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Lesson Title: Expressions of Power in African-American
and West African Art
Name: Laurie A. Hortie
Discipline: English for Speakers of Other Languages
(ESOL)
School:Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Prince George’s
County Maryland
Grade Level/Content Focus: Grades 9 – 11, ESOL
level 3 (intermediate)
**Background – Prior to this unit, students will have completed
several lessons on the short story “The War of the Wall” by
Tony Cade Bambara. This short story revolves around a mural
painted by an artist during the African-American Wall of Respect Movement
of the 1960’s. The students will have thoroughly analyzed
the literary elements of the piece, including conflict, climax, and
cause and effect.**
UNIT OUTLINE
I. Conceptual Framework
Big Idea: Power
Rationale: Power is an important idea and topic for
my students to learn about because power, in its many forms, profoundly
affects the human experience. Political, economic and social
power influences the lives of all humans, regardless of the individuals
place in society and/or history. Exploring the symbols of power
found in African-American literature and art and West African art will
enable students to see power as a universal theme of the human experience.
Understanding power, and the symbols that represent power, will enable
my students to more accurately decode and comprehend the world around
them.
Essential Questions:
- What is power?
- How does power relate to symbols?
- How does power affect the human experience?
Key Concepts:
- Power is about dominance and conflict.
- Power is about possession.
- Power is about insiders and outsiders.
- Power is about voice.
- Power is about persuasiveness.
State and Local Standards
Maryland English Core Learning Goals
Goal 1, Expectation 3, Indicator 4
The student will explain how devices such as staging, lighting, blocking,
special effects, graphics, language, and other techniques unique
to a non-print medium are used to create meaning and evoke response.
Goal 2, Expectation 1, Indicator 4
The student will compose persuasive texts that support, modify, or
refute a position and include effective rhetorical strategies.
Goal 2, Expectation 3, Indicator 2
The student will use various information retrieval sources (traditional
and electronic) to obtain information on a self-selected and/or given
topic. Electronic sources include automated catalogs, CD ROM
products, and on-line services like Internet, World Wide Web, and
others.
Goal 2, Expectation 2, Indicator 6
The student will prepare the final product for presentation to an audience.
II. Topics
Symbolic Representations of Power in West African Art and the African-American
Wall of Respect Movement of the 1960’s.
Key Concepts:
- Symbols carry power.
- The size of a person or object in an image relates to its power.
- Public images of individuals show their importance to, and power
in, a given community.
- Images of individuals often symbolize powerful ideas and conflicts.
- An individual’s power is reflected in their attire, adornment
and facial expression
III. Artworks
- The Wall of Respect Mural in Chicago, Illinois
- Modern African-American Public Murals
- Bronze plaques of the Edo Peoples, mid 16th – 17th century
IV. Lessons One & Two
Unit Lesson One (Two ninety- minute
class periods): Symbolic Representations of Power in Murals
of the African-American Wall of Respect Movement (as described and
illustrated in “The War of the Wall” by Tony Cade Bambara
in the Houghton Mifflin Literature and Language text, pgs. 109-116).
Objective: Students will identify symbols and
other representations of power found in two African-American public
murals in order to construct interpretations of what they see and how
these reflect and/or influence the human experience of that time period.
Unit Lesson One, Day One
Warm-up: Students respond in sentence form
to the question “What symbols carry power?” Responses are
shared by volunteers, listed on the board, and briefly discussed by
the whole class. Students are instructed to keep these ideas in mind
as they do the next activity.
Introduction: Students are asked to study the
mural “Another Time’s Voice Remembers My Passions” by
Calvin Jones & Mitchell Caton on p. 116 of the Literature and
Language text and interpret what they see. Teacher then asks
students to identify symbols or representations of power in the mural. Discussion
of the responses follows. Some items of note in the mural:
- Kente cloth = family tradition
- Mohamed Ali = world heavyweight champion
- Ram’s horns = strength
- Open hands = freedom
- Colors (red, green and yellow) = colors of African liberation
- Stars = no limit to what we can achieve
Guided Practice: Students will access the Wall
of Respect website on their computers and locate the “Faces on
the Wall” link. Students explore the “Faces on the
Wall” by clicking on the different images on the wall, and completing
the Wall of Respect chart “Who’s on the Wall?” (handout
#1). Students must compile information for at least one
person in each section of the Wall of Respect. Discussion of
what students discovered follows, focusing on the types of individuals
represented, why those particular individuals were included in the
mural, and any symbols of power they found within the images.
Independent Practice: Students respond to six
questions about the Wall of Respect, using information from class discussions
and what they recorded on their charts (handout #2).
Closure: Teacher leads class discussion on
how the Wall of Respect Movement reflects and influences the human
experience in the African American community.
Assessment: Teacher assesses student understanding
by examining their responses on the handouts as well as the oral comments
made during class discussions.
Unit Lesson One, Day Two
Warm-up: Students respond in sentence form
to the question: “What effect can public murals have on
a community?” Responses are shared by volunteers, listed
on the board, and briefly discussed by the whole class.
Introduction: Teacher leads discussion about
public murals, asking the students to describe any public murals they
have seen, either in the U.S. or in their native country. Discussion
includes the purpose of public murals and their effect on the community.
