This lesson brings Nebraska Reading, Writing, Social Studies, and National Visual Arts Standards together. Students are introduced to the Oregon Trail paintings of Thomas Hart Benton. Students new to the Oregon Trail will read a pioneer story then look for that information in BentonŐs paintings. Those with a prior background of U.S. history and/or Nebraska history will write a historical narrative about the Oregon Trail using four of BentonŐs paintings. Artistic terms, such as abstract, line, form, and color will be introduced.
Title: The Oregon Trail illustration collection
Artist: Thomas Hart Benton
Media: Watercolor
Plate/Date: 1945
Standards/Curriculum
http://www.nde.state.ne.us/SS/
4.5
http://www.nde.state.ne.us/READ/Standards/ReadingWritingStandards.htm
4.2.2
National Visual Art Standards
http://www.getty.edu/artsednet/resources/Scope/Standards/
Grades K-4: 1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6
Objectives
1. Students will describe events that happened on the Oregon Trail and in the daily lives of Native Americans by writing a narrative essay of a family traveling through Nebraska based on BentonŐs paintings.
2. Students will use photographs from a family trip to relate significant events that had an impact on their personal life.
3. Students will develop historical analytical skills by making generalizations about how people in Nebraska lived using art as a primary source.
4. Students will illustrate their narrative by correlating images to their own narrative using watercolor.
Assessment
Use district assessment instruments for social studies, reading, writing, and visual arts.
Rubric generators available at: http://www.teach-nology.com/web_tools/rubrics/
Resources
Museum Of Nebraska Art: http://monet.unk.edu/mona/default1.html
Reproductions of Oregon Trail by Thomas Hart Benton (available also on post cards from MONA Museum Shop)
Optional pioneer resource books:
á Wagon Wheels by Barbara Brenner
á The Josefina Story Quilt by Eleanor Coerr
á A Fourth of July on the Plains by Jean Van Leeuwen
á Dandelions by Eve Bunting
á If You Traveled West In A Covered Wagon by Ellen Levine
Art information / vocabulary: http://www.sanford-artedventures.com/
Materials
Chart paper/chalkboard
Writing paper
Optional: family photos of a trip
Vocabulary
http://www.artlex.com/
http://www.artincanada.com/arttalk/arttermsanddefinitions.html
abstract
line
color
form
pioneer
Teaching
1. Background of artwork / artist: Thomas Hart Benton http://monet.unk.edu/mona/contemp/benton/benton.html
á Thomas Hart Benton was born on April 15, 1889 in Neosho, Missouri. He spent most of his childhood in boarding schools and in Washington, D.C. and landed his first job as a cartoonist for the Joplin American in Missouri. Benton studied at the Art Institute of Chicago, resided briefly in Paris and New York City, and then settled in Kansas City, working as an instructor of drawing/painting at the Kansas City Art Institute. His most famous pupil was the Abstract Expressionist Jackson Pollock; his well-known Nebraska students at the Institute were Aaron Pyle and Bill Hammond.
á Benton was part of the Regionalist movement and is well known for his mural paintings that depict common everyday scenes of mid-western life. The figures in his works often appear cartoon-like through the way he distorts the bone and muscular structure of their faces. His most famous murals are located in the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City and in the Truman Library in Independence. Benton died January 19, 1975 in his studio.
á The artist Thomas Hart Benton was commissioned to paint pictures to go with Francis ParkmanŐs The Oregon Trail published one hundred years earlier in 1847. Parkman kept a journal of his travels from St. Louis to Fort Laramie and Fort Bent via the Platte River. Benton traveled back roads making sketches of the country, and then used ParkmanŐs descriptions to paint his illustrations. His early travels with his father developed a love for rural and small town people. Benton started his career as a cartoonist for a newspaper in Missouri. He studied in Chicago and Paris, and then went on to develop his own style. Benton is a contemporary of Grant Wood and a leading figure in American regionalism. Some have referred to him as a visual historian.
2. Construct a K-W-L chart about the Oregon Trail and pioneers. Students will list information they already know under the K section. Younger students with little prior information can read ----------- before charting.
3. Make a list of things students want to know under the W section. One way to gain information is by studying the paintings of artists.
4. Share the Thomas Hart Benton paintings. Discuss the historical aspects of each painting.
5. Ask questions about pioneer life and what the artist is communicating:
á What can we learn about pioneer life?
á What can we learn about Native American life?
6. Ask questions directed toward the elements of art present and how the artist used them:
á What elements of art stand out the most?
á How did the artist use line to get your attention?
á How did the artist use color to get your attention?
á How did the artist use shape/form to get your attention?
á Abstract art makes some things look like a cartoon. Where do you see evidence of abstract art?
á Where do you see some examples of cartoon-like characters?
á Why do you think Benton used water colors to illustrate the Oregon Trail book?
7. Complete the L section of the K-W-L chart by recording information learned.
Creating
8. Write a narrative or play of a family traveling through Nebraska on the Oregon Trail based on BentonŐs paintings. Focus on ideas and organization from 6 Trait Writing.
9. Point out that artists have various purposes for creating works of art. In the case of Thomas Hart Benton, he used paintings to tell the story of pioneers traveling through Nebraska on the Oregon Trail.
10. Like Thomas Hart Benton, use the studentŐs own family photographs to write a narrative and illustrate it with watercolor paintings.
Closure
11. Review the K-W-L chart.
12. Display the narratives and illustrations together. Observe the effectiveness of using illustrations with narrative to complete the communication of the artist/writer.
Extension/Related
Activities
á Photocopy the Benton paintings and have students write captions to go with them.
á Using photos of a family trip, create a narrative relating significant events that had impact on you personally. Focus on ideas and organization from 6 Trait Writing.
á Make a Power Point or Hyper studio stack to display the studentŐs understanding of the Oregon Trail adventure
á Play the Oregon Trail computer game.
á Compare the landscapes of Grant Wood to those of Thomas Hart Benton