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| Jacob Lawrence: Storyteller Curriculum unit developed by the J. Paul Getty Trust |
Introduction |
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Jacob Lawrence was one of the greatest painters of modern history, best known for his series paintings based on Harriet Tubman and the Great Migration. His works are often taught in classrooms as examples of excellent artistic achievement as well as wonderful ways to tell stories about American history. This series of three interdisciplinary lessons touches upon the ways in which Jacob Lawrence tells stories. It encourages students to think, write, research, and create their own works based on what they learn. Jacob Lawrence: Storyteller is divided into three main lessons: Lesson 1 Harriet Tubman: Telling Stories about Our Heroes Lesson 2 The Great Migration: Telling Stories about Historical Events Lesson 3 Self-portraits: Telling Stories about Ourselves The Table of Contents lists the activities and overviews for each lesson. The activities within the lessons build upon each other. If time is limited in your classroom, you may pick and choose which lesson(s) to teach, keeping in mind that you should first provide a general introduction to the artist and the background history. Before teaching the lessons in Jacob Lawrence: Storyteller, we suggest that you take a quick tour of Jacob Lawrence's life and work. The Timeline focuses on Lawrence's career within an historical context. This timeline can be used for your own background knowledge, and as a resource for the students to put the events they will study into context. Jacob Lawrence: Storyteller is designed to address important concepts and skills in the visual arts for middle school, and the lessons are aligned with specific Getty Scope and Sequence abilities (Levels 2F, 2L; 3A, 3C, 3E, and 3N) and National Standards for Visual Arts Education (Content Standards 1, 2, 3, and 5). The theme of storytelling in art is not new. "Telling Stories in Art" is another curriculum resource developed by the Getty ArtsEdNet to help teach children about the many ways stories can be told through visual elements in an artwork. People throughout time have used art to tell stories. You can find more information about Jacob Lawrence's art and life on this web-site. Visit the Art & Life section for a biographical overview, an image archive with more than 800 images, or essays on the artist's education and his use of materials. You can also visit related sites on the web for additional resources. If you are a teacher and would like to order slides of the images in this curriculum unit for use in the classroom, contact us by e-mail. We hope you enjoy your journey though these wonderful artworks! Intro | Table of Contents | Timeline | Image Archive | Lesson 1 | Lesson 2 | Lesson 3 |