Lesson 1 - LearningThroughMuseums

Chart: Symbols organizer. They can work in pairs or individually to complete the observation
section at the top.
3. Introduce information discussing the type of art (textiles) and its purpose (a map).
4. Ask the students to list two ways the textile maps are alike and different—the bottom half of
the Art Chart.
5. Discuss how and why people make and use maps to show important features of a place.
6. Ask students to infer why the people who made these maps made them the way they did.
7. Ask the students to analyze the maps. What do the colors, words, images, and shapes represent
in the two works? What do they symbolize? What do the student infer that the symbols show
about the United States?
8. Then give students the Symbols Show and Tell organizer to complete with a partner.
9. Conclude the session by adding students’ statements to the “What We Know about Symbols”
list.
Day 2: Analyzing and Inferring Ideas from Symbols
● Time Allotment
45-60 minutes
● Materials
Materials for each student:
Copy of the reading “Symbols, Maps and Art”
Copy of the Summarize What you Learned organizer (this is optional; it can be used to
organize the Extended Response)
● Vocabulary
artist
comparison
contrast
mapmaker
map key
summarize
● Procedure
1. Explain that a summary is a way of telling the most important parts of something.
2. Guide students to make a class summary of what they learned from the first day of the lesson.
3. Give each student a copy of the reading “Symbols, Maps, and Art.” Students can complete the
reading and related questions independently or with a learning partner.
4. Discuss what students learned and prepare another class summary of this session’s learning.
5. Add more notes to the “What We Know about Symbols” list.
110 • Lesson 7: How to Read Symbols