We have moved to a new format for the Roots of a Nation teacher blogs. Please follow this link to our website where you will find all of the previously posted blog entries and you will have access to your own journal entry form -
http://www.sultanaprojects.org/rootsofanation/journals/index.php
Thank you!
Francoise Sullivan
Webmaster
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Picturing the Past workshop, May 13-14
The Starr Center's second Roots of a Nation workshop, Picturing the Past, used the museums of Washington, DC to open new doors to teaching the history of the Civil War. Participants viewed and discussed paintings, monuments, lithographs, and other visual depictions of the conflict and its aftermath, and even tried their hand at designing their own Civil War monuments.
Please see below for some of the terrific classroom ideas that emerged from this workshop.
Huzzah!
Jill Ogline Titus
Associate Director, C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience
Designing a Monument to the 54th Massachusetts
Deborah Norris
Leonardtown Middle School
Picturing the Past Blog
When asked to investigate and sketch a local monument prior to spending two days in Washington, DC Picturing the Past, I can tell you that I was perfectly content to investigate and share my findings about the monument at Point Lookout, Maryland memorializing the Confederate prisoners of war who died there during the Civil War. However, I must admit I was not so happy about sketching the monument. After spending two days analyzing and sketching works of art connected to the Civil War period at the various monuments and museums, the value including such a hands-on activity/assessment for my students became the focus of the following lesson that I developed for my 8th graders during their study of the Civil War:
8th Grade Social Studies: Development of the United States through Reconstruction
Picturing the Past: Commemorating the 54th Massachusetts
Goals: Through small group collaboration and the investigation of primary source digital documents, the purpose of the lesson is to increase student knowledge of the role African Americans played in the American Civil War and the impact of government policy and actions regarding the deployment of black regiments during the American Civil War.
Objectives:
After investigating several primary source digital documents, students will be able to collaboratively illustrate the impact of Lincoln’s decisions regarding the deployment of black regiments such as the 54th Massachusetts at the Battle of Fort Wagner and explain the impact of government policies and actions toward African American troops during the American Civil War by designing a monument and/or memorial commemorating and memorializing the 54th Massachusetts.
Standards of Learning:
National History Standards
Era 5 Standard 2A Demonstrate understanding of how the resources of the Union and the Confederacy affected the course of the war.
Maryland State Curriculum:
History:
5.C.5. Analyze factors affecting the outcome of the Civil War.
d. Identify the goals, resources, and strategies of the North and South
e. Describe the impact of Lincoln’s decisions regarding the deployment of black regiments such as the 54th Massachusetts.
Government:
1.2.3. Evaluate the impact of governmental decisions and actions that have affected the rights of individuals and groups in American society and/or have affected maintaining order and/or safety.
ISTE NETS Outcomes:
Communication and Collaboration
• Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others.
Research and Information Fluency
• Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information.
Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
• Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources.
21st Century Student Outcomes from the Partnership for 21st Century Learning:
Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
• Interpret information and draw conclusions based on the best analysis
• Identify and ask significant questions that clarify various points of view and lead to better solutions
Communication and Collaboration
• Demonstrate ability to work effectively and respectfully with diverse teams
• Assume shared responsibility for collaborative work, and value the individual contributions made by each team member
Civic Literacy
• Understanding the local and global implications of civic decisions.
AASL Standards:
1. Inquire, think critically and gain knowledge
• 1.1.2 Use prior and background knowledge as context for new learning
• 1.1.6 Read, view, and listen for information presented in any format in order to make inferences and gather meaning.
• 1.1.9 Collaborate with others to broaden and deepen understanding.
2. Draw conclusions, make informed decisions, apply knowledge to new situations, and create new knowledge.
• 2.2.3 Employ a critical stance in drawing conclusions by demonstrating that the pattern of evidence leads to a decision or conclusion.
Prerequisites: Students have previous knowledge of the events and decisions leading up to the secession of the South and the American Civil War to include the government decisions impacting the treatment of African American slaves and freemen. Students have worked collaboratively in small groups using and interpreting digital resources, both primary and secondary. Students have established Moodle accounts and have previous experience responding in the online Moodle forum.
