Migration, Movement, and Music Oyster Bilingual Elementary School, Washington, D.C.

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1 Oyster Bilingual Elementary School, Washington, D.C. Created by Carole Whelan, elementary art teacher T 32 Project description Oyster s fifth-grade students produced paintings that connected students family histories to Jacob Lawrence s The Migration Series. After studying Lawrence s art, students interviewed family members to learn how their ancestors arrived in America. These family stories often provided the subject for the students artwork. The curriculum incorporated social studies, language arts, math, and African-American music. We collaborated with local jazz vocalist Imani Gonzales, who led the students in a workshop that included singing and dancing to deepen their understanding of The Migration Series and its social context. To foster crosscurricular connections, in social studies we explored the Harlem Renaissance and its links with Washington, D.C., Duke Ellington, and Langston Hughes. As part of their creative process, students kept journals of their observations and made captions similar to Lawrence s for their artwork. Students appreciated Lawrence s artistic choices and noted that he used many shades of brown to unify The Migration Series panels. We voted to use hues of blue in our own series. As students began to paint in jewel-like tones, their art became an astonishing visual parallel to our musical exploration of jazz and blues. Hannah Bernhardt This project became a process of discovery where students were intrigued by the parallels between their own families experiences of overcoming hardship and those of African Americans during the Great Migration. Carole Whelan Curriculum connections: Visual Arts, Language Arts, Social Studies, Math (Geometry) Length: 14 classes, 75 minutes each Grade level: Fifth grade

2 Objectives Students will: Read and analyze The Migration Series captions to understand the Great Migration s social and economic causes and effects. Visually interpret and analyze the elements of art and artistic composition of The Migration Series. Study the impact of oppression and persecution on various groups of immigrants to the United States. Interview parents and grandparents. Become familiar with Lawrence s artistic process. Learn about Lawrence s art in relation to African-American music. Employ Lawrence s techniques in geometric composition, limited color palette, and bold, simple drawing to create a set of paintings demonstrating unity through color and subject. Materials Watercolors, watercolor paper, watercolor brushes, rulers, pencils, graphite sticks; CD player and jazz CDs. School profile Oyster Bilingual Elementary School, a Washington, D.C., public school offers a nationally and internationally recognized bilingual program for grades pre-k to eighth. All instruction and school activities are conducted in a dual-language immersion environment, with equal weight given to learning in English and in Spanish. Both Oyster s faculty and its 430-student body are split evenly between native-english and native-spanish speakers. In addition, by enrolling children from many neighborhoods, nationalities, cultures, and economic circumstances, Oyster provides a heterogeneous social environment that is essential to its multicultural mission. Teaching Kit resources Primary sources: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35 Worksheets: 4, 5, 9 Visual resources: Teaching Kit posters and teaching transparencies Other resources: The Great Migration: An American Story, by Jacob Lawrence; Harlem, by Walter Dean Myers National standards of learning Dance: 2, 5, 7 Language Arts: 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 Math (Geometry): 1, 3, 4 Music: 1, 6, 7, 8, 9 Social Studies: 5, 6, 7 T 33 Emilio Monzon

3 Step-by-step teaching unit Step 1. Introduction Students read about The Migration Series in the Teaching Kit, explore Lawrence s narrative, subject matter, geometric composition, and artistic unity through repetition of color and shape. Students discuss Lawrence s research of family and community history, and the concept of creating a narrative series. They listen to jazz in the context of The Migration Series. Teach with jacob lawrence T 34 Step 2. Background information Students read Teaching Kit essay: Exploring Lawrence s World: The Great Migration and the Harlem Renaissance (Tab 3) and view the video Over the Line: The Art and Life of Jacob Lawrence. Students do quick sketches emulating Lawrence s figures and compositions. They listen to the poem Harlem, by Walter Dean Myers. Step 3. Lawrence s use of visual elements shape and color Students review basic geometric shapes, symbolism, pattern, and judicious use of color, and study how these elements are used in Lawrence s work. They make their own Step 4. Evolution of jazz activity experimental sketches based on geometric shapes. Students vote on the color palette they will all use to demonstrate unity in their own series. Step 4. Evolution of jazz Students sing and dance with a music teacher/ jazz musician, discussing how and why African songs, rhythms, and dance evolved into field songs, spirituals, blues, swing, and bebop. Students learn how melody, beat, and emphasis in music created messages in African-American music, to inspire and communicate to those who made and listened to it. Throughout the lesson, students compare these musical representations to Lawrence s visual interpretation. Step 5. Family interviews Using the Teaching Kit worksheet Talk It Up: A Community Interview, students interview family members as homework to investigate reasons they came to America. Step 6. Final compositions

