Lesson 1 - LearningThroughMuseums

Lesson 3
People and Environments of the American West
Summary
In this lesson, students apply skills of reading to interpret how two different works of art represent the
western United States. They learn about two art forms—sculpture and painting—and then create their
own artwork and write a poem to communicate about people in an environment.
Featured Artworks
Frederic Remington (American, 1861–1909)
The Bronco Buster, modeled 1895; cast 1899
Cast by Henry‒Bonnard Bronze Co.
Bronze with brown patina
Marsden Hartley (American, 1877–1943)
The Last of New England—The Beginning of New Mexico, 1918/1919
Oil on cardboard
Illinois Benchmarks
Reading
1.A.2b:
1.B.2a:
1.C.2e:
1.C.2b:
Writing
3.B.2a:
3.C.2a:
Clarify word meaning using context clues.
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 ideas 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.
Social Studies
17.C.2a: Describe how natural events in the physical environment affect human activities.
18.A.2: Explain ways in which artistic creations communicate about a culture.
Art
25.B.2: Understand how elements and principles combine within an art form to express ideas.
25.A.2d: Identify and describe the elements of two‒ and three‒dimensional space, figure‒ground,
value and form; the principles of rhythm, size, proportion and composition; and the
48 • Lesson 3: People and Environments of the American West