This unit will use artwork to further enhance student comprehension of content vocabulary related to the Revolutionary War. Students will be encouraged to analyze what they observe in regards to gender, race, and social standing. Students will also analyze, compare, and contrast American Colonial life with life in Jamaica after the Emancipation. The artwork will help students in their second language development because they will be expected to report their observations and inferences in the target language, thus "obligating" them to acquire new vocabulary to report what they see and also what they think, using evidence. Analyzing artwork, students have an opportunity to report what they see without the threat of being right or wrong.
Students will be presented with artwork that addresses the period from 1750 to 1850. Images will include pictures, portraits, and scenes from Colonial America and Emancipated Jamaica. They will be asked to complete Venn diagrams, which will help students to organize their thoughts, identifying similarities and differences they see in these works. When similarities are not readily apparent, students will be encouraged to make inferences. Through artwork, students will put faces and names to historical figures, deepening historical understanding.
(Developed for History, Social Studies, and Bilingual Education, grades 5-7; recommended for History, Social Studies, and Bilingual Education, grades 5-7)
