A picture is worth 1,000 words and as far as I’m concerned, I could talk about the works of Norman Rockwell all day!  I love his work: his ability to capture reality, innocence, truth, humor and the overall American spirit.  This year, I’ve been reaching into my collection of Norman Rockwell prints (most in the form of old calendars) and showcasing a select few each month or season.  He has a collection of paintings that fit with Thanksgiving,  winter, and love (for Valentine’s Day) and even some for football and baseball season.

As I was looking through my pile of his works, I came across some interesting resources to turn to during Black History month which I would like to share with you today.  There are only a handful of these, but they can spark some interesting conversation as they already have in my own classroom.

Here are links to what I have found:

Boy in a Dining Car, 1947

This is an innocent enough painting to display in your classroom.   A young boy fidgets in his wallet to pay a bill as a waiter looks on with a smile.  Drawing conclusions about what each character is doing and thinking is a fun activity to use in the classroom.

New Kids in the Neighborhood, 1967

A sign of the times, for sure and probably a brave statement from Norman Rockwell, these new kids are moving into the neighborhood and, well, it’s interesting to ponder what the white kids are thinking.  A great lesson in point of view, acceptance and friendship lay in this image for today’s children.

The Problem We All Live With, 1964

This image is of Ruby Bridges as she walks to her first day of school at the William Franz Elementary School in New Orleans, Louisiana.  At the time it was a newly desegregated school.  Ruby’s mother (and reluctantly, her father) decided to send her there.  Depicted here is the 6-year-old girl – the first black student to walk into the school, being marched in and protected by federal marshals.  In the background of the painting you can see result of only some of the bigotry that occurred in those moments.  One can only imagine the other sights and sounds that surround this image.  To hear the full story in Ruby Bridge’s own words, follow this link to her website.  You will be moved by this story.  (For an interesting and in-depth history and analysis of Rockwell and this painting, read this post.)

I guess I took a bit of a risk showing the painting of Ruby Bridges to my students.  While some were fixated on the tomato splattered on the wall and ground, others noticed the “very bad word” on the wall.  But I was glad I did show it to them.  This led to some great discussion about ignorance, tolerance and bravery.

Southern Justice, (AKA Murder in Mississippi), 1965

Yes, this too is a Norman Rockwell.  It’s interesting to note that when Rockwell was employed by the Saturday Evening Post (from 1916-1963), he was not allowed to depict blacks in a form other than in a subservient role.  Rockwell eventually quit his job and took employment elsewhere so that he could have more artistic freedom to express the times.  I did not, nor do I plan to use this particular painting with my fourth graders, however, it is a powerful image and may fit the age appropriateness of yours.

For more in depth analysis on these paintings, please see this post where an artist can speak far better than I on each painting.  Another very interesting post I came across was one called “Contrasting Views on Norman Rockwell.”  It is an interesting look at varying viewpoints on many of his paintings including the ones above.

Although I will not go into my own interpretations of each painting, I can tell you how I have started to use these illustrations in my classroom to elicit discussion around Civil Rights (which of course we started with last month for Martin Luther King Jr. Day) and black history.

Just yesterday I pulled out a couple of images and asked students, without explaining anything about the paintings to them yet, to simply and carefully observe, sharing statements of observation only.  They then wrote down their observations on a white board in the classroom.  From here, we will discuss further and start to draw conclusions about the images.  My plan is to share my interpretations as well as give some history to each painting.

My students are already hooked on the images I have shared with them.  It’s exciting to watch them try to understand more of our American history through the eyes of art.  What a powerful medium to use.  I encourage you to try this in your own classrooms and let me know how it goes.

~EMP

BIRTHDAY ALERT – It was Norman Rockwell’s birthday on February 3rd!  To celebrate this great man, I have put my ebook, Integrating the Works of Norman Rockwell into Reading Instruction on SALE for this week only (ending February 10th).  Go – Get your copy today!

There is so much you can do with a Norman Rockwell painting (or other well selected painting or photo) that directly relates to many reading skills.  My ebook, Integrating the Works of Norman Rockwell into Reading Instruction explains more and gives activities to teach many of them including drawing conclusions, deciphering fact and opinion and making predictions.

Related posts:

1. Norman Rockwell – End Notes
2. Norman Rockwell – Introducing Rockwell into Your Classroom
3. Norman Rockwell – Activity 4 Drawing Conclusions

A couple of weeks ago, my students took their first unit reading test online.  I do like how the online testing tells results very quickly. So, I took advantage of this and discovered a long list of reading skills my students are lacking as a whole. They are: Main idea and detail, sequence, generalization, drawing conclusions, compare and contrast and author’s purpose.  I have to admit, sometimes I feel as thought I assume too much.  I assume that my students have a good handle on these skills.  And while it is true that one or two students may not have been able to show their understanding on a specific test question, it’s my job to make sure they can.

The connection I made right away is how all these skills are teachable through the arts.  Luckily my class was due for another Studio Day and I figured I’d take advantage of one of my go to resources for building reading skills and strategies – Norman Rockwell!

Yep, you read that right.  As far as I’m concerned if you have a deficit in reading skills, turn to Norman Rockwell!  There is so much you can do with a Norman Rockwell painting (or other well selected painting or photo) that directly relates to many of the skills mentioned above, plus many others.  My ebook, Integrating the Works of Norman Rockwell into Reading Instructionexplains many of them from deciphering fact and opinion to making predictions.

