Lesson One
Title: Westward Expansion &
Manifest Destiny
Purpose
: To introduce and analyze the American concept of Manifest Destiny
Materials
: Maps, primary documents, text,
Duration
: 45 mins
Objectives
/Students will be able to:
-
- identify the causes and effects of U.S. westward expansions
-
- explain the idea of
manifest destiny
-
- connect 19th century U.S expansion to the greater concepts of nationalism and empire
Warm Up:
Students will walk in and see the word destiny on the board. Students will take out their notebooks and write a thoughtful definition of the word. Students will then share their definitions. After this discussion, I will write the word
manifest
on the board before destiny. What does
manifest
mean? Webster defines manifest as “obvious, readily perceived.” Put
manifest destiny
together and what ideas can we come up with?
Activity
:
Putting the term manifest destiny aside for a moment, students will analyze two sets of data from the early 19th century: birthrates and immigration. This data will reveal that America grew from a population of five million in the beginning of the century to about twenty five million by the halfway point.
With such a boom in population, what do the students predict the solution will be? To help illustrate the point, students should also be directed to a world map, and reminded that Americans came from London to the Atlantic coast (westward) and then expanded from the coast to the Appalachians (westward). Remember the Louisiana Purchase? Lewis and Clark?
After reading a passage from O’Sullivan’s essay (above), class will address the question: what is
manifest destiny
and how does it connect to the earlier sets of data? As the map activity (below) is passed out, teacher will point out the Spanish claims in the new world. What impact could the location of the Spanish Empire have in the movement of
manifest destiny
?
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Closure
:
Map activity about the stages of westward expansions, and the annihilation of the native peoples of North America
Assignment
:
Under their earlier, separate definitions of the two words, students will write in their notebooks a comprehensive definition of the historical concept of
manifest destiny
. They will also explain the more material (political and economic) reasons that drove this movement in American history.
Lesson Two
Title
:
Art 101
Purpose
: To introduce fundamental skills of art analysis and writing critically
Materials: Notes on art analysis, Church’s
Hooker and Company Journeying through the Wilderness in 1636 from Plymouth to Hartford
Duration
: 45 mins
Objectives/Students will be able to:
-
- define key terms to art analysis
-
- critically analyze and discuss a painting
-
- identify unique qualities of landscape painting
Warm Up
:
What do we look at when we look at a work of art? Class will list and discuss the many elements of a work of art - subject, style, color, line, form, angle, medium, matching, light, the objects, depth, shape, size, scale, purpose, etc. As any of these various layers to a painting are listed by the students, they should be encouraged to define the term using their own words. Do any classmates have anything to add to the definition, modifications? Hopefully after a brief discussion, the class will have a solid understanding of the term The teacher may need to clarify or solidify the definition. Writing the definition down on the board afterwards will be helpful for more visual learners.
Activity
:
After the introductory discussion that will establish the key art terms for the lessons, the class will take notes on Thomas Cole and the Hudson River School painters. In their notebooks, they will respond to the prompt: What are some of the unique elements in landscape art? What types of questions could you ask about this type of piece using those terms? Some possible questions/observations could be: Are there humans in the painting? Are they at ease, fearful, or dwarfed by nature? What is their relation to the horizon and the sky? Is the sky clouded, stormy? Clear, bright? Is that forest inviting and nurturing or dark and threatening. Are there artificial objects in the scene? After observing a piece of art in this way, the next step is to interpret it what statement is the artist making by painting this scene and by including the elements he chose to include??
Closure
:
Place
Frederic Church’s
Hooker and Company Journeying through the Wilderness in 1636 from Plymouth to Hartford (
1846) on the overhead for the students to view. Allow a minute or two for them to look long and hard at the painting. Accurately using the terms just discussed in class, students will describe what they see and then record their initial response to the work in their history journals.
Assignment:
Students will locate three works of art from home (an actual painting, a sculpture, a vase, plate, photograph, quilt, etc). They will write a paragraph on each piece describing it using the terms above in their journals. At least five of the terms above should be used on each piece.
Lesson Three
Title: Art, Literature, and American National Identity
Purpose: To view the art of Westward Expansion
Materials
: Whitman’s
Pioneers! O Pioneers!
, Leutze’s
Departure of Columbus from Palos in 1492
(1855), Leutze’s
Westward the Course of Empire Takes its Way (Westward Ho!),
Church’s
Hooker and Company Journeying through the Wilderness in 1636 from Plymouth to Hartford (
1846), Deas’s
The Death Struggle
(1845)
Duration
: 90 mins
Objectives
/Students will be able to:
-
- gather historical data from secondary sources
-
- compare the representation of historical themes in poetry and painting
-
- identify the main idea in a source of historical information
-
- analyze, compare and write critically about connected works of art
Warm Up:
During the last class the students essentially described what they saw and their initial reactions, and today students will further analyze a work of art. Students will break down the title on the board -
Westward the Course of Empire Takes its Way (Westward Ho!).
What does the title suggest about the painter’s perspective? Simply based on the title, what does the class imagine the painting to look like? Students would be encouraged to describe or sketch for a few minutes at their desks. Volunteers can get up and sketch a design for the class or describe their visions.
Activity:
The painting should then be projected on to the whiteboard or screen as large as possible without degrading the image. The painting should be examined through the lens of
manifest destiny
. The question, “How does the artist portray the pioneers and their mission?” should prompt a long examination and discussion because there are so many details in the painting to interpret. In the narrative above I discuss at length some areas that deserve close attention and comparisons that further enrich this lesson. Please refer to that section for additional ideas about discussion prompts.
Closure:
After thoroughly analyzing this work of art and making the appropriate comparisons, the students will read Walt Whitman’s
Pioneers! O Pioneers!
silently at their desks
.