Lesson 1 - LearningThroughMuseums

● Procedure
1. Ask students what they think an artist does when creating a scientifically realistic image like
Magnolias on Light Blue Velvet Cloth. Explain that a realistic painting shows something as it is
in the natural world.
2. Ask students to choose a plant or part of a plant to draw. Tell them they will draw a realistic
picture of the plant they select.
3. Give students time to first sketch out and plan their image with the Art Planner organizer.
Focus this part of the lesson on planning and problem solving. Explain that this picture
planner is like the pre-writing they do when they are going to write an essay.
4. Review the students’ plans before they make their drawings.
5. After students complete their drawings, ask them to add captions so you can make a plant book
or display.
Day 5: Writing about the Chicago Environment
● Time Allotment
45 minutes
● Materials
Materials for each student:
Copy of Writing organizer
● Vocabulary
essay
expository
envision
● Procedure
1. Have students use the Writing organizer to pull together ideas and prepare to write expository
essays about the Chicago environment. Tell them they will be writing about a real place.
2. After students complete their plans, they should write their essays. Remind them that they want
their readers to be able to envision the environment they have described so clearly that they
could even draw a picture based on the essay.
3. Encourage students to include vocabulary from the pictorial word wall in their writing.
● Home Connection
Students can take the Haiku Writer home and create haikus with their family. Each family member
can choose their favorite flower and then collaborate on a haiku about it.
● Assessment
Ask students to explain in their own words the ideas they learned.
Have students write a guide for other students about how you can show nature in a picture.
16 • Lesson 1: The Southeast ‒ Picturing, Reading, and Writing about American Environments