Lauren Litowsky

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Identity Through Art and Literature (and keeping
control of the classroom) Terra Teacher Lab,
2007-08
Lauren Litowsky Prosser Career Academy High
School American Literature/Special
Education Sophomores
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Johannes Verspronck Kehinde Wiley Andries Stilte
II, 2006 Oil on Canvas Columbus Musuem of Art
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Key ideas about the artwork that informed the
lesson

• Inspired by Renaissance artists from the past
• Takes the styles and poses of the past and models
  them after the Renaissance art
• Wiley approaches African American men in Harlem
  and asks permission to paint them
• His paintings are narratives about African
  American men and their place in the real world
• His work merges the past with the present and
  positions African American men as aristocrats

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• What I wanted students to learn
• ? Art can be incorporated into learning in many
  different ways
• ? Appreciation of different types of art
• ? Understand the link between art and showing
  identity
• ? Just like the novels we read, art tells a story
• Art can take many forms

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• A few major learning activities
• Close read and comparison of JCV painting and
  Kehinde Wiley painting
• Students created portraits of characters in the
  novel The Westing Game
• ? Students created their own portraits

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Organization worksheet

• Name_____________________________
• Due Date_____________________
• MAKING YOUR OWN PORTRAIT
• Think about who you are as a person. How do
  people see you on a daily basis? If you were
  able to change the way people see you, how would
  you want that to be? Think about how you could
  show that in a picture.
• Answer the following questions
• 1. How do you want to portray (show) yourself to
  the world? _______________________
• __________________________________________________
  ______________________
• 2. What will I wear?_____________________________
  ___________________________
• __________________________________________________
  ______________________
• 3. What will the setting (location and
  background) be?_____________________________
• __________________________________________________
  ______________________
• 4. How will I stand?_____________________________
  __________________________
• __________________________________________________
  ______________________
• 5. How will I position my body?__________________
  ____________________________
• __________________________________________________
  ______________________
• 6. What objects will I be holding and what
  objects will I have around me?______________
• __________________________________________________
  ______________________

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Actual portrait assignment

• MAKE YOUR OWN PORTRAIT
• After filling out the organizer, it is time to
  make your portrait! You are to show yourself in
  a different way than people normally see you (For
  example, you might want to show yourself all
  grown up as an adult, or perhaps you want to show
  yourself as a famous person. It is up to you.
  Be creative!)
• Follow ALL these steps to make your portrait
• 1. Decide what image you will show yourself in
  (ex. famous, grown up, etc.)
• 2. Draw yourself. You can decide to draw just
  your face or your entire body. But leave room
  for the background.
• 3. Draw 5 objects that represent who you are as
  a person (like we did when drawing the characters
  from the novel)
• 4. Write one paragraph explaining
• your 5 objects and why you picked them
• explain why you wanted to portray (show)
  yourself the way you did

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Examples of student work
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What my students learned ? There are many
different types of art out there-even art they
can relate to and appreciate! ? Art makes
learning fun ? They all have their own artistic
talents ? Art portrays a message, just like
novels do ? Influential African American role
model
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What I learned ? Art really draws students into
a lesson-especially for those who are not very
interested in school ? My students have
tremendous artistic talents ? Art can help to
reach difficult students ? Having students make
art that relates to a novel helps solidify their
understanding of the story ? Incorporating art
causes participation to skyrocket!