 |
Stay
informed with our
email
newsletters.
Click
here to give feedback on our pages for educators.
Museum
Educator-led Programs
Pre & Post Visit Resources
Landscape
and Literature: A 19th Century Exploration
Grades
9 - 12
Scroll
down the page to find items on the menu below or click on a link
to jump to an item.
Program Description and
Frameworks
Program Outline
Key Terms and Concepts
Classroom Activities
Suggested Print and Web Resources
Go
to Expressions of Culture Gallery Page
Click
here for printable version of all resources listed above
Program Description and Frameworks
19th century
American artists, notably the Hudson River School, gave pictorial
meaning to a scenery distinctly American-a quiet beauty and an unspoiled
heroic wilderness. Explore the pictorial imagination and its intersection
with 19th century American literature connecting the written word
and works of art.
Location:
Expressions of Culture (permanent painting galleries)
Length: One hour
Grades: 9 - 12
Massachusetts
Arts: Connections Strand: Standards 6.7, 7.9, 8.6,8.8,8.9,10.1,10.4,
| 6.7 |
Compare
examples of works in one arts domain (dance, music, theatre,
visual arts, or architecture) from several periods or cultures
and explain the extent to which each reflects function, customs,
religious beliefs, social philosophies, aesthetic theories,
economic conditions, and/or historical or political events.
|
| 7.9 |
Identify
artists who have been involved in social and political movements,
and describe the significance of selected works. |
| 8.6 |
Classify
works from the United States and world cultures by genre, style,
and historical period; explain why the works exemplify a particular
genre, style, or period. |
| 8.8 |
Identify
the stylistic features of a given work and explain how they
relate to aesthetic tradition and historical or cultural contexts.
|
| 8.9 |
Identify
examples of innovation and tradition in the arts, and explain
the works in relation to historical and cultural contexts. |
| 10.1 |
Integrate
knowledge of dance, music, theatre, and visual arts and apply
the arts to learning other disciplines. |
| 10.4 |
Continue
the above and integrate knowledge from various disciplines and
cultural resources. |
English Language Arts: Language Strand
1.5, 2.5,2.6; Reading and Literature Strand 9.6, 9.7, 10.5, 10.6,
14.5, 14.6, 15.7
| 1.5 |
Identify
and practice techniques such as setting time limits for speakers
and deadlines for decision-making to improve productivity of
group discussions. |
| 2.5
|
Summarize
in a coherent and organized way information and ideas learned
from a focused discussion. |
| 2.6 |
Analyze
differences in responses to focused group discussion in an organized
and systematic way. |
| 9.6 |
Relate
a literary work to primary source documents of its literary
period or historical setting. |
| 9.7 |
Relate
a literary work to the seminal ideas of its time. |
| 10.5
|
Compare
and contrast the presentation of a theme or topic across genres
to explain how the selection of genre shapes the message. |
| 10.6 |
Identify
and analyze characteristics of genres (satire, parody, allegory,
pastoral) that overlap or cut across the lines of genre classifications
such as poetry, prose, drama, short story, essay, and editorial. |
| 14.5 |
Identify,
respond to, and analyze the effects of sound, form, figurative
language, graphics, and dramatic structure of poems. |
| 14.6
|
Analyze
and evaluate the appropriateness of diction and imagery. |
| 15.7 |
Evaluate
how an author's choice of words advances the theme or purpose
of a work. |
History and Social Science; U.S History Strand
USI.26, USI.33
| USI.26 |
Describe
the causes, course, and consequences of America's westward expansion
and its growing diplomatic assertiveness. Use a map of North
America to trace America's expansion to the Civil war, including
the location of the Oregon Trails. |
| USI.33
|
Analyze
the emergence of the Transcendentalist movement through the
writings of Ralph Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. |
New York
English Language Arts Standards 1,2
| 1 |
Students
will listen, speak, read, and write for information and understanding.
As listeners and readers, students will collect data, facts,
and ideas; discover relationships, concepts, and generalizations;
and use knowledge generated from oral, written, and electronically
produced texts. As speakers and writers, they will use oral
and written language that follows the accepted conventions of
the English language to acquire, interpret, apply, and transmit
information. |
| 2
|
Students
will read and listen to oral, written, and electronically produced
texts and performances from American and world literature; relate
texts and performances to their own lives; and develop an understanding
of the diverse social, historical, and cultural dimensions the
texts and performances represent. As speakers and writers, students
will use oral and written language that follows the accepted
conventions of the English language for self-expression and
artistic creation. |
The Arts Standards 3,4
| 3 |
Students
will respond critically to a variety of works in the arts, connecting
the individual work to other works and to other aspects of human
endeavor and thought. |
| 4 |
Students
will develop an understanding of the personal and cultural forces
that shape artistic communication and how the arts in turn shape
the diverse cultures of past and present society. |
Social Studies Standard 1
| 1 |
Students
will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their
understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and
turning points in the history of the United States and New York.
|
Program Outline
Introduction:
Historic Perspective
An
introduction to 19th century culture and politics. Educators will
place this program in its historic perspective by briefly discussing
the Era of Good Feelings, the War of 1812, Manifest destiny and
prominent thinkers and writers of the times.
Entering a Painting
Examine
artwork from a new perspective by imagining what it would be like
to be a part of a painting. Discuss what you might see, hear,
or feel from inside a painting.
Poetry
Focusing
on one of the pieces in the Expressions of Culture galleries,
students create a poem that the entire group contributes to, using
descriptive language based on the mood and style of the paintings.
Classic
Literature
Compare poems by Bryant, Emerson, Whitman, Thoreau and other 19th
century writers to artwork from the same period.
Conclusion
Each group will present their thoughts about the connections between
the literary and art world of the 19th century.
