Enriching Social Studies through Art

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Enriching Social Studies through ArtLets Walk
the Block

• Soledad Erickson
• Boone Elementary School
• Fourth Grade Social Studies

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Romare Bearden, The Dove, 1964 Cut-and-pasted
photo reproductions and papers, gouache, pencil
and colored pencil on cardboard. Museum of Modern
Art/Licensed by SCALA/Art Resource, NY/VAGA
NY/Estate of Romare Bearden Trusts

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Key Ideas that Informed the Lesson

• In a democracy, voting is a right that is
  important to every citizen.
• Discrimination has limited African Americans
  voting rights.
• The Civil Rights Movement brought about important
  changes in African American rights.
• Artists use symbols to communicate ideas.
• Artworks can be a response to the times.

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The method of this unit is to integrate art with
American history. This was accomplished through
activities that emphasize vocabulary development
and activate prior knowledge, visualization
exercises, small- and large-group activities, and
drama- and art-based activities. Special
accommodations and modifications were made for
students in Special Education and ESL students.
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• What I wanted students to learn
• How to interpret a work of art
• Make and support inferences and form
  interpretations about main themes and topics
• Explain how authors and illustrators use text and
  art to express their ideas
• Create works of visual art to communicate ideas

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• What my students learned
• About the life and accomplishments of artist
  Romare Bearden
• About African American history, especially
  experiences during the Civil Rights Movement
• About racism and how it affects U.S. history
• About the unifying techniques of collage and
• About achieving dreams despite adversity.

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• A Few Major Learning Activities
• Students interpreted the work of Bearden.
• Students learned about African American history,
  particularly the Civil Rights movement
• Students interpreted the Bingham painting to see
  limits of African American rights in the past.
• Students created collages to communicate their
  ideas
• Students wrote to express their feelings and
  ideas

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• What I learned
• Incorporating art into the general education
  curriculum has great benefits for all students.
• Collaborating with the Terra Foundation has been
  an asset to me and my students.
• By interpreting art work as they learned history
  and then creating their own artwork, students
  were able to see history through a perspective
  other than their own.