The entire Studio Day was centered around observing works by Rockwell, commenting on what we saw – facts only and then what we inferred from our observations.  For example in The Coin Toss, students slowed down the rapid process of drawing the conclusion that the painting was of a football game, by taking the time to note the details in the image that led them to that idea.  Bringing that to light and making them think it through was a step toward them learning about their own learning.

It was also in these initial painting observations that I was able to tie in the idea of author’s purpose, but in this case, artist’s purpose.  We discussed how some of Rockwell’s paintings were to entertain, but others were to inform (such as in his painting of Ruby Bridge’s in The Problem We All Live in) or to express an idea (such as in his Four Freedoms series.)

Most of the studio time was spent creating a collection of tableaus inspired by Rockwell’s painting called “Swatter’s Rights“.  The small groups really got into studying the painting as they discussed which part each of the six students would play.  Students portrayed everything from the old man and the boy, to the cat, fly and bucket of apples.  They froze themselves into a reenactment of the picture and while in pose, I asked them questions.  “How do you feel?”  “What are you doing?”  This allowed the students to dive deep into a character analysis before even putting a pencil to paper.  The actors were then asked to create the scene before and then after this, each in tableau.  Throughout the process we discussed the cause and effect the groups needed to discuss and how they also needed to make predictions to create the third scene.  By the end, we had created an entire story sequence: beginning, middle and end, through visual art and drama.  And we were able to compare and contrast the three groups’ interpretations of the painting through tableau.  (For more ideas on integrating the works of Norman Rockwell, check out my ebook.)

It was a powerful thing to watch these students discuss the reading strategies as well as live them with their entire bodies.  They acted out cause and effect, collectively made predictions and lived the entire sequence of events.

Now I know that doing these exercises are not going to make them avid readers overnight, or get them to ace the next reading test.  BUT, when we discuss these strategies in class and in small reading groups, I will be able to pull from rich experiences they have had with these skills.  They will remember getting hit with a mock fly swatter and reacting.  They will remember creating their own complete version of a story in sequence.  They will remember how they needed to discuss their ideas with group members to come up with one collaborative prediction.

And it’s my hope that this will help them to truly become better better readers.

~EMP

Look for more about Studio Days in Elizabeth’s upcoming book – Studio Days due out in April of 2012. To be kept up to date on the publication of this book and ebook, email studiodays@TheInspiredClassroom.com

There is so much you can do with a Norman Rockwell painting (or other well selected painting or photo) that directly relates to many reading skills.  My ebook, Integrating the Works of Norman Rockwell into Reading Instructionexplains more and gives activities to teach many of them including drawing conclusions, deciphering fact and opinion and making predictions.

Related posts:

1. Norman Rockwell – End Notes
2. Why Practice Reading Skills Away from Reading?
3. Norman Rockwell – Introducing Rockwell into Your Classroom

Last night I had the honor of guest moderating #ntchat (New Teacher Chat) with Lisa Dabbs (@teachingwthsoul). It was so much fun! What a great way to end my summer and it also have me a chance to refocus myself on the importance of arts integration! (Which is the blog series topic for next month.)

While chatting, I was sharing ideas with some great teachers – both new and veteran, for how to start the school year with a sense of creativity, so that students know you are accepting of all their talents and interests, want to help them cultivate them and learn from them.  The range was from theory to practical applications.

Here are some highlights I am pondering for my teaching:

• Listen to music together.
• Have students walk in to their classroom where on their desk is a blank sheet of paper (like when in restaurants the tablecloths are paper and there is a bucket of crayons.)
• Use the arts to create community.
• Use music and art to teach history.
• Bringing drama and movement into my classroom more.

So as you transition into this new school year, keep the arts in mind. Be sure to check out our resources and especially my new FREE ebook: Integrating the Works of Norman Rockwell into Reading Instruction. (Find this under the Books tab.)

Also, please check out the archive of our chat from last night! #ntchat Aug 25, 2010 “Arts Integration”

Related posts:

1. Arts Integration PLC
2. Results of the Teacher Survey in Arts Integration
3. The Values of the Arts

This is part of the Norman Rockwell integration blog series. To gain access to all the blogs in this series, click the tag “Norman Rockwell”.

Doing this blog series, showed me the possibilities of Norman Rockwell’s paintings. The expanse of Rockwell’s works seem limitless – what an amazing collection of masterpieces. They always entertain and always bring emotion to me. I smile, I smirk, I swell up with tears. Each painting has its own story and everyone can find their own collection of Rockwells that truly speak to them.

It is my hope that other teachers will continue to try some of these ideas out and also share their experiences and ideas. For the complete blog series, click the “Norman Rockwell” tab.

So, look out for old calendars, prints and resources online and create displays so that students can enjoy a piece of Americana while learning!

There is so much you can do with a Norman Rockwell painting (or other well selected painting or photo) that directly relates to many reading skills.  My ebook, Integrating the Works of Norman Rockwell into Reading Instruction explains more and gives activities to teach many of them including drawing conclusions, deciphering fact and opinion and making predictions.

Related posts:

1. Norman Rockwell – Introducing Rockwell into Your Classroom
2. Norman Rockwell – Activity 4 Drawing Conclusions
3. Norman Rockwell – Inspiring in the Classroom

Related posts:

1. Norman Rockwell – Activity 4 Drawing Conclusions
2. Norman Rockwell – Introducing Rockwell into Your Classroom
3. Norman Rockwell – Inspiring in the Classroom

Related posts:

1. Norman Rockwell – Activity 4 Drawing Conclusions
2. Norman Rockwell – Introducing Rockwell into Your Classroom
3. Norman Rockwell – Inspiring in the Classroom