Lesson Plan Title: Description of the Portrait of George Washington
Skills Covered: reading, speaking, writing, listening
General Goals: to make students familiar with important facts of American history by encouraging them to look at the work of art closely and interpret it adequately; to enrich the language related to picture description.
Specific Objectives:
- to practice asking and answering questions;
- to teach students to focus on important information in student-to-student question exchange;
- to enhance the vocabulary related to picture description;
- to practice speaking by describing artwork;
- to practice giving a persuasive oral presentation;
- to improve reading, writing, listening and speaking skills.
Materials/Visual Aids: Picturing America WebSite, a poster Washington (Lansdowne Portrait), 1796 by Gilbert Stuart, handouts, Power Point presentation, additional Internet resources.
1. Warm-up: (5 min)
1.1 Introduction (done by the teacher):
In the late 18th century portraits played a significant role in recalling a person’s character as well as appearance. A person’s face revealed his or her mental and emotional characteristics. This was true for George Washington. A study of his portraits enables us to see him from the perspective of his contemporaries, who regarded him as a man of proven virtues and leadership qualities.
1.2. Brainstorming leadership traits. Discussing qualities of a good leader. The teacher starts a short group discussion by asking students to think over the following questions and give brief answers (1-2 sentences).
- What is a leader?
- What features/qualities should a leader posses?
- What outstanding leaders – politicians do you know?
2. Getting background information. (15 min). Appendix A
2.1 Pair work. Students read the cards and ask each other questions finding out the missing information.
e.g.
Student 1.
When was George Washington born?
Pastukhova Elena
Student 2.
George Washington was born on February 22. When did he serve as the first President of the United States?
Student 1. He served as the first President of the United States from 1789 to 1797.
2.2 Writing activity. Memory training.
Individual work. The teacher collects the cards and asks the students to write down as many facts form George Washington’s life as they can remember. Then one by one they read aloud one sentence containing information about George Washington. They shouldn’t repeat each other’s information.
3. Vocabulary Work. (10 min). Appendix B. Independent work.
3.1. Match the words and their definitions.
1. prominent |
a. adorned with heraldic bearings |
2. conceive |
b. inherent |
3. hefty |
c. outstanding |
4. innate |
d. relating to allegory |
5. allegorical |
e. impressively large |
6. emblazoned |
f. to form a conception of |
3.2. Fill in the gaps with the following words: allegoric, innate, prominent (2), conceive, conceived, hefty, emblazoned.
- George Washington sat for the most (1)…. artists of his day.
- Gilbert Stuart’s portrait of the first president has been so widely reproduced that it is almost impossible for Americans to (2)... of Washington in any other way.
- Stuart’s (3)…talent soon brought him commissions from (4)… clients.
- Before the age of mass reproduction, a painter could make (5)…sums through copies of original works.
- The medallion (6)… with the Stars and Stripes on the back of the chair is part of the Great Seal of the United States.
- Stuart had painted Washington surrounded with (7)… elements of his public life in the service of his country.
- The full-length portrait of Washington is (8)… in the grand European manner used to depict nobility.
3.3 Writing and translating activities. Individual and group work.
Write 1 – 2 sentences using the new words to show that you understand their meaning. Read your sentences in Russian so that somebody from your group can translate them into English.
e.g.: We couldn’t but admire his innate sense of fair play. It seemed to be inherent in him.
Pastukhova Elena
4. Describing the portrait. (20 min) The teacher may use additional information from the site of Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery “Interactive portrait – George Washington. A National treasure.” georgewashington.si.edu
4.1. George Washington depicted in this picture is surrounded with things that have symbolic meaning. In pairs, ask the students to write down what they think about the picture objects. Use the handouts. Appendix C.
rainbow |
|
inkwell |
|
dark clouds |
|
sword |
|
books |
|
medallion with stars stripes and |
|
gesture – Washington’s arm is outstretched |
|
clothing – a plain black suit and wig |
|
face |
|
4.2. Group work.
Get into 2 -3 groups. Using the handouts, try to identify the thing and the meaning it has. Work done, check the results with the teacher. Use the handouts. Appendix D.
1. rainbow |
a. the storm has passed |
2. inkwell |
b. the stars and stripes represent 13 original states, individually and as a confederation |
3. dark clouds |
c. may refer to making of laws and to the fact that Washington wrote and signed many important documents |
4. sword |
d. they are symbols of Washington’s work in the world of ideas and the world of politics |
5. books |
c. a symbolic reference to Washington as Head of State |
6. medallion with stars stripes and |
e. a symbol of purity and hope |
7 gesture – Washington’s arm is outstretched |
f. it “announces the good man, a man upright, of simple manners, sincere, firm, reflecting and generous’ (G. Stuart) |
8. clothing – a plain black suit and wig |
g. it showed that the United States president was a citizen, not a king |
9. face |
h. Washington is pointing towards the future, foreseeing bright perspectives for his nation |
4.3 Group work. Describe the picture using the background information, information given on the cards and the new vocabulary. Choose the most convincing presentation that makes you think about the person depicted in the picture as an outstanding man of his time. The class chooses the best speaker, taking into consideration argumentation of the speaker and the language.
