STANDARDS

Lexile: 1000L

Core Art Standards:

VA1: Generate artistic ideas and work.

VA3: Complete artistic work.

VA10: Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences to make art.

CCSS Anchor Standards:

R2: Determine central themes.

R3: Analyze ideas and sequence events.

R7: Integrate and evaluate content in diverse media.

Essential Question: What conditions, attitudes, and behaviors support creativity and innovative thinking?

Enduring Understanding: Creativity and innovative thinking are essential life skills that can be developed.

Vocabulary: Arts and Crafts, background, commissioned, details, figures, foreground, hard-edge, impasto, Impressionist, narratives, Regionalism

Materials: computer or interactive whiteboard, “Graphic Organizer: Working With Narrative” skills sheet, and video “Grant Wood: American Gothic”

Lesson: All-American Painter

Use with pages 4-5.

Print copies of the “Graphic Organizer: Working With Narrative” skills sheet.
Preload the video “Grant Wood: American Gothic” on your computer or interactive whiteboard

Invite a student to read the introduction and “Arts and Crafts” section of the article. Invite a second student to read “American Visions” and a third to read “Painted Stories.”
Have students observe the three featured artworks closely and discuss.
As a class, view the video “Grant Wood: American Gothic.” Ask: How does the information in the video add to your understanding of Wood’s narratives? (Answers will vary but should refer to the video, artworks, and text.)
Ask: How does Wood create a narrative in Spring in the Country? (Wood presents a simple, everyday scene but invites the viewer to experience the sights, smells, and feelings of a spring day in the country. The road in the background draws a connection to other families within a community.)
Have students record their findings in their “Graphic Organizer: Working With Narrative” skills sheets.

How did Wood develop his narrative style? (Wood drew inspiration from the Arts and Crafts movement and from Impressionism but eventually developed hisown Regionalist style to reflect his vision of America.)
Compare Van Antwerp Place and Spring in the Country. (Answers will vary but should mention the differences between Impressionism and Regionalism.)
Observe the chandelier. How does this artwork relate to Spring in the Country? (Wood creates a simple design, accessible to everyone, that reflects everyday life in the Midwest. Spring in the Country conveys a similar message.)

Think about the region in which you live. What is “everyday life” like there? Using paint or sketching materials, create an artwork that reflects everyday life in your region. Be sure to think about the artwork’s narrative. What details can you include to convey your narrative to viewers?
Research Regionalism online. What other artists were part of this movement? Why is Grant Wood’s work a good example of Regionalism? Write a paragraph or more about the Regionalist movement.