Materials:
• SMCPS Moodle account and access for each student to forum response directions entered by teacher
• Student journals
• Warm-up/Introduction displayed on SmartBoard
• Primary Source Investigation chart for recording I see…, I think that…, and I wonder….for seven different sources – 1/student
• 6-7 Student Computer Stations with Internet access with prearranged tab access to the 8 Library of Congress and National Archives and Records Administration sources listed below:
From the National Archives and Records Administration:
War Department General Order 143: Creation of the U.S. Colored Troops (1863)
• http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=35
Recruiting Poster from Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1780's–1917, Record Group 94
• http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/blacks-civil-war/images/recruitment-broadside.gif
Recommendation to hold Private Sylvester Ray of the 2d U.S. Colored Cavalry for trial he refused to accept pay inferior to that of white soldiers
• http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/blacks-civil-war/images/ray-charges.gif (actual document)
Private Ray's Detachment Muster Roll received after Congress grants equal pay to the U.S. Colored troops and made the action retroactive.
• http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/blacks-civil-war/images/ray-detachment.gif
Casualty list of the 54th Massachusetts following the assault on Fort Wagner
• http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/american_originals/54thmass.html
From the Library of Congress website to include digital identification information:
Photograph of Group Shot, Officers of the 54th Mass. Colored.
• http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsca.11526
Photograph of Unidentified African American Union Soldier with a Rifle and Revolver in Front of Painted Backdrop Showing Weapons and American Flag at Benton Barracks, Saint Louis, Missouri
• http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsca.26456
Map of Genl. Q. A. Gillmore's Line of Earthworks in Front of Fort Wagner, Morris Island, S.C., July 1863.
• http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.ndlpcoop/gvhs01.vhs00152
Lesson Overview:
In this 2-3 period lesson extensively modified from the National Archives and Records Administration website (http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/blacks-civil-war/index.html), students will work in small heterogeneous groups to investigate several primary source documents relating to the role of African Americans in the American Civil War and the impact government policies and decisions had on their service and citizenship. Students will collaborate within a small group and with their classmates online to assess the impact that military service had on the rights of African Americans during and after the American Civil War. Students will collaborate to design a memorial commemorating the action and service of the 54th Massachusetts during the American Civil War.
Lesson Procedure:
Introduction –
• Display the following on the SmartBoard or on an overhead for student viewing as they enter the room-
Read the following quote from Frederick Douglass "Once let the black man get upon his person the brass letter, U.S., let him get an eagle on his button, and a musket on his shoulder and bullets in his pocket, there is no power on earth that can deny that he has earned the right to citizenship.”
Respond to the following in your journal:
Evaluate Frederick Douglass’s assessment of the importance of military service in the African American’s fight for civil rights.
Main Activity-
1. In prearranged heterogeneous groups of 3-4 students working at a student computer station, student groups will investigate eight digitized primary sources from the National Archives and Records Administration and the Library of Congress websites to complete the Primary Source Investigation chart - I see…, I think that…, and I wonder….for the eight different digitized sources relating to government decisions impacting and reflecting the military service of African Americans in the American Civil War.
2. After completing the chart collaboratively face to face, each student group will then write a sentence or two about what clues each item contributed to identifying the role African Americans served in the military during the American Civil War and how government decisions impacted their military service.
3. Individual students will then post a one paragraph response at http://moodle.smcps.org/ in response to the following prompt-
Using what you learned from examining the digitized primary sources in your investigation of the role of African Americans in the American Civil War and the government decisions impacting their military service; reevaluate the validity of Frederick Douglass’s statement-
"Once let the black man get upon his person the brass letter, U.S., let him get an eagle on his button, and a musket on his shoulder and bullets in his pocket, there is no power on earth that can deny that he has earned the right to citizenship.”
Conclusion/Closure:
Teacher will share the following at the end of class -
By the end of the Civil War, roughly 179,000 black men (10% of the Union Army) served as soldiers in the U.S. Army and another 19,000 served in the Navy. Nearly 40,000 black soldiers died over the course of the war—30,000 of infection or disease. Black soldiers served in artillery and infantry and performed all noncombat support functions that sustain an army, as well. Black carpenters, chaplains, cooks, guards, laborers, nurses, scouts, spies, steamboat pilots, surgeons, and teamsters also contributed to the war cause. There were nearly 80 black commissioned officers. Black women, who could not formally join the Army, nonetheless served as nurses, spies, and scouts, the most famous being Harriet Tubman who scouted for the 2d South Carolina Volunteers.
