National Endowment for the Humanities
Jacob Lawrence's Migration Series: Removing the Mask
Describe, analyze, compare and contrast poets from the Harlem Renaissance. Critical thinkers analyze the imagery, characterization, tone, symbolism, and historical context of Jacob Lawrence, Helene Johnson, and Paul Laurence Dunbar. A...
PBS
Explore Art and Movement Inspired by Jacob Lawrenceâs Migration Series
Panel 58 from Jacob Lawrence's "Migration Series" of paintings provides middle schoolers with an opportunity to sharpen their observation and analytical skills. After engaging in a warm-up activity that introduces the concepts of...
Curated OER
I Have A Dream - Pastel Drawings
Discuss the meaning of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" speech, explore figurative language, and read about Harriet Tubman and her courage. After the discussion, learners analyze painter/author Jacob Lawrence's use of...
Curated OER
PAINTING COLORFUL STORIES INFLUENCED BY JACOB LAWRENCE
Students research the background of Jacob Lawrence and study the music, poetry, and spirit of the Harlem Community that was present during Jacob Lawrence's formative and subsequent art productions. They create a piece of artwork...
Curated OER
How Do Artists Effectively Relate Historic Events?
Young scholars explore African American migration. In this black culture and history lesson plan, students use a map to identify northern and southern states in which African Americans lived in the 1900s. Young scholars observe and...
Curated OER
The Life and Work of Jacob Lawrence
Black History Month provides a time to talk about the accomplishments of African Americans like Jacob Lawrence.
Curated OER
Harriet Tubman
Young scholars detect specific characteristics in the paintings of Jacob Lawrence. For this collage lesson, students utilize the style of Jacob Lawrence to create works about Harriet Tubman and her life.
Curated OER
Jacob Lawrence's Freedom Trail
Young scholars read excerpts of autobiographies from Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman. After listening to excerpts of an oral reading of Frederick Douglass' book, they discuss the ways African Americans were treated on plantations....
Curated OER
Using Children's Literature and Art to Examine the African-American Resistance to Injustice
Students study the basic techniques Jacob Lawrence used in creating a series of paintings. They realize the importance of individual accomplishment within their own family, things as ordinary as preparing for a picnic or going to work...
Curated OER
Learning from Jacob Lawrence and Harriet Tubman
Students view and discuss a painting of Harriet Tubman by Jacob Lawrence. They complete a fact sheet/worksheet on Lawrence and on Tubman. They examine the colors, shapes and patterns used in the painting and compare them to their own...
Curated OER
Highlights of Modern American Family Art and Literature
Students develop imagery in literary and art works. They discuss Jacob Lawrence's painting, the "Tombstones, 1942", which conveyed overcrowded tenements and families living in Harlem (New York, New York). They design picture stories...
Curated OER
Asking Questions
Students examine a painting that depicts a scene from the Underground Railroad. They discuss the painting and write journal entries and poems in response to the painting's themes and their impressions.
Curated OER
Making Choices
Students explore the life of Harriet Tubman. They examine a painting of Harriet Tubman and consider the tools used to communicate information about her. Sudents describe how the color of a painting explains the mood of the illustrator....
Curated OER
The Great Migration
Students explore how migration to Harlem created a new life for African Americans. In this cross curricular lesson, students illustrate maps showing the migration, paint murals representing African American life in the South and create a...
Curated OER
Dolls Around the World - Figurative Sculpture
Students examine different cultures while making doll sculptures. Using tinfoil, they make the doll, paint them and give them hair and props related to that specific culture. They also compare and contrast different dolls as they...
Curated OER
Sports Action Figure
Fourth graders identify art elements and design principles in art such as movement, unity, space and color planning.
Curated OER
The Great Migration: Pushed By The South, Pulled By The North
Students identify key features of the Great Migration. They explain the concepts of push and pull factors for migration. They create an art project which shows an understanding of the push and pull factors.
Curated OER
The Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance inspired a group of writers, musicians, and artists whose influence is still seen today.
Curated OER
Visual Art: Romare Bearden and Group 306
Students examine the life and art of Romare Bearden. Using his "Mill Hand's Lunch Bucket" for inspiration, they write a first chapter for a book. Students observe numerous other works of his art and discuss them from artistic and...
Curated OER
The Real Me!
Fourth graders examine and explain who they are and communicate that person to the viewer through the use of the visual arts. They think about themselves and try to find five things that represent who they are and what they feel is...
Curated OER
Determining Importance
Students observe pieces of art and look for the principle story the artwork portrays. They compare the techniques artists and authors use to focus on and support these essential stories. They create a piece of art that portrays a given...
Curated OER
How was Your Day? Creating Mixed Media Designs
Students explore how art reflects culture and history. They examine everyday life experiences in various countries. Students design a mixed media composition. They create a class presentation.
Curated OER
The Laundress
Students explore the concept of work, and work typically assigned to women, through artwork depicting laundresses.