Pastukhova Elena
Closure. Review leadership traits from the earlier brainstorming activity. Does Washington exemplify these qualities?
Extra-Class Work. A Project Activity.
Imagine you are docents at the National Portrait Gallery. You are supposed to guide an exertion “George Washington’s Image Changing over the Time”.
Assign students to gather and analyze a variety of portraits of George Washington to reveal how the person’s image changed over time.
List of References:
Picturing America. http://picturingamerica.neh.gov
“Interactive portrait – George Washington. A National treasure.” http://georgewashington.si.edu
Portraits of the Presidents from the National Picture Gallery, e.g. Rembrandt Pearle’s “Patriae Pater” of Washington. www.npg.si.edu
The American President. www.americanpresident.org
“Face-to- Face Talk” by Laura Simo, who discusses a portrait of George Washington by Robert Edge Pine. www.npg.si.edu/event/podcast2
Peopling the American Past. http://chnm.gmu.edu
The Library of Congress. http://www.loc.gov
Appendix A.
Student 1. Ask questions to find out the missing information
George Washington, born …., served as the first President of the United States from 1789 to 1797 and as … in the American Revolutionary War from 1775 to 1783. Because of his significant role in the revolution and in the formation of the United States, he is often revered by Americans as …. The Continental Congress appointed Washington commander-in-chief of the American revolutionary forces in …. The following year, he forced the British out of Boston, lost New York City, and crossed the Delaware River in New Jersey, defeating the surprised enemy units later that year. He presided over … that drafted the United States Constitution in 1787. Washington became President of the United States in …. He supported plans to build a strong central government by …
Washington died in 1799. Henry Lee, delivering the funeral oration, declared Washington …. Historical scholars consistently rank him as one of the greatest United States presidents. |
Student 2. Ask questions to find out the missing information
George Washington, born on February 22, served as the first President of the United States from …and as the commander of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War from 1775 to 1783. Because of …, he is often revered by Americans as the "Father of Our Country". The Continental Congress appointed Washington …in 1775. The following year, he …, defeating the surprised enemy units later that year. He presided over the Philadelphia Convention that drafted the United States Constitution in…. Washington became President of the United States in 1789. He supported plans … by funding the national debt, implementing an effective tax system, and creating a national bank.
Washington died in ….. Henry Lee, delivering the funeral oration, declared Washington "first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen". Historical scholars consistently rank him as … |
Appendix B.
3.1. Match the words and their definitions.
1. prominent |
a. adorned with heraldic bearings |
2. conceive |
b. inherent |
3. hefty |
c. outstanding |
4. innate |
d. relating to allegory |
5. allegorical |
e. impressively large |
6. emblazoned |
f. to form a conception of |
2. Fill in the gaps with the following words: allegoric, innate, prominent (2), conceive, conceived, hefty, emblazoned.
- George Washington sat for the most (1)…. artists of his day.
- Gilbert Stuart’s portrait of the first president has been so widely reproduced that it is almost impossible for Americans to (2)... of Washington in any other way.
- Stuart’s (3)…talent soon brought him commissions from (4)… clients.
- Before the age of mass reproduction, a painter could make (5)…sums through copies of original works.
- The medallion (6)… with the Stars and Stripes on the back of the chair is part of the Great Seal of the United States.
- Stuart had painted Washington surrounded with (7)… elements of his public life in the service of his country.
- The full-length portrait of Washington is (8)… in the grand European manner used to depict nobility.
Appendix C.
Write what you think about these picture objects.
rainbow |
|
inkwell |
|
dark clouds |
|
sword |
|
books |
|
medallion with stars stripes and |
|
gesture – Washington’s arm is outstretched |
|
clothing – a plain black suit and wig |
|
face |
|
Appendix D.
Try to identify the thing and the meaning it has.
1. rainbow |
a. the storm has passed |
2. inkwell |
b. the stars and stripes represent 13 original states, individually and as a confederation |
3. dark clouds |
c. may refer to making of laws and to the fact that Washington wrote and signed many important documents |
4. sword |
d. they are symbols of Washington’s work in the world of ideas and the world of politics |
5. books |
c. a symbolic reference to Washington as Head of State |
6. medallion with stars stripes and |
e. a symbol of purity and hope |
7 gesture – Washington’s arm is outstretched |
f. it “announces the good man, a man upright, of simple manners, sincere, firm, reflecting and generous’ (G. Stuart) |
8. clothing – a plain black suit and wig |
g. it showed that the United States president was a citizen, not a king |
9. face |
h. Washington is pointing towards the future, foreseeing bright perspectives for his nation |
Keys.
3.1 1c 2f 3e 4b 5d 6a
3.2
1 prominent
2 conceive
3 innate
4 prominent
5 hefty
6 emblazoned
7 allegoric
8 conceive
4.2 1e 2c 3a 4c 5d 6b 7h 8g 9f |
