FAMOUS AFRICAN AMERICANS AND VISUAL ART

 

Georgia Standards

 

South Carolina Standards

 

Key Vocabulary

 

Materials

• Paintings by Jacob Lawrence (Met Museum collection; Migration Series from the Phillips Collection)
• Biography of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 
• Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. graphic organizer to sequence and illustrate important events in his life
• Tempera paint (brown, white, black, red, blue, yellow) 
• Paint brushes 
• White mixed media paper 
• Index cards

 

Instructional Design

Opening/Activating Strategy

• Display one of Jacob Lawrence’s paintings on the board. 
• Without giving students any information about the artwork, ask students to write a short description of what they think is going on in the painting. 
• Students should explain what they see in the image that helped them come to this conclusion.
• Allow students time to share with a partner.
• Ask a few students to share their ideas with the class.
• Tell students the name of the artist, name of the painting, and a description of what is going on. 
• Ask students how their interpretations are similar or different to the actual description of the painting.

 

Work Session

• Tell students that they will be painting in the style of Jacob Lawrence in this lesson.
  • Lawrence is among the best-known twentieth century African American painters. 
  • Lawrence concentrated on depicting the history and struggles of African Americans.  
  • Lawrence used tempera paints. 
  • Direct students’ attention toward Lawrence’s use of vivid color, expressive style, flat shapes, use of entire space, and the series format to convey a story. 
  • Optional: 
  • Ask students to take turns coming up to the board and outlining the major shapes in different paintings.
  • Provide printed copies of one of the paintings; have students outline the major shapes in the painting.
  • Ask students how the description and the painting are connected just as an illustration in a book is connected to the text on the page.
• Share the following about the artist: 
• Show students images of Lawrence’s work from the Met Museum collection and/or from his Migration Series from the Phillips Collection.
• Ask students what characteristics they notice in his artwork. 
• Draw students’ attention to the description of each event. 
• Tell students they are going to become artists like Jacob Lawrence. As a class, they will create a series of paintings that depict the life of Dr, Martin Luther King, Jr. 
  • Use a graphic organizer to sequence the important events in his life. 
  • Next, instruct the students to do a simple sketch or illustration of each event.
  • Instruct the students to use pencil to make a sketch of their assigned event before painting. 
  • Remind students to:
  • Introduce their topic (the event) at the beginning of the paragraph 
  • Use facts and definitions that they learned from the lesson to inform the reader about the event
  • Describe how they showed those facts in their painting
  • Include a conclusion sentence
• Read a biography of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and discuss the life of Dr. King with the class. 
• Arrange students into groups of two to three students. Assign each group an event in Dr. King’s life. 
• Students will create a painting of the event in the style of Jacob Lawrence (remind students of Lawrence’s use of vivid color, line and geometric shape). 
• After students finish painting, they will write a description of their painting on an index card describing what part of Dr. King’s life is pictured. 
• Have students arrange the paintings in chronological order.
• Display the paintings as a series that illustrates the life of Dr. King.   

Classroom Tips: Cover students’ work area with butcher paper. Have students share paint and water supply on their work area. Fill 2 buckets with water--empty one by filling student water cups 1/3 full, then use it to dump dirty water in; the second bucket will be your fresh water supply as needed. 

 

Closing Reflection

• Allow students time to engage in a gallery walk to view all of the artworks. 
• Facilitate a class discussion around how each group portrayed the event in the style of Jacob Lawrence.

 

Assessments

Formative

Teachers will assess students’ understanding by observing students’ discussion of the style of Jacob Lawrence’s work and students’ identification and visual depiction of important events in Dr. King’s life.

 

Summative

CHECKLIST

• Students can identify important events in Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life.
• Students can visually represent important events in Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life through painting using the style of Jacob Lawrence.

• Students can accurately describe and write about an event in Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life using relevant details through a well-organized paragraph.

 

Differentiation

Acceleration:

After reading the biography, students will research other events in the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. using internet or library resources. Students will pick one event in his life to depict through a picture in the style of Jacob Lawrence. Once each student has created a picture, the student will write a paragraph describing the picture and the event. They will work together to create a chronological/numeric timeline to represent the events in the life of Dr. King.

Remediation:

ESOL Modifications and Adaptations: To prepare the ESOL students for the painting assignment, the ESOL teacher will read to students Story Painter: Life of Jacob Lawrence by John Duggleby and show how a series of paintings can tell a story. The ESOL teacher should also utilize photographs and images to help student comprehension when reading the biography of Dr. King (such as Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King).

Special Education Modifications and Adaptations: Read an age appropriate book about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (such as Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King). The teacher will provide cards with pictures and text that describe the life of Dr. King based on the book of choice. Students will work as a group to sequence the cards in story order. Provide geometric shaped templates and straight edges for students to use as they draw pictures in the style of  Jacob Lawrence. Students will accompany drawings with one or two sentences that they write or dictate.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Marzollo, J. (1993). Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King. New York: Scholastic Press.  Work of Jacob Lawrence - Met Museum  Jacob Lawrence’s Migration Series - Phillips Collection Duggleby, J. (1998). Story Painter: Life of Jacob Lawrence. San Francisco:Chronicle Books. Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. graphic organizer “Martin Luther King Jr.’s Life in Pictures.” CNN, www.cnn.com/interactive/2018/04/us/martin-luther-king-jr-cnnphotos/. Accessed 26 June 2023.

 

*This integrated lesson provides differentiated ideas and activities for educators that are aligned to a sampling of standards. Standards referenced at the time of publishing may differ based on each state’s adoption of new standards.

Ideas contributed by: Whitney Jones. Modifications, Extensions, and Adaptations Contributed by:  Peggy Barnes, Candy Bennett, Lindsey Elrod, Jennifer Plummer, and Vilma Thomas.  Reviewed by Michael Miller. Updated by Whitney Jones Snuggs and Katy Betts.

Revised and copyright:  June 2024 @ ArtsNOW