Concepts
Covered
|
American
Romanticism
|
A movement
in the visual and literary arts of the nineteenth century
encompassing a belief in the natural goodness of humans in
a state of nature, that humans would naturally behave well,
but are hindered by civilization. Romanticism also embraces
the idea that nature is a manifestation of the holy or sublime.
|
| Era
of Good Feelings |
After
the end of the War of 1812, Europe and America began a period
of peace in which the American government was free to focus
on the politics and welfare of its own country instead of
international disputes.
|
| Expansion
Westward |
The push
to expand American civilization as far west as was possible.
|
| Hudson
River School |
American
painters in the 1800's who focused on painting nature in an
idealistic way. They were followers of American Romanticism
and wanted to use art to show the beauty of nature as they
viewed it.
|
| War
of 1812 |
In
1812 America declared war on Britain for interference with American
shipping and aiding the American Indians. The war ended in 1814
when the Treaty of Ghent was signed. |
Key Terms Used During the Program
Transcendentalism
Manifest Destiny
Sublime
Intuition
Landscape
|
The
belief that humans can intuitively transcend the limits of logic
and directly receive higher truths and greater knowledge denied
to more mundane methods of knowing.
The belief held by many 19th century Americans that is was their
God-given responsibility to expand American culture as far into
the west as possible.
So awe-inspiringly beautiful as to seem almost heavenly.
Being aware of or knowing something without having physical
or logical proof of it.
An expanse of scenery that can be seen with the eye. In art,
a landscape is a painting, drawing or photograph of this type
of scene, usually a rural one. |
Activities: Before and After Your
Visit
Berkshire
Picture Gallery
Make a drawing or collage of one of your favorite places in the
Berkshires. On a separate sheet write about your favorite place,
include in your information who you go there with, what is special
about the place, and explain what you do when you are there. Include
descriptive words about what you see, hear and feel. Using this
information, create a fictional short story about this place.
Attach your story to your painting/drawing. Make an exhibition
in the classroom of everyone's artwork. During your visit to the
Museum, see if your favorite place can be found in the Power of
Place exhibit.
Travel Diary
Some 19th century artists made visual documents of places they
had traveled so that others could see what faraway places looked
like. Imagine that you are traveling to the Berkshires for the
first time. Make a list of all the places in the Berkshires you
would like to visit and the things you would like to do. Write
your own travel diary for your 7-day trip to the Berkshire Hills.
Your travel diary should include written descriptions, as well
as drawings and sketches of the places and sights that you enjoyed
the most. For information on Berkshire tourist destination visit
See
the Berkshires.
American Romanticism
Research American Romanticism, focusing on either the artists
or writers of this period. Once you have completed your research
create a written or visual art piece that would have fit into
the ideals of American Romanticism in the 1800's.
Nature's Symbols
Romantic painters and poets believed even the simplest elements
of nature were imbued with meaning. Read stanza
6 of Walt Whitman's Song of Myself, in which the poet
explores all of the meaning inherent in a few blades of grass.
Then take the class outside and ask students to select one thing
in nature and to write down all of the different meanings it could
have-- does it remind you of something else, what would it mean
to different people, to different animals, to the environment,
in different cultures, etc. Then have them use their notes to
create a poem in the style of stanza 6, using the refrains "Or
I guess it is…" and "It may be…"
Manifest Destiny
As a class, read Walt Whitman's poem Facing West
from California's Shores. Then discuss: What does the
poem say about the idea of manifest destiny?
Suggested Web and Print Resources
All print resources listed are available through the Central/Western
Massachusetts Library System.
Use the Berkshire
Athenaeum's on-line catalogue to search for these print
resources in Western Massachusetts.
Print Materials For Students
Levin, Nathan
and Jim Burke. Walt Whitman: Poetry for
Young People. New York: Sterling Publishing. 1997.
This book is an excellent introduction to Walt Whitman's poetry.
It contains excerpts from and illustrations of some of his longer
poems.
Melvin, Betsy and Tom. Robert Frost's
New England. Hanover, NH. University Press of New England,
2000.
Each photograph in this book is a landscape from New England
and is accompanied by a poem or verse from Robert Frost.
Thoreau, Henry David. Walden.
New York: F. Watts, 1969.
Walden is one of Thoreau's most famous works. This book is
a record of his experiment in simple living as he tried to live
independently from society on the banks of Walden Pond in Concord
Massachusetts.
Whitman, Walt. Leaves of Grass.
New York: Paddington Press, 1976.
A collection of Walt Whitman's poems written throughout his
life.
Print Materials For Educators
Melvin,
Betsy and Tom. Robert Frost's New England.
Hanover, NH. University Press of New England, 2000.
Each photograph in this book is a landscape from New England
and is accompanied by a poem or verse from Robert Frost.
Thoreau, Henry David. Walden.
New York: F. Watts, 1969. Walden is one of Thoreau's most famous
works.
This book is a record of his experiment in simple living as
he tried to live independently from society on the banks of Walden
Pond in Concord Massachusetts.
Whitman, Walt. Leaves of Grass.
New York: Paddington Press, 1976.
A collection of Walt Whitman's poems written throughout his
life.
Web
Materials for Students
See
the Berkshires
Learn about different parts of the Berkshires and the places
and events that bring people to this unique landscape.
Web Materials
for Educators
Smithsonian
Education
This Smithsonian website provides teachers with information
on landscape paintings and provides lesson plans and additional
resources.
 The
Institute of Museum and Library Services, an independent Federal
grant- making agency dedicated to creating and sustaining a nation
of learners by helping libraries and museums serve their communities
supports the Berkshire Museum.
<
Back to School and Youth Groups Main Page
|
