History Through the Arts - Supplemental Curriculum
Tell the stories of history!
Here's a strategy to inspire students who think history is B-O-R-R-R-RING.
Our slides select the 'stories' from history and teachers tell them to the class. What happened the day in Boston that led to the Boston Massacre? How did Washington's spies share British secrets with the patriots? What was it like to live in the Roaring Twenties?
Arts SHOW historical events
A drawing of the Boston Massacre is an anchor for storytelling. A cartoon shows a lady of the manor listening to British soldiers quartered in her home. You see and hear the cultural explosion of the Harlem Renaissance. Art, photos and film clips and classroom activities make history 'real' for students.
It's all about primary sources!
The art and music from the Roaring Twenties are primary sources that tell part of the story: Paul Revere's poster publicizing the Boston scuffle. The poetry of Langston Hughes. The photographs of a train station in the South and the flood of African-Americans moving to northern cities --the Great Migration.
Every lesson requires close reading/seeing skills
The illustration by Paul Revere of the Boston Massacre? It was one of many drawings depicting the brawl in Boston. Other artists showed a different point of view. The lady of the house spying? You can see her exchanging a glance with her servant. Ask the students: what do you think she's going to do? The stories and images lay the groundwork for critical thinking, for close reading/seeing skills, for information processing skills. These opportunities can be shared with a class, a small group or independent study.
Information processing means building literacy skills
Within the social studies curriculum, teachers are introducing literacy skills. Discipline vocabulary is integral to historical events. Listening to the stories. Writing in journals, e.g.,"Write a newspaper story about the Boston Massacre." Draw your version of the event. Recite the poetry of Langston Hughes. Have the class dramatize Longfellow's "Midnight Ride of Paul Revere" (and learn about the teenage girl who was a critical part of the story!)
Comprehensive teacher guides and lessons plans.
Teacher guides suggest how to use slides to tell a story of the historical events listed in Georgia's standards. Related standards, map reading, global skills, civics, are included as part of the story. There are daily lesson plans suited to a class period and dozens of suggestions for using the images for small group and independent assignments.