It has been estimated that over 65,000 Southern Blacks were in the Confederate ranks. Over 13,000 of these, 'saw the elephant' also known as meeting the enemy in combat. These Black Confederates included both slave and free. The Confederate Congress did not approve Blacks to be officially enlisted as soldiers (except as musicians), until late in the war.
Students will be reminded prior to the next class to post a reply to a classmate’s assessment of Douglass’s conclusion about the importance of African American’s military service at http://moodle.smcps.org to a classmate other than one that worked with them in their group today. They will be instructed and reminded to use what they have learned about the role and impact of African Americans in the Civil War in the reply to a classmate.
Performance Assessment: Incorporating what they learned about government decisions and military policies toward African Americans during the American Civil War as well as the specific service and role of the 54th Massachusetts in the American Civil War, student groups will design a memorial and/or monument commemorating the action and service of the 54th Massachusetts during the American Civil War. (See page 6 of lesson plan for scoring tool/rubric.)
Enrichment/Extension:
• Students construct a model of the memorial commemorating the action and service of the 54th Massachusetts in the American Civil War.
• Students read President Harry Truman’s Executive Order 9981 issued in 1948 ending segregation in the U.S. military.
(http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/blacks-civil-war/images/executive-order-equal-rights-1.jpg) and reevaluate Frederick Douglass’s statement.
*Given proper permission, lesson can be followed up with a viewing of the educational use version of Glory.
RUBRIC FOR MEMORIAL PROJECT
EXCELLENT VERY GOOD FAIR NEEDS MORE WORK
GROUP WORK Students show ability to organize, listen to others, come to consensus, and draw on individual strengths to analyze primary sources and create a design for the memorial. Students show ability to organize, listen to others, and come to consensus to analyze primary sources and create a design for the memorial. Students are able to complete the assignment, but have difficulty coming to a consensus and organizing work as a group to analyze primary sources and create a design for the memorial. Group does not show listening or organizing skills. Loud and disruptive to other groups. Unable to complete all aspects of assignment due to disruptive group dynamics to analyze primary sources and create a design for the memorial.
CONTENT Students clearly and accurately demonstrate knowledge of the role of African Americans in the Civil War and the impact of government decisions/policy regarding their service in the memorial. Students demonstrate knowledge of the role of African Americans in the Civil War and the impact of government decisions/policy regarding their service in the memorial. Students demonstrate some knowledge of the role of African Americans in the Civil War and the impact of government decisions/policy regarding their service in the memorial but do not select the most appropriate ones for their memorial. Students do not demonstrate knowledge of the role of African Americans in the Civil War and the impact of government decisions/policy regarding their service in the memorial. They show little knowledge on the topic of their task.
MEMORIAL DESIGN Design shows thought about the subject and the purpose of the memorial. Group successfully synthesizes knowledge of African American contributions with the government policies toward African Americans during the Civil War. Shows creativity and attention to detail. Design shows thought about the subject and the purpose of the memorial. Group successfully synthesizes knowledge of African American contributions with the government policies toward African Americans during the Civil War. Design is basic and functional, but details are lacking knowledge of African American contributions and the government policies toward African Americans during the Civil War. Description of memorial slightly vague or unorganized. Design shows no thought or attempt to connect with the subject matter or the purpose of the memorial to include knowledge of African American contributions with the government policies toward African Americans during the Civil War. Design is incomplete or inappropriate.
ONLINE COLLABORATION - MOODLE RESPONSE/REPLY Initial response is rich and effectively incorporates the primary source information in the response. Student contributes an effective reply to a classmate that demonstrates a thorough understanding of the government decisions and effects of those decisions on the role of African Americans in the Civil War. The reply enriches the classmate’s understanding of the objectives. Initial response effectively incorporates the primary source information in the response. Student contributes a reply to a classmate that demonstrates an understanding of the government decisions and effects of those decisions on the role of African Americans in the Civil War. The reply contributes to the classmate’s understanding of the objectives. Initial response is posted but minimally incorporates primary source information in the response. Student contributes a reply to a classmate but does not enrich or extend the classmate’s understanding of the government decisions and effects of those decisions on the role of African Americans in the Civil War. Initial response and or reply is not posted on time.
