Format
Videoconference presenters show American artworks from the museum’s collection using green screen. Through inquiry-based questions and discussion, presenters engage with participants as they explore artworks together.
Objectives
Through an active discussion of works depicting the Civil War and Reconstruction, students will be better able to:
• Understand the historical context of the Civil War and Reconstruction;
• Explain the effect of the Civil War and Reconstruction on soldiers, families, and enslaved people;
• Describe how the Civil War shaped our national identity;
• Use visual and contextual evidence to interpret artworks depicting the Civil War and Reconstruction.
Standards Alignment
National Standards
Videoconferences can touch on one or more of the following standards
National
Visual Arts
• K-12.7: Perceive and analyze artistic work
• K-12.8: Interpret intent and meaning in artistic work
• K-12.11: Relate artistic ideas and works from a variety of sources with societal, cultural, and historical context to deepen understanding
Historical Thinking
• K-12.2: Draw upon the visual data presented in photographs, paintings, cartoons, and architectural drawings to clarify, illustrate, or elaborate upon information presented in the historical narrative, and appreciate and consider past historical perspectives
• K-12.3: Analyze and interpret multiple perspectives in history to compare and contrast differing sets of ideas, values, personalities, behaviors, and institutions, and to challenge arguments of historical inevitability
• K-12.4: Obtain and interrogate historical data from a variety of sources, including library and museum collections, in order to formulate historical questions from encounters with art and other records from the past
U.S. History
• 5-12, Era 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
Civics
• 5-12.1: Civic Life, Politics, and Government
Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts/Literacy, College and Career Readiness
Standards have been slightly modified to expand the definition of "text" to include artworks.
Reading
• R.1: Read closely to determine what the [artwork] says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific [visual] evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the [artwork].
• R.2: Determine central ideas or themes of a[n artwork] and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.
• R.6: Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a[n artwork].
• R.7: Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.
• R.9: Analyze how two or more [artworks] address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the [artists] take.
Speaking and Listening
• SL.1: Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
• SL.2: Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
• SL.3: Evaluate a speaker’s [or an artist’s] point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric.
• SL.4: Present information, findings, and supporting evidence such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.