The Arts and Nature


Social Studies American History Westward Expansion to 1850 The Arts and Nature
Students analyze a portrait of a Choctaw chief to predict how the artist felt about the chief. Then they view paintings from the Hudson River School and describe how they all celebrate the beauty of America’s landscape. Next they examine drawings from Audubon’s Birds of America project and draw a conclusion about how the art of the period reflected the national spirit. Finally, they listen to a vintage recording of “Home, Sweet Home” and compare the lyrics to the visual art of the period.

This learning experience is designed for device-enabled classrooms. The teacher guides the lesson, and students use embedded resources, social media skills, and critical thinking skills to actively participate. To get access to a free version of the complete lesson, sign up for an exploros account.

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Teacher Pack

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Here are the teacher pack items for The Arts and Nature:

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Overview

In this experience, students analyze a portrait of a Choctaw chief and think about how the artist viewed the chief. Then, they examine paintings from the Hudson River School and consider how the art shows feelings about the United States and its landscape. Next, they examine artwork from Audubon’s The Birds of America and consider how art reflected the national spirit of the early 1800s. Finally, they listen to an early recording of “Home! Sweet Home!” and compare the feelings in the song with those shown in the visual art of the period.

If you have access to leveled readers about artists of the Hudson River School or John James Audubon, assign them to students in parallel with this experience.

Estimated duration: 40–50 minutes

Discovery Reading

A printable Discovery Reading is included in the student pack as a support for understanding the experience’s core content and concepts. This Discovery Reading is not necessary to complete the experience and serves as an optional support resource.

Vocabulary Words:

These vocabulary words are used in the experience or connect closely to the standards and content students examine. Students should understand these terms as they work through the experience.

  • portrait: a painting or drawing of a person, such as the picture of the Choctaw chief in this lesson
  • landscape: a work of art that shows natural scenery such as mountains, rivers, forests, or valleys
  • Hudson River School: a group of American artists in the 1800s who painted large, beautiful landscapes of nature in the United States
  • romanticism: a style in art, literature, and music that focused on strong feelings, nature, and dramatic or idealized scenes
  • national spirit: the feelings people have about their country, such as pride, hope, and wonder
  • primary source: a source from the time being studied, such as a painting, song, or recording from the 1800s
 

Objectives

  • Identify examples of art from the period before the Civil War
  • Explain how the art reflects the American identity of the period


Engage


There are many ways to learn about people from other cultures or historical periods. You can read about them in history books or in storybooks. You can watch movies about them. You can visit museums, or you can even travel to other places to meet people from other cultures. In this experience, you will learn about 19th-century culture in the United States by looking at art and listening to music.

Objectives

  • Identify examples of art from the period before the Civil War
  • Explain how the art reflects the American identity of the period


portrait of an Indigenous chief

Mó-sho-la-túb-bee, Chief of the Choctaw Tribe, by George Catlin, 1834


Describe the painting shown above. Based on what you see, how do you think the artist felt about the Indigenous chief in the portrait?

Post your answer

Discuss student responses, emphasizing that the answer is subjective.

George Catlin was born in Pennsylvania in 1796. He studied art and became known for his portraits. He traveled throughout the United States and painted portraits of Indigenous people and scenes from different Indigenous groups. Catlin wanted his paintings to record the people and cultures he saw. Remind students that his paintings show Indigenous people through Catlin’s point of view and should not be treated as complete records of their lives or cultures.


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