Matrix: Contemporary Printmaking - Museum of Fine Arts - Florida ...

FALL 2009
LESSON PLAN
I’m a Little Culturist and Printmaker
Session Activity:
Students will create prints which characterize their own ethnic cultural traditions
using as inspiration the print works, Deer Skin Bottom Bag, Knife Sheath, and
Moccasin #2 by Lynne Allen. The United States is a melting pot; every American comes
from a different cultural and historic background. Many families still keep some of their
conventions throughout generations. In this activity, students will have the opportunity to
reflect on their own cultures, and design representative prints to express the shared
values and perspectives of their families.
Level: 5-7 grades
Time needed: two hours
Objectives:
1. Help students to recognize their own cultural backgrounds which play an
important role in shaping people’s identity and confidence.
2. Students will become aware that cultural diversity is one of the important
features of their environment and will discover family histories of people around
them.
3. Students will create cultural symbols from their own perspectives.
Materials: Newspapers, magazines, website images, collage materials, paper, glue,
scissors and copy machine.
Vocabulary:
1. Culture: the way of life, particularly general customs and beliefs of a group of
people at a specific time.
2. Tradition: a belief, principle or way of acting which people in a particular society
or group have continued to follow for a long time, or all of these in a particular
society or group.
3. Sheath: a cover into which a knife or sword fits so that the blade cannot cut
someone when it is not used.
4. Moccasin: a shoe which the wearer's foot slides into and which is made from
soft leather with stitches around the top at the front.
5. Vellum: a material used in the past for writing on or for covering a book, made
from the skins of young animals, especially cows or sheep.
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