Leonardtown Middle School
Picturing the Past Blog
When asked to investigate and sketch a local monument prior to spending two days in Washington, DC Picturing the Past, I can tell you that I was perfectly content to investigate and share my findings about the monument at Point Lookout, Maryland memorializing the Confederate prisoners of war who died there during the Civil War. However, I must admit I was not so happy about sketching the monument. After spending two days analyzing and sketching works of art connected to the Civil War period at the various monuments and museums, the value including such a hands-on activity/assessment for my students became the focus of the following lesson that I developed for my 8th graders during their study of the Civil War:
8th Grade Social Studies: Development of the United States through Reconstruction
Picturing the Past: Commemorating the 54th Massachusetts
Goals: Through small group collaboration and the investigation of primary source digital documents, the purpose of the lesson is to increase student knowledge of the role African Americans played in the American Civil War and the impact of government policy and actions regarding the deployment of black regiments during the American Civil War.
Objectives:
After investigating several primary source digital documents, students will be able to collaboratively illustrate the impact of Lincoln’s decisions regarding the deployment of black regiments such as the 54th Massachusetts at the Battle of Fort Wagner and explain the impact of government policies and actions toward African American troops during the American Civil War by designing a monument and/or memorial commemorating and memorializing the 54th Massachusetts.
Standards of Learning:
National History Standards
Era 5 Standard 2A Demonstrate understanding of how the resources of the Union and the Confederacy affected the course of the war.
Maryland State Curriculum:
History:
5.C.5. Analyze factors affecting the outcome of the Civil War.
d. Identify the goals, resources, and strategies of the North and South
e. Describe the impact of Lincoln’s decisions regarding the deployment of black regiments such as the 54th Massachusetts.
Government:
1.2.3. Evaluate the impact of governmental decisions and actions that have affected the rights of individuals and groups in American society and/or have affected maintaining order and/or safety.
ISTE NETS Outcomes:
Communication and Collaboration
• Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others.
Research and Information Fluency
• Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information.
Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
• Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources.
21st Century Student Outcomes from the Partnership for 21st Century Learning:
Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
• Interpret information and draw conclusions based on the best analysis
• Identify and ask significant questions that clarify various points of view and lead to better solutions
Communication and Collaboration
• Demonstrate ability to work effectively and respectfully with diverse teams
• Assume shared responsibility for collaborative work, and value the individual contributions made by each team member
Civic Literacy
• Understanding the local and global implications of civic decisions.
AASL Standards:
1. Inquire, think critically and gain knowledge
• 1.1.2 Use prior and background knowledge as context for new learning
• 1.1.6 Read, view, and listen for information presented in any format in order to make inferences and gather meaning.
• 1.1.9 Collaborate with others to broaden and deepen understanding.
2. Draw conclusions, make informed decisions, apply knowledge to new situations, and create new knowledge.
• 2.2.3 Employ a critical stance in drawing conclusions by demonstrating that the pattern of evidence leads to a decision or conclusion.
Prerequisites: Students have previous knowledge of the events and decisions leading up to the secession of the South and the American Civil War to include the government decisions impacting the treatment of African American slaves and freemen. Students have worked collaboratively in small groups using and interpreting digital resources, both primary and secondary. Students have established Moodle accounts and have previous experience responding in the online Moodle forum.
Materials:
• SMCPS Moodle account and access for each student to forum response directions entered by teacher
• Student journals
• Warm-up/Introduction displayed on SmartBoard
• Primary Source Investigation chart for recording I see…, I think that…, and I wonder….for seven different sources – 1/student
• 6-7 Student Computer Stations with Internet access with prearranged tab access to the 8 Library of Congress and National Archives and Records Administration sources listed below:
From the National Archives and Records Administration:
War Department General Order 143: Creation of the U.S. Colored Troops (1863)
• http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=35
Recruiting Poster from Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1780's–1917, Record Group 94
• http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/blacks-civil-war/images/recruitment-broadside.gif
Recommendation to hold Private Sylvester Ray of the 2d U.S. Colored Cavalry for trial he refused to accept pay inferior to that of white soldiers
• http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/blacks-civil-war/images/ray-charges.gif (actual document)
Private Ray's Detachment Muster Roll received after Congress grants equal pay to the U.S. Colored troops and made the action retroactive.
• http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/blacks-civil-war/images/ray-detachment.gif
Casualty list of the 54th Massachusetts following the assault on Fort Wagner
• http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/american_originals/54thmass.html
From the Library of Congress website to include digital identification information:
Photograph of Group Shot, Officers of the 54th Mass. Colored.