4 Step 6. Final compositions Students hone art and geometry skills and start their final compositions using watercolor paper, continually referring to color reproductions of The Migration Series. Step 7. Student critique Students compare Lawrence s work to their own and their classmates, looking for geometric composition and use of color, while being aware of the shared characteristics determined by the class. Step 8. Museum visit to The Phillips Collection Students visit The Phillips Collection and analyze the display of Lawrence s The Migration Series, comparing their own work, choice of colors, and composition to Lawrence s. Step 9. Student exhibition and community celebration Student work is exhibited at The Phillips Collection as part of the Young Artists Exhibition Program (see page T 62). Students collaborate on a song, dance piece, and a music selection, which they perform for a school and family audience at a Phillips community celebration. Teacher profile Carole Whelan has been the art teacher at Oyster Bilingual School since She has nurtured a vibrant art program, which draws strength and excitement from the school s diverse population. Continually renewing her teaching practice, Whelan received a master s degree in educational transformation at George Mason University. For the past decade, Whelan has worked with local museums, including The Phillips Collection. These partnerships have enabled her to develop meaningful programs for Oyster s art and academic curriculum. In 2009, Whelan received the Washington, D.C. Mayor s Award for Arts Teaching (Visual Arts category). T 35 Step 9. Student exhibition and community celebration

5 Teach with jacob lawrence T 36 Rubric for assessment Students were graded on the following rubric using a point system: 4 points advanced Student exceeded all expectations in adapting The Migration Series style to his or her own painting. Artistic interpretation of the student s family s immigration was outstanding and demonstrated a complete understanding of design and advanced artistic problem solving. Student showed skill, control of the media, and confidence in experimentation. Student independently found and skillfully integrated new ideas from a wide variety of sources. Student demonstrated outstanding effort. 3 points proficient Student made a good artistic interpretation of his or her family s immigration and demonstrated a clear understanding of design and artistic problem solving. Student showed skill, control of media, and confidence in experimentation. With limited prompting, student found and integrated some new ideas from a variety of sources. Student demonstrated good effort. 2 points met expectations Student s artistic interpretation of his or her family s immigration was acceptable and demonstrated a fair understanding of design and artistic problem solving. Student showed skill, control of media, and willingness to experiment. With prompting, student found and integrated a few new ideas from one or two sources. Student demonstrated acceptable effort. 1 point below basic Student did not meet expectations. Artistic interpretation of his or her family s immigration was unacceptable and demonstrated little understanding of design and artistic problem solving. Student showed little skill and control of media, and lacked confidence in experimentation. With frequent prompting, student found and tried to integrate an idea from a teacher-found source. Student demonstrated minimal effort. Other assessment methods Formal: Regular critiques and feedback by class and teacher. Students are able to describe and demonstrate clearly and accurately their artistic goals and how they reached them. Informal: Teacher and classmate observation of students appreciation, enthusiasm, and efforts in sketching and painting, participation at each step, and in the family interview process. Impact statement It was fascinating to see how important this project has been to many of our students families. Some had never investigated the movement of their ancestors to America. This project became a process of discovery. As family histories involving political upheaval, struggle for religious freedom, and desire for a better life became known, students became intrigued by the parallels between these experiences of overcoming hardship and those of African Americans during the Great Migration. By the project s conclusion, parents who had previously found it difficult to inspire their children to appreciate their cultural roots reported that they were delighted to find that their children were now enthralled with their heritage.

6 Students were also enthusiastic about depicting images of jazz in our art project. A few even began teaching their schoolmates songs they had heard at home, which had previously held little significance for them. It was rewarding to see students influence each other in such a personal way. The combination of learning about music and The Migration Series, while creating art based on family history, had a compelling and powerful influence on our students. The result is a collective Oyster Migration Series featuring stories of migration, immigration, and life in America. Student voices I have many family backgrounds. I am part white, part African American, and mostly Latina. The Migration Series has much to do with my family. Some of my ancestors came here by ship, some of them in chains, and some by their own will. But my father s side of the family didn t come here at all. Only he did. He is from Guatemala. Stephanie Cristina Guzman T 37 Stephanie Cristina Guzman