Weatherbeaten | Lessons for Grades 6-8
Grade 6
Visual Arts
The Ocean at Friendship
Anne Kofler
Friendship Village School, Friendship, Maine
This lesson features an innovative approach to landscape. Students begin by working outdoors, selecting and photographing the scene before them: foreground, middle ground, background. When the photos are printed, they arrange the three photos in a row: foreground at the bottom, middle ground in the middle, and background at the top. Students then make pencil sketches from the photographs and finally sculpt and paint clay relief tiles.
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Grade 6
Visual Arts
Making Waves—Exploring the Ocean in Maine Art
Genevieve Keller
Windsor Elementary School, Windsor, Maine
The big idea of this unit is for students to gain a sense of the importance the ocean has played in the history of Maine art. Students explore the differences in how the ocean has been depicted over time by looking at the work of several Maine artists, with Homer’s Weatherbeaten as the exemplar. Students learn various elements of art and design through wave forms.
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Grade 7
Visual Arts and Language Arts
I am From: Discovering Personal Place Through Visual Art and Poetry
Cameron Davis
Acton Elementary School, Acton, Maine
By integrating writing and visual arts, students develop an understanding of “a sense of place” through painting and poetry. Activities include:
- An introduction to Homer and his career
- A careful study of Weatherbeaten
- Writing about a specific place through the five senses
- Field trips to the Portland Museum of Art and a coastal location, with opportunities for on-site writing and sketching
- Creating a final painting of a place that has personal meaning for the student
- Writing an “I am from…” poem to accompany their painting
Activity Worksheets (pdf):
Worksheet 1 - Worksheet 2 - Worksheet 3 - Worksheet 4 - Worksheet 5 - Worksheet 6
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Grade 7
Visual Arts and Language Arts
A Sense of Place: Weatherbeaten
Maura McHugh and Gloria Bray
Mt. Ararat Middle School, Topsham, Maine
This in-depth study of Weatherbeaten includes understanding Homer’s art and career through comparisons to his other works and reading letters he wrote. Students explore the theme of place in their own paintings and writings, and create a handmade book to display their work.
Language Arts Curriculum Unit (pdf)
Visual Arts Curriculum Unit (pdf)
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Grade 8
Visual Arts
A Sense of Place and Our Place In It
Audrey Grumbling
Mildred L. Day School, Arundel, Maine
Students explore a sense of place and the representation of nature in art through two very different, yet compelling artists. By comparing Winslow Homer’s paintings to Andy Goldsworthy’s site-specific sculptures, students consider how artists interpret and respond to the world. Students then create their own site-specific artworks.