• http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsca.11526
Photograph of Unidentified African American Union Soldier with a Rifle and Revolver in Front of Painted Backdrop Showing Weapons and American Flag at Benton Barracks, Saint Louis, Missouri
• http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsca.26456
Map of Genl. Q. A. Gillmore's Line of Earthworks in Front of Fort Wagner, Morris Island, S.C., July 1863.
• http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.ndlpcoop/gvhs01.vhs00152
Lesson Overview:
In this 2-3 period lesson extensively modified from the National Archives and Records Administration website (http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/blacks-civil-war/index.html), students will work in small heterogeneous groups to investigate several primary source documents relating to the role of African Americans in the American Civil War and the impact government policies and decisions had on their service and citizenship. Students will collaborate within a small group and with their classmates online to assess the impact that military service had on the rights of African Americans during and after the American Civil War. Students will collaborate to design a memorial commemorating the action and service of the 54th Massachusetts during the American Civil War.
Lesson Procedure:
Introduction –
• Display the following on the SmartBoard or on an overhead for student viewing as they enter the room-
Read the following quote from Frederick Douglass "Once let the black man get upon his person the brass letter, U.S., let him get an eagle on his button, and a musket on his shoulder and bullets in his pocket, there is no power on earth that can deny that he has earned the right to citizenship.”
Respond to the following in your journal:
Evaluate Frederick Douglass’s assessment of the importance of military service in the African American’s fight for civil rights.
Main Activity-
1. In prearranged heterogeneous groups of 3-4 students working at a student computer station, student groups will investigate eight digitized primary sources from the National Archives and Records Administration and the Library of Congress websites to complete the Primary Source Investigation chart - I see…, I think that…, and I wonder….for the eight different digitized sources relating to government decisions impacting and reflecting the military service of African Americans in the American Civil War.
2. After completing the chart collaboratively face to face, each student group will then write a sentence or two about what clues each item contributed to identifying the role African Americans served in the military during the American Civil War and how government decisions impacted their military service.
3. Individual students will then post a one paragraph response at http://moodle.smcps.org/ in response to the following prompt-
Using what you learned from examining the digitized primary sources in your investigation of the role of African Americans in the American Civil War and the government decisions impacting their military service; reevaluate the validity of Frederick Douglass’s statement-
"Once let the black man get upon his person the brass letter, U.S., let him get an eagle on his button, and a musket on his shoulder and bullets in his pocket, there is no power on earth that can deny that he has earned the right to citizenship.”
Conclusion/Closure:
Teacher will share the following at the end of class -
By the end of the Civil War, roughly 179,000 black men (10% of the Union Army) served as soldiers in the U.S. Army and another 19,000 served in the Navy. Nearly 40,000 black soldiers died over the course of the war—30,000 of infection or disease. Black soldiers served in artillery and infantry and performed all noncombat support functions that sustain an army, as well. Black carpenters, chaplains, cooks, guards, laborers, nurses, scouts, spies, steamboat pilots, surgeons, and teamsters also contributed to the war cause. There were nearly 80 black commissioned officers. Black women, who could not formally join the Army, nonetheless served as nurses, spies, and scouts, the most famous being Harriet Tubman who scouted for the 2d South Carolina Volunteers.
It has been estimated that over 65,000 Southern Blacks were in the Confederate ranks. Over 13,000 of these, 'saw the elephant' also known as meeting the enemy in combat. These Black Confederates included both slave and free. The Confederate Congress did not approve Blacks to be officially enlisted as soldiers (except as musicians), until late in the war.
Students will be reminded prior to the next class to post a reply to a classmate’s assessment of Douglass’s conclusion about the importance of African American’s military service at http://moodle.smcps.org to a classmate other than one that worked with them in their group today. They will be instructed and reminded to use what they have learned about the role and impact of African Americans in the Civil War in the reply to a classmate.
Performance Assessment: Incorporating what they learned about government decisions and military policies toward African Americans during the American Civil War as well as the specific service and role of the 54th Massachusetts in the American Civil War, student groups will design a memorial and/or monument commemorating the action and service of the 54th Massachusetts during the American Civil War. (See page 6 of lesson plan for scoring tool/rubric.)
Enrichment/Extension:
• Students construct a model of the memorial commemorating the action and service of the 54th Massachusetts in the American Civil War.
• Students read President Harry Truman’s Executive Order 9981 issued in 1948 ending segregation in the U.S. military.
