Reconstruction Era: Visual Teaching andLearning

When I teach history to high school or college age students, I maximize the efficient use of visuals. We are all visual learners, no matter what your textual reading level. So, why not engage everyone in your classroom with visuals? This is an image loaded with symbolism. In order to understand the symbolism behind each piece of this image, I teach students how to perform a discovery based learning method -- VTS -- and then I have them use ThingLink to share their findings about the image with the class. Take a peek at this one. Drag your cursor over the "tags" on the image to see what I am talking about.

Art in US History Class: 2014

I teach US History in a North Carolina public high school. Each semester I use art; however, this semester, I am taking pains to keep track of each and every piece of art and image that we analyze in class.  This link will take you to the page I am using to document this effort. It will be updated throughout the Spring Semester of 2014: Enjoy ! 

Harlem Renaissance: Langston Hughes in the History Classroom

Step I
Conduct a VTS inquiry with students about this image.

Step II  

Ponder the title of the poem; what do you think it will be about?

Title: The Negro Speaks of Rivers

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Step III

Read the poem aloud … Yes, I’ll need a volunteer ! !

The Negro Speaks of Rivers
by Langston Hughes

I've known rivers:

I've known rivers ancient as the world and older than the

flow of human blood in human veins.

My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young.

I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep.

I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it.

I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln

went down to New Orleans, and I've seen its muddy

bosom turn all golden in the sunset.

I've known rivers:

Ancient, dusky rivers.

My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

Step III

Paraphrase each stanza of the poem into your own words.

Step IV

Listen to LANGSTON Hughes’ reading of his poem.     *click here

STEP V

What are the Connotations of this poem? : Contemplate the poem for meaning beyond the literal. What do the words mean beyond the obvious? What are the implications, the hints, the suggestions of these particular word choices?

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Step VI

PLOT: provide a brief summary of places and/or events mentioned in the poem.

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Step VI:

 SUBJECT:

What is or are the subjects of the poem?  Provide a short list of place, or people mentioned or inferred.

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STEP VI

Theme: In identifying theme, recognize the human experience, motivation, or condition suggested by the poem.  (Plot + Subject(s))

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How does this image reflect the poem by Hughes?

Write five to ten sentences in your journal that answers this question.

1.     What is the meaning behind Hughes’ poem?

An example of COMPLETED STUDENT WORK from a real high school student  ! !

Mabel Dwight: artist

Read about this artist here at this link.

ANALYSIS of this work: Click Here

 and drag your cursor to the "tags" on the image

Analysis of the work shown above: CLICK HERE and drag your cursor to the "tags" on the image

Analysis of the work above: CLICK HERE and drag your cursor to the "tags" on the image

Chi Rho and Constantine the Great

suggested use for Teachers: 

1. Ask students to draw the Chi Rho symbol in their journals. Then ask students if any of them know the historic significance of the image.

2. read the link about the SYMBOL and jot down a few facts about its historical use.

3. then scroll down to the tapestry image and do a VTS with the image.

4. after students have investigated the image, listen to the audio link about this tapestry from the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

5. Use this as a review of Constantine's efforts as emperor or as a way to introduce Constantine.

What is the historic significance of the CHI RHO symbol?

How did Constantine the Great use this symbol? Click here for access an audio tour to this tapestry shown above; this piece of art that displays the connection between the Chi Rho and  Constantine. Can you count the number of Chi Rho symbols used in the tapestry?

Click here for the audio

"Lost" WPA Murals in North Carolina

I recently did some research about WPA Murals in North Carolina. Read this link to the NC Museum of Art that showcases my research, findings, and classroom application lesson plan.

http://news.artnc.org/2013/08/01/integrating-local-art-new-berns-wpa-murals/

Eiffel Tower in ART

Eiffel Tower, c. 1909. Robert Delaunay, French, 1885 – 1941.
Oil on canvas, 38 x 27 3/4 inches (96.5 x 70.5 cm).
Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Louise and Walter Arensberg Collection, 1950.

Audio for this work above.

Link to article about Delaunay's other Eiffel Tower paintings: click here

Washington Crossing the Delaware

 click here for the AUDIO lecture

Tommy GUN in School ! ! !

The Industrial Revolution from the late 1700s to the present has impacted our lives in countless ways. We have learned how to mass produce food, clothing, building materials, and unfortunately methods of killing each other: rifled firearms, machine guns, poison gas, atomic weapons, and the Tommy Gun. As deplorable as the topic of firearms and warfare is to consider by some of you out there, to ignore history is even more deplorable.

If you are among the ANTI-2nd Amendment types and are enraged that I would talk about such a weapon in class, WATCH the HISTORY CHANNEL episode HISTORY OF THE GUN: THe Tommy Gun. After watching this, you will quickly see that this adds to a student's understanding of 20th century history.


click here for the TOMMY GUN VIDEO

Before I show students this History Channel episode about the history of the Thompson Submachine Gun, I have students fill out a sheet of paper and divide it into a quadrant with a circle in the middle.
-- The circle in the middle will have a student drawing of the weapon.
-- The top left corner will have  words describing the TOMMY GUN's appearance and sound
--The top right corner will have KEY FACTS about the TOMMY GUN
-- The bottom left corner will have KEY DATES about the TOMMY GUN's history
THIS NEXT PART, I do not tell them about until AFTER they have watched the video....
-- The bottom right corner will have a HAIKU about the Tommy Gun. A Haiku if you don't recall is a Japanese form of poetry with three lines. The first and last lines have 5 syllables each and the middle line has 7 syllables. While this is not a strict adherence to traditional HAIKU form, it is the watered down Anglo-version often used in American classrooms.
This is truly an exercise that crosses curricular lines: Writing poetry, art, history.
Here are two former students' work...