art, and articulate how each image represents
an individual.
Students
will read a text or listen to an interview, and identify relevant information
about the subject of two works of art.
Students
will argue their opinions using evidence in written and visual texts.
Students
will transfer this process to researching other reformers who had an impact on
ending slavery in the United States.
Differentiation:
Students
who have limited reading skills will be given a reading selection parallel to
their comprehension level.
Students
who have limited writing skills will work with a partner, or have a recorder as
needed.
Duration: One 90-minute period; more if
students present their culminating activity to the class.
Teacher Materials:
Reproductions
of each work of art to hang in the classroom
Copies
of both graphic organizers for each student
Copies
of relevant texts, or sufficient computers to facilitate all students
using different texts or interviews at the same time.
Student Materials:
Reproductions of the following:
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Curry, John S. American, 1897-1946 Lawrence, Jacob American, 1917-2000 color screenprint sheet: 50.8 x 65.4 cm (20 x 25-3/4
in.) Title: John Brown, a man who had a fanatical belief that he was chosen by God to overthrow black slavery in America., no. 1 from The Legend of Jacob Lawrence, 1977 Accession No.: 2005.11.1
Title: For forty years John Brown reflected on the hopeless and miserable condition of the slaves., no. 2 from The Legend of John Brown, 1977 Accession No.: 2005.11.2
Title: For twelve years John Brown engaged in land speculations and wool merchandising. All this to make some money for his greater work which was the abolishment of slavery., no. 3 from The Legend of John Brown, 1977 Accession No.: 2005.11.3
Title: His ventures failing him, he accepted poverty., no. 4 from The Legend of John Brown, 1977 Accession No.: 2005.11.4
Title: John Brown, while tending his flock in Ohio, first communicated with his sons and daughters his plans of attacking slavery by force., no. 5 from The Legend of John Brown, 1977 Accession No.: 2005.11.5
Title: John Brown formed an organization among the colored people of the Adirondack woods to resist the capture of any fugitive slaves., no. 6 from The Legend of John Brown, 1977 Accession No.: 2005.11.6
Title: To the people he found worthy of trust, he communicated his plans., no. 7 from The Legend of John Brown, 1977 Accession No.: 2005.11.7
Title: John Brown first thought of the place where he would make his attack came to him while surveying land for Oberlin College in West Virginia, 1840., no. 8 from The Legend of John Brown, 1977 Accession No.: 2005.11.8
Title: Kansas was now the skirmish ground of the Civil War., no. 9 from The Legend of John Brown, 1977 Accession No.: 2005.11.9
Title: Those pro-slavery were murdered by those anti-slavery., no. 10 from The Legend of John Brown, 1977 Accession No.: 2005.11.10
Title: John Brown took to guerilla warfare., no. 11 from The Legend of John Brown, 1977 Accession No.: 2005.11.11
Title: John Brown's victory attack at Black Jack drove those pro-slavery to new fury, and those who were anti-slavery to new efforts., no. 12 from The Legend of John Brown, 1977 Accession No.: 2005.11.12
Title: John Brown, after long meditation, planned to fortify himself somewhere in the mountains of Virginia or Tennessee and there make raids on surrounding plantations, freeing slaves., no. 13 from The legend of John Brown, 1977 Accession No.: 2005.11.13
Title: John Brown collected money from sympathizers and friends to carry out his plans., no. 14 from The Legend of John Brown, 1977 Accession No.: 2005.11.14
Title: John Brown made many trips to Canada organizing for his assult on Harper's Ferry., no. 15 from The Legend of John Brown, 1977 Accession No.: 2005.11.15
Title: In spite of a price on his head, John Brown in 1859 liberated twelve negroes from a Missouri plantation., no. 16 from The Legend of John Brown, 1977 Accession No.: 2005.11.16
Title: John Brown remained a full winter in Canada, drilling negroes for his coming raid on Harper's Ferry., no. 17 from The Legend of John Brown, 1977 Accession No.: 2005.11.17
Title: July 3, 1859. John Brown stocked an old barn with guns and ammunition. He was ready to strike his first blow at slavery., no. 18 from The Legend of John Brown, 1977 Accession No.: 2005.11.18
Title: Sunday, October 16, 1859. John Brown with a company of 21 men, white and black, marched on Harper's Ferry., no. 19 from The Legend of John Brown, 1977 Accession No.: 2005.11.19 Title: John Brown held Harper's Ferry for twelve hours. His defeat was a few hours off., no. 20 from The Legend of John Brown, 1977 Accession No.: 2005.11.20
Title: John Brown was found "guilty of treason and murder in the first degree" and was hanged in Charles Town, Virginia, on December 2, 1859., no. 22 from The Legend of John Brown, 1977 Accession No.: 2005.11.22
Title: Title page from The Legend of John Brown Accession No.: 2005.11.23
Title: Poem by Robert Hayden, from The Legend of John Brown Accession No.: 2005.11.24
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Procedures:
1.
