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Waldo Peirce |
Murals of Maine Counties
Social Studies Lesson, Grade 4
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Students will be able to:
- Describe and interpret Peirce’s Woodmen in the Woods of Maine as a representation of an important Maine industry.
- Identify the 16 counties of Maine and understand their characteristics and industries.
- Research a specific Maine industry and its role in the state economy.
- Work collaboratively to design and produce a photomural that visually communicates knowledge and understanding of an industry in Maine.
LESSON ACTIVITIES
Teacher Reflection 1
Maine counties (one 45-minute class)
- Explain to students that they are beginning a unit of study about Maine, its counties, and its industries. Start by showing the class a map of the world. Where is Maine? Then look at an atlas of the United States. Ask students what natural features do they see in Maine? What products are produced in Maine?
- Divide the class into small groups of two or three students. Have each group make a list of the 16 counties in Maine and have them use the atlas to identify some of the products found in each county, see the Maine Products Map.
- Students sing the Sixteen Counties Song.
Woodmen in the Woods of Maine (one 45-minute class)
- Have students review their lists of Maine counties and industries. Show the students Waldo Peirce’s mural, Woodmen in the Woods of Maine. Ask students to discuss this work of art and what it tells us about a specific Maine industry. Track students’ questions and responses on chart paper.
- What is happening in this picture?
- What industry is represented in this picture?
- What county or counties might this picture represent?
- Who is doing the work?
- What natural resources are being used?
- What do people wear to do this work?
- What tools do they use to do this work?
- What are the final products of this industry?
- Who uses those products?
- What are the challenges of this industry?
- What role does this industry play in the local, state, and national economies?
- Why do you think Peirce chose lumbering as the subject of this painting?
- Why is the door there?
- What is a mural? What kind of building do you think this mural is from?
- What questions do you have about the mural and if you could ask the artist a question, what would you ask him?
- Share the history of this mural with students. First, explain that this is a mural. Ask students: what is a mural? Have you ever seen one? Discuss how this work was in a post office in Westbrook, but came to the Portland Museum of Art when the post office building was torn down in 1980. The door and wall sections are from the original post office. Woodmen in the Woods of Maine was a commissioned federal art project. During the Great Depression, the arts were included in Roosevelt’s New Deal programs. Peirce’s mural was created under the auspices of the Section of Painting and Sculpture, administered by the Public Works Branch of the U.S. Treasury Department. Artists who participated in these federal arts projects were subjected to strict rules of style, subject matter, and location for their works. Artists were invited to submit sketches to a competition, and then a committee would choose the artist to work on a particular project. Waldo Peirce had to submit several sketches and a scale color design before receiving approval for the final mural.
- Return to the subject matter of the mural and discuss how after receiving the commission to make the mural, Peirce decided that shipping, lobstering, or lumber would be appropriate subjects for Maine. His historical research for relevant events and industries revealed that Westbrook was the site of two important paper mills, and so the lumber industry became the theme. Peirce visited lumberjacks in the woods and the paper mills, and decided his best work would be of nature, not of machinery. The details depicting lumberjacks felling trees and peeling bark in Woodmen in the Woods of Maine came from his direct observations and advice from foresters who posed for him.
Research about Maine counties and industries (two or three 45-minute classes)
- Explain to students that they will be creating a mural, like Woodmen in the Woods of Maine, about an industry in one of the Maine counties. Assign each small group a Maine county, or have them draw county names, making sure to include the county they live in and Penobscot county. It is important to include Penobscot county so that students can study the contemporary Penobscot tribe and make connections to native Maine cultures.
- Students work together to design a photomural of their industry by drawing and painting the background, including the setting, environment, buildings, resources, etc. Then they assemble clothing and props and will pose themselves in front of their mural background acting out the industry. The teacher photographs the tableau and print out the pictures to arrange around the classroom doorway.
- Students use print and Internet resources to research their industry and to identify the setting, resources, tools, and products of that industry.
- Students should make a sketch of their mural before they begin painting.
- Before students begin work, hand out and review the Self-assessment—Project checklist. This outlines the steps of the project and helps students and the teacher track their progress.
- The Teacher checklist/rubric—Photomural helps the teacher assess student work throughout the project.
The photomural (four or five 45-minute classes)
- Once students have demonstrated a clear understanding of their industry and they have a good sketch to work from, students design their mural on a large sheet of heavy craft paper using pencils. When they have a satisfactory design, they may begin using tempera paint to make their murals bold and colorful.
- While students are working on their mural, they should be collecting clothes and props about their industry.
- When students have completed their murals, set up a digital camera, have students put on their costumes, pose with their tools and other props in front of their murals, and take their picture. When the picture is finished, have students complete Self-assessment—Project rubric.
- Once all the students have created their photomurals, print out the photographs and arrange them in the classroom, even around the doorway! Review the project, the Maine counties, and the industries they studied as students view the final display.
MATERIALS
• Chart paper and markers for class discussions
• Maps and atlases of Maine, the United States, and the world
• Internet and print resources about Maine counties and industries
• Pencils and 12 x 18” sheets of drawing paper
• Large sheets of craft paper (minimum 3 x 5 feet), one for each county being depicted
• Tempera paint, brushes, cups for water
• Various props and costumes related to the industries