Guided practice: Students are divided into
small groups of 3 or 4 and given a print of an African American public
mural from the Prigoff & Dunitz book, Walls of Heritage, Walls
of Pride. Each group will discuss/analyze their assigned
mural, taking notes on symbols of power, other symbolic images, or
themes identified in the mural. Teacher circulates to assist
and engage where needed. Teacher then provides each group a
copy of the text that accompanied their mural in the Prigoff & Dunitz
book. The text gives the title of each mural, the name of the
artist, the year it was painted and a brief description of the mural
(handout #3). Using these descriptions, along with their notes,
students take a second look at the mural, adding any important details
to their notes that they may have overlooked in their initial assessment. Students
are guided to analyze specific details of the main figures in the mural
by responding in writing to a series of questions about the murals
(handout #4).
Independent Practice: Each student writes one
or two paragraphs interpreting the symbols, figures and themes that
they found in their assigned mural.
Closure: In a whole group discussion, students
share details of what they found in their murals. Specific teacher
questions focus the discussion on the themes identified in the murals
and the artists’ possible reasons for creating their individual
murals. The importance of public art in a community, and how
this relates to the human experience is explored by the group.
Assessment: Teacher assesses student understanding
by examining the responses on their handouts as well as the oral comments
made during class.
Unit Lesson Two (Two ninety- minute class periods): Symbolic
Representations of Power in Bronze plaques of the Edo Peoples, mid
16th – 17th century.
Unit Lesson Two, Day One
Objective: Students will identify symbols and
other representations of power found in the Bronze plaques of the Edo
Peoples, mid 16th – 17th century in order to construct interpretations
of what they see.
Warm-up: List the symbols of power you see in modern
society today. The responses are shared and listed on the board.
Introduction: Teacher asks students, “Where
is Benin?” A short discussion of its location is held,
and the teacher informs the class that they will be looking at some
art created by the Edo Peoples of Benin from the mid 16th – 17th
century (an explanation of how long ago that was will likely be needed).
Guided Practice: As a class, students are now
shown a visual image of a bronze plaque created by the Edo Peoples
of Benin (teacher projects image from Smithsonian Museum of African
Art website). Students are asked to study the image and interpret
what they see. They are instructed to identify any symbols or
representations of power they see in the plaque and record these in
a brief paragraph. Individual responses are listed on the board,
and students are encouraged to agree or disagree with their peers. Students
are then given several paragraphs that provide some information about
the Edo people and their culture (handout #5). This information
is reviewed, and students are instructed to look again at the image
to identify any missed details. Final responses are shared and
students are instructed to revise their written interpretations for
homework.
Closure: Teacher asks questions to elicit cultural
information of the Edo Peoples that was revealed through today’s
activities.
Assessment: Teacher assesses student understanding
by examining their written paragraphs as well as oral comments made
during class.
Unit Lesson Two, Day Two
Warm-up: Students share one sentence from their paragraphs
about the Edo Peoples.
Independent Practice: Students will go to the
Smithsonian National Museum of African Art website to view additional
Edo Bronze plaques (handout #6). Pairs of students are given
a second image of a bronze plaque to analyze and interpret. Each
student will write a paragraph giving their interpretation of their
assigned plaque. Teacher reminds students to use previously
learned strategies as well as the written information on the culture
of the Edo Peoples to guide their thinking. Teacher circulates to assist
and engage where needed. Once students are ready, teacher projects
each plaque on the wall, and each pair of students presents their interpretations. Comments
from the other class members are encouraged. Teacher then asks
students to consider the plaques as a group and write a few sentences
about what these plaques reveal about the culture of the Edo Peoples.
Closure: Students share the information they
have learned about the Edo Peoples and what their art tells us about
their culture. Teacher asks students to consider how art is relevant
to the human experience. Homework: Students will compare and
contrast the representations of power and themes found in the Edo bronze
plaques and the African-American murals we studied previously. They
will complete a Venn diagram showing their findings, and from that
compose a written essay which
- compares and contrasts the two art forms
- explores the role art plays in the human experience in general,
regardless of culture or time-period
- explains how the art of their own cultures influences their life
experiences
Assessment: Teacher assesses oral presentations
and individual essays for comprehension and accuracy.
V. Assessment for Unit
A. Students will complete two handouts on the Wall
of Respect located in Chicago, Illinois.
B. Students will write responses to a series of
questions on a selected African-American mural. They will
then write one or two paragraphs describing the selected African-American
mural, identifying symbols/images of power and the conflicts these
may represent within the mural.
C. In pairs, students will create presentations
on a particular Bronze Plaque of the Edo Peoples in which they
will be required to:
- analyze the art for symbols and other representations of power
- explain how these relate to the human experience
The students will be assessed on their ability to present a thoughtful,
organized presentation that meets all criteria.
D. Students will write an essay which compares
the symbolic images of the two art forms, explains what these reveal
about the respective cultures, and how art from their own culture
influences their lives.
VI. Materials List
Books
- Applebee, A. and Bermudez, A, senior consultants, The Language
of Literature - Grade 7, Houghton Mifflin, Evanston, IL, 2002.
- Prigoff, James & Dunitz, Robin J., Walls of Heritage, Walls
of Pride, Pomegranate Communications Inc, Rohnert Park, CA,
2000.
Web Resources
Other Resources
For
Teacher:
- computer
- LCD Projector
- Video Visualizer
- Prints of African American Murals from the text Walls of Heritage,
Walls of Pride (pages 49, 55, 60 & 61, 67 & 75)
- Internet Access
For
Student:
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