Lesson 1 - LearningThroughMuseums

Lesson 1
The Southeast: Picturing, Reading, and
Writing about American Environments
Summary
In this lesson, students interpret a painting of a plant that requires a warm environment to grow and
survive. Specifically, they learn about the magnolia, which grows in the southeastern United States.
Students analyze the ways the climate of a region affects plants and learn about the representation of
nature in art as they create their own drawings of the plants of a selected environment. The lesson
will support student literacy skills and can be related to a focus on the science of the environment or a
social studies unit on regions of the United States. You may want to specifically schedule sessions on
plants and environments in order to align this lesson with your science curriculum.
Featured Artwork
Martin Johnson Heade (American, 1819–1904)
Magnolias on Light Blue Velvet Cloth, 1885/1895
Oil on canvas
Illinois Benchmarks
Reading
1.A.2b:
1.B.2a:
1.C.2e:
1.C.2b:
Writing
3.B.2a:
3.C.2a:
Science
12.B.1a:
12.B.2b:
Art
25.B.2:
26.B.2d:
Clarify word meaning using context clues and a variety of resources including
glossaries, dictionaries, and thesauruses.
Establish purposes for reading: survey materials; ask questions; make predictions;
connect, clarify, and extend ideas
Explain how authors and illustrators use text and art to express their ideas
Make and support inferences and form interpretations about main themes and topics.
Generate and organize ideas using a variety of planning strategies.
Write for a variety of purposes and for specified audiences in a variety of forms.
Describe and compare characteristics of living things in relationship to their
environments.
Identify physical features of plants and animals that help them live in different
environments
Understand how elements and principles combine within an art form to express ideas.
Demonstrate knowledge and skills to create works of visual art using problem solving,
observing, designing, sketching, and constructing.
10 • Lesson 1: The Southeast ‒ Picturing, Reading, and Writing about American Environments