(http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/blacks-civil-war/images/executive-order-equal-rights-1.jpg) and reevaluate Frederick Douglass’s statement.
*Given proper permission, lesson can be followed up with a viewing of the educational use version of Glory.
RUBRIC FOR MEMORIAL PROJECT
EXCELLENT VERY GOOD FAIR NEEDS MORE WORK
GROUP WORK Students show ability to organize, listen to others, come to consensus, and draw on individual strengths to analyze primary sources and create a design for the memorial. Students show ability to organize, listen to others, and come to consensus to analyze primary sources and create a design for the memorial. Students are able to complete the assignment, but have difficulty coming to a consensus and organizing work as a group to analyze primary sources and create a design for the memorial. Group does not show listening or organizing skills. Loud and disruptive to other groups. Unable to complete all aspects of assignment due to disruptive group dynamics to analyze primary sources and create a design for the memorial.
CONTENT Students clearly and accurately demonstrate knowledge of the role of African Americans in the Civil War and the impact of government decisions/policy regarding their service in the memorial. Students demonstrate knowledge of the role of African Americans in the Civil War and the impact of government decisions/policy regarding their service in the memorial. Students demonstrate some knowledge of the role of African Americans in the Civil War and the impact of government decisions/policy regarding their service in the memorial but do not select the most appropriate ones for their memorial. Students do not demonstrate knowledge of the role of African Americans in the Civil War and the impact of government decisions/policy regarding their service in the memorial. They show little knowledge on the topic of their task.
MEMORIAL DESIGN Design shows thought about the subject and the purpose of the memorial. Group successfully synthesizes knowledge of African American contributions with the government policies toward African Americans during the Civil War. Shows creativity and attention to detail. Design shows thought about the subject and the purpose of the memorial. Group successfully synthesizes knowledge of African American contributions with the government policies toward African Americans during the Civil War. Design is basic and functional, but details are lacking knowledge of African American contributions and the government policies toward African Americans during the Civil War. Description of memorial slightly vague or unorganized. Design shows no thought or attempt to connect with the subject matter or the purpose of the memorial to include knowledge of African American contributions with the government policies toward African Americans during the Civil War. Design is incomplete or inappropriate.
ONLINE COLLABORATION - MOODLE RESPONSE/REPLY Initial response is rich and effectively incorporates the primary source information in the response. Student contributes an effective reply to a classmate that demonstrates a thorough understanding of the government decisions and effects of those decisions on the role of African Americans in the Civil War. The reply enriches the classmate’s understanding of the objectives. Initial response effectively incorporates the primary source information in the response. Student contributes a reply to a classmate that demonstrates an understanding of the government decisions and effects of those decisions on the role of African Americans in the Civil War. The reply contributes to the classmate’s understanding of the objectives. Initial response is posted but minimally incorporates primary source information in the response. Student contributes a reply to a classmate but does not enrich or extend the classmate’s understanding of the government decisions and effects of those decisions on the role of African Americans in the Civil War. Initial response and or reply is not posted on time.
WInslow Homer's "A Visit from the Old Mistress"
“Picturing the Past:” Incorporating Civil War Images in the Classroom
Christine Mohan, Talbot County Public Schools, 7th Grade Social Studies
May 13-14, 2011
Student Learning Objectives: 2.B.1.a. Identify cultural groups within a contemporary world region.
2.A.1.a: Apply understandings of the elements of culture to the studies of modern world regions (USA), such as art and social structures.
Image: A Visit from the Old Mistress, Winslow Homer (1836–1910) Oil on canvas, 1876. Smithsonian American Art Museum
Introduction: Winslow Homer’s A Visit from the Old Mistress conveys the tense and uneasy relationship between Southern African Americans and whites following the Civil War. Homer depicts three former slaves at home in their slave quarters, starting coldly at their former mistress. The painting represents a meeting of two different cultures that are unsure of their “place” in society.
I found it difficult to choose an image from the Civil War because I teach World Cultures and Geography. I decided to choose an image that reflected the culture of the post-Civil War era. I chose this A Visit from the Old Mistress to use in the classroom because I think it will help students to identify the major ethnic groups of America and the tensions that existed between them. Homer’s painting suggests a meeting of two different worlds; two groups of people separated by social class, ethnicity, values, and civil rights. By putting the Old Mistress in the former slave quarters, Homer implies that she is encroaching on the world of former slaves. There is struggle that Homer depicts in this painting; a struggle to define the relationship between black and white; between former slave and former slave owner. The three African American women stare blankly past their former Mistress as she visits them in their old slave quarters.
