Art 21 Lesson Plan

Big Idea: Perspective 

Artist: Carrie Mae Weems 

Before Viewing: 
Collaborate with History teacher’s lesson to begin to inform students of types of stereotypes and injustices that are in our societies and define what stereotyping means. Within this lesson we will show students images that portray stereotypes and have a discussions on how people often use labels or categories to describe others and how these labels can be based on such characteristics as clothing, looks, the way a person talks, or the groups to which he or she belongs.  We will ask the students to take several minutes viewing loaded images. Next we will open with the question of what do they think going on in these images and why does artist choose the method they did with the image. Furthermore we will advance the lesson by having students think about what are some of the labels they see in school, for example jocks, popular, nerds, etc.


While Viewing: SEGMENT: Carrie Mae Weems in "Compassion"
I will review the points that students learnt in their History class and have students discuss the different type of stereotypes they know boarding the range from in school to what they here are see in their communities. Furthermore I will ask students to share a time when they might have felt as if they were being stereotyped.  I will pause the Art 21 series and ask students what kind of stereotypes are they seeing being represented in Carrie Mae Weems images and what do they see that makes them say that? Also posing such questions like what other places have you seen these stereotypes portrayed? How do people learn stereotypes?

Images that I will pause on:






After viewing: 
 I will have student discuss what more can we find in Carrie Mae images?
How do they think a stereotype might cause someone to act unfairly toward another person?
Next ask students to think about these questions, What is the first thing you notice about a new person?
What clues tell you that you might like or dislike the person? Has anyone ever misread you when you first met?


Activity: 
First students will  think about historic events that have effected or affected their life in some way.
Second I will have the students consider how Carrie Mae Weems is addressing the historical events she uses in her photographs, videos, and performances.
Third I will have students take the historical moment that have chosen and try to reenact that event using one of the mediums that Carrie Mae Weems using in her work.
Fourth I will have students write a journal entry sharing about the historical event that they have chosen and why they chose. Also I will ask the students to share this if they fell comfortable so that their peers could see other perspectives.
Fifth have students display their work and observe what they have created. Allow students to discuss what’s going on in their peers work and discuss the many possible interpretations.    
As all of this is going on I will remain neutral , point out areas that are being discussed  and link and frame students comments.

Parts of this lesson adapted from Tara Brown-L'Bahy, anti-bias educator and Ph.D. candidate at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, Massachusetts.(http://www.discoveryeducation.com/teachers/free-lesson-plans/understanding-stereotypes.cfm)