Craig Segal Whittier Elementary School Middle School, Social Studies Washington Crossing the Delaware: How an Artist Used a Legendary Event to Comment on the Present

Emanuel Leutze Washington Crossing the Delaware, 1851 Oil on canvas; 149 x 255 in. The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Key ideas that informed the lesson:  Washington Crossing the Delaware depicts a momentous event that has had great symbolic importance in American history.  We retell the past to help us understand the present. Artists resurrect historical events to comment about current issues.  Inaccuracies in great works of art may be done intentionally to communicate a message.  In mid-nineteenth century America, western expansion was seen as vital to solving social, economic, and political problems.  Applying an historical context to a work of art results in a fuller understanding of the artist’s intentions and the meanings of a work of art.

What I wanted students to learn:  Great works of art are complex and may be interpreted in a variety of ways  A painting is a way to understand a situation.  We can understand history when we “read” a painting of an event.

Quotations from 6 th Grade Students Who Experienced the Curriculum:  "Art helps because it shows you details that the text doesn't tell you." – Jesse  "When we studied about the 13 colonies, and I didn't get some of the writing, I looked at the artwork and then I understood." – Karla  "We learn how to guess what the artist is trying to express. You could guess at why the artist put [certain] details in the painting" – Karina  "Art helps me because by looking at the painting, I imagine I am there in the picture" – Adriana  "I could visualize what was happening in historic life. It gives us details too like the setting and their dress code." –Erick

A few major learning activities:  Students use chart paper to arrange the inaccuracies and anachronisms they discovered in the artwork.  “Touch a figure; hear him speak.”  Reenact events preceding and following this snapshot of time.  Students create their own representation of one of the painting’s themes such as “Unity over Diversity” or “Triumph over Adversity.”

What my students learned:  That the American colonists needed to unite and overcome their diverse backgrounds in order to defeat and gain independence from Britain  To appreciate the significance of a celebrated American masterpiece  To synthesize facts with observations to summarize the themes of an artwork  To interpret the depiction of the crossing of the Delaware in this painting and the artist’s intentions  To compare and contrast an historic event with facts as presented in narrative accounts  To evaluate the causes and effects of 19 th century westward expansion.

What I Learned:  I can use works of art to improve my teaching of History, Reading and Writing; prior to the institute my reliance on art was minimal  The study of art provides students an additional opportunity to grasp literary terminology  Students will make observations and inferences which will enhance the group’s understanding of an artwork  Incorporating art into the curriculum provides for lively classroom activities and discussions