At the time the image was created, (1876), I think Homer was trying to convey the tension between white plantation owners and former slaves. This is evident through the cold looks the African American women are giving their former mistress. Jim Crow laws had not yet been enacted in the South, and the future of African Americans was uncertain. I think Homer captures this uncertainty. He does this by placing the Mistress in a setting where she looks uncomfortable: in former slave quarters. It is as if the Mistress does not know what to say to them.
The black women in the painting are wearing clothes similar to those they would have worn as house servants during slavery, which suggests these women will never have the true freedom they have recently been granted. Yet Homer also portrays how the relationship between blacks and whites had changed following the Civil War. For example, one African American woman is sitting down with a white woman in the room, which would have been unacceptable during slavery. However, the fact that Homer chose to include a child held by a former slave in the painting is significant. I think the child’s presence represents hope that each future generation of African Americans will progress toward equal protection under the law.
Whether intentional or not, Homer foreshadows the future relationship between whites and blacks in the South. Despite the efforts and progress made toward equality for African Americans during Reconstruction, the vast majority of African Americans remained tied to the land of white southern farmers through the share cropping system. This, coupled with Jim Crow laws, kept many African Americans in a state of “quasi slavery” for almost a hundred years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Today, I think that this picture illustrates the plight of African Americans following the Civil War. This painting can easily be mistaken for a piece painted in the 1920s, depicting life on a southern plantation.
How I would use this image in the classroom:
I would design a discussion-based lesson around this image. I would first project the painting ask students to look at it for one minute. Then, without providing the name of the painting or the date in which it was painted, I would start with a quick Think-Pair-Share activity based on the following “straight on” questions:
1. What do you see in this painting? (Visual observations only)
2. Where do you think they are located?
3. What kinds of clothes are the people in the painting wearing?
4. What do the clothes the women wear tell you about who these people are?
5. What can their clothes tell you about when this was painted?
6. What questions do you have about this painting?
I would then reveal the date, name of the painter, and have students read a brief background of the Reconstruction Era and of Winslow Homer, (in pairs, independently, or as a whole class reading activity), so that students can develop a basic understanding of Homer’s motivations and intentions. I would then call on four volunteers to “bring the painting to life” via “Tableau Vivant Nouveau.” In this activity the students would act out the scene in the painting, holding the same poses as the women from A Visit from the old mistress. As the students hold the pose, recreating the same facial expressions as the ones in the painting, I would ask the class the following questions:
1. What new information can we gain from the painting by seeing people act it out?
2. How does acting out a painting help to bring it to life?
Next, keeping the image posted on the board, I would have students engage in another Think-Pair-Share, but answer more in depth, analysis questions:
1. What ethnic groups are represented in the painting?
2. What does this painting tell you about race relations in the United States following the Civil War?
3. What do you think is Homer’s message in this painting?
4. What does this painting tell you about the culture and social status of the different groups presented?
Integrating Technology
The final, culminating activity would be for students, in groups of two or three, to use computers to recreate Homer’s painting using Comic Life Software. The assignment would require students to illustrate an interaction between white Americans and African Americans in a modern setting. They would illustrate the difference in culture using different clothing, and other cultural symbols. Students would then be required to insert word or thought bubbles with things they think each person in the comic strip might say. The thought or word bubbles must reflect race relations between white and African Americans in today’s society. Students would then compare their finished product with Homer’s painting. They would be asked:
1. How is your comic strip similar to Homers? How is it different?
2. How do the differences between your comic strip and Homer’s painting reflect the progression on race relations in the United States since 1876?
Christine Mohan, Talbot County Public Schools, 7th Grade Social Studies
May 13-14, 2011
Student Learning Objectives: 2.B.1.a. Identify cultural groups within a contemporary world region.
2.A.1.a: Apply understandings of the elements of culture to the studies of modern world regions (USA), such as art and social structures.
Image: A Visit from the Old Mistress, Winslow Homer (1836–1910) Oil on canvas, 1876. Smithsonian American Art Museum
Introduction: Winslow Homer’s A Visit from the Old Mistress conveys the tense and uneasy relationship between Southern African Americans and whites following the Civil War. Homer depicts three former slaves at home in their slave quarters, starting coldly at their former mistress. The painting represents a meeting of two different cultures that are unsure of their “place” in society.