Read the following quote from Henry Thoreau to the class:
I foresee the time when the painter will paint that scene, no longer going to Rome for a subject; the poet will sing it; the historian record it; and, with the Landing of the Pilgrims and the Declaration of Independence, it will be the ornament of some future national gallery, when at least the present form of slavery shall be no more here. We shall then be at liberty to weep for Captain Brown. Then, and not till then, we will take our revenge.End of Project Gutenberg E-text: A Plea for Captain John Brown, by Henry Thoreau
2. Tell students that today, they will
compare two images that depict different scenes from the life of reformer John
Brown, and use websites to see what facts the artists used in their works, and
what each artist emphasized.
3. Give students a graphic
organizer that features two different images, one by Jacob Lawrence and one by
John Steuart Curry. Ask students to complete the organizer, and be
prepared to share their ideas with the rest of the group.
4. Ask students to read a text
or listen to an interview online and take notes on the 2nd graphic
organizer as they listen.
5. Ask students to select which of the two works about John
Brown best represents his impact on American history; students should be able
to justify their ideas with evidence from their readings and the visual work of
art.
6. Ask students to share their ideas,
identifying the work that they chose, and explaining why.
7. Ask students what they would include in an image about
John Brown and why. How would their approach be similar or different from
Lawrences or Currys?
Culminating
Activities:
Ask students to select another
reformer from the antebellum South (or later in history, if you want to go in
that direction), and ask them to research that individual and find an image of
that persons life that best correlates with the information that they know
about that individual. If they cant find an image, students may create
their own image, or write a character study that would introduce this person in
a visual way to the rest of the class.
Assessment:
1. Students completed graphic
organizers thoroughly and thoughtfully.
2. Students actively participated
in class discussion, justifying their ideas with evidence in the text,
interview, and/or the work of art.
3. Students presented their
ideas about their imagined images of John Brown in a clear, well-reasoned way.
Relevant
Websites:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p1550.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h2943t.html
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USASbrown.htm
(select smaller parts for students to read of this lengthier site)
http://www.nps.gov/hafe/jbfort.htm
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4633323
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4608338
http://www.transcendentalists.com/thoreau_plea_john_brown.htm
(select smaller parts for students to read of this lengthier site)
http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext01/apcjb10.txt
(select smaller parts for students to read of this lengthier site)
Key
Focusing Questions:
What
aspects of John Browns history did each artist portray? Why do you think
the artist chose that scene?
How
do you think John Browns actions influenced the Civil War? What in the
written texts or interviews supports your ideas?
How
would you describe John Brown the person, as depicted in the works of art?
Did your description change after reading a text or listening to an
interview, and, if so, how? If your description did not change
after reading the text, what in the text or interview aligns with your
description?
File Attachments:
John
Brownvisgraphicorgzr.doc
This lesson plan and its distribution
were made possible by a grant from the Wyeth Foundation, the William Hayes
Ackland Trust, and the Ackland Art Museum at the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill.