I found it difficult to choose an image from the Civil War because I teach World Cultures and Geography. I decided to choose an image that reflected the culture of the post-Civil War era. I chose this A Visit from the Old Mistress to use in the classroom because I think it will help students to identify the major ethnic groups of America and the tensions that existed between them. Homer’s painting suggests a meeting of two different worlds; two groups of people separated by social class, ethnicity, values, and civil rights. By putting the Old Mistress in the former slave quarters, Homer implies that she is encroaching on the world of former slaves. There is struggle that Homer depicts in this painting; a struggle to define the relationship between black and white; between former slave and former slave owner. The three African American women stare blankly past their former Mistress as she visits them in their old slave quarters.
At the time the image was created, (1876), I think Homer was trying to convey the tension between white plantation owners and former slaves. This is evident through the cold looks the African American women are giving their former mistress. Jim Crow laws had not yet been enacted in the South, and the future of African Americans was uncertain. I think Homer captures this uncertainty. He does this by placing the Mistress in a setting where she looks uncomfortable: in former slave quarters. It is as if the Mistress does not know what to say to them.
The black women in the painting are wearing clothes similar to those they would have worn as house servants during slavery, which suggests these women will never have the true freedom they have recently been granted. Yet Homer also portrays how the relationship between blacks and whites had changed following the Civil War. For example, one African American woman is sitting down with a white woman in the room, which would have been unacceptable during slavery. However, the fact that Homer chose to include a child held by a former slave in the painting is significant. I think the child’s presence represents hope that each future generation of African Americans will progress toward equal protection under the law.
Whether intentional or not, Homer foreshadows the future relationship between whites and blacks in the South. Despite the efforts and progress made toward equality for African Americans during Reconstruction, the vast majority of African Americans remained tied to the land of white southern farmers through the share cropping system. This, coupled with Jim Crow laws, kept many African Americans in a state of “quasi slavery” for almost a hundred years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Today, I think that this picture illustrates the plight of African Americans following the Civil War. This painting can easily be mistaken for a piece painted in the 1920s, depicting life on a southern plantation.
How I would use this image in the classroom:
I would design a discussion-based lesson around this image. I would first project the painting ask students to look at it for one minute. Then, without providing the name of the painting or the date in which it was painted, I would start with a quick Think-Pair-Share activity based on the following “straight on” questions:
1. What do you see in this painting? (Visual observations only)
2. Where do you think they are located?
3. What kinds of clothes are the people in the painting wearing?
4. What do the clothes the women wear tell you about who these people are?
5. What can their clothes tell you about when this was painted?
6. What questions do you have about this painting?
I would then reveal the date, name of the painter, and have students read a brief background of the Reconstruction Era and of Winslow Homer, (in pairs, independently, or as a whole class reading activity), so that students can develop a basic understanding of Homer’s motivations and intentions. I would then call on four volunteers to “bring the painting to life” via “Tableau Vivant Nouveau.” In this activity the students would act out the scene in the painting, holding the same poses as the women from A Visit from the old mistress. As the students hold the pose, recreating the same facial expressions as the ones in the painting, I would ask the class the following questions:
1. What new information can we gain from the painting by seeing people act it out?
2. How does acting out a painting help to bring it to life?
Next, keeping the image posted on the board, I would have students engage in another Think-Pair-Share, but answer more in depth, analysis questions:
1. What ethnic groups are represented in the painting?
2. What does this painting tell you about race relations in the United States following the Civil War?
3. What do you think is Homer’s message in this painting?
4. What does this painting tell you about the culture and social status of the different groups presented?
Integrating Technology
The final, culminating activity would be for students, in groups of two or three, to use computers to recreate Homer’s painting using Comic Life Software. The assignment would require students to illustrate an interaction between white Americans and African Americans in a modern setting. They would illustrate the difference in culture using different clothing, and other cultural symbols. Students would then be required to insert word or thought bubbles with things they think each person in the comic strip might say. The thought or word bubbles must reflect race relations between white and African Americans in today’s society. Students would then compare their finished product with Homer’s painting. They would be asked:
1. How is your comic strip similar to Homers? How is it different?
2. How do the differences between your comic strip and Homer’s painting reflect the progression on race relations in the United States since 1876?
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