An arts-based approach to secondary social studies can promote active learning, develop critical thinking skills, and advance the study of social institutions.

Medical doctor and geologist Dr. Ferdinand Vandiveer Hayden selected more than 30 scientists, technical personnel, and artists, including photographer William Henry Jackson and painter Thomas Moran, to join the survey of the Yellowstone region in northwest Wyoming territory. Thomas Moran was an accomplished artist when he joined the survey to…

Artists today draw on a range of sources--newspapers, magazines, photographs, film, audio, and of course the Internet--to create artworks that serve as visual "texts" of a specific place and moment in time. Using artworks as sources and understanding how to decode them in the service of "drilling down" into difficult topics can create powerful…

"The Problem We All Live With" is one of Norman Rockwell's most famous, and provocative, images. First printed in the January 14, 1964, issue of "Look" magazine, the image features an approximately six-year-old African American girl walking. She is wearing a white dress, white socks and white shoes. Her hair is parted in neat…

Letters received and sent by Secretary of War Lewis Cass in the 1830s reveal much about relations between the U.S. government and Native Americans. In the immediate aftermath of the Indian Removal Act, signed into law on May 28, 1830, by President Andrew Jackson, some letters came from interpreters and school teachers seeking payment for their…

If the mission of the social studies is to educate global citizens for the twenty-first century, then students must learn how to engage in the type of systematic and sophisticated literacy work that recognizes the power of images as well as texts. In an era of high stakes testing, it is not easy for teachers to find time to locate appropriate art,…

Teaching history through the visual arts is one way of bringing the past into the present. In Cuba, the visual arts and architecture have reflected the country's "flowering of identity" through time, as a multi-ethnic population has grown to recognize its own distinct history, values and attributes, and Cuban artists have portrayed the…

Describes the life and extensive work of the American sculptor, Daniel Chester French, whose statues have come to symbolize the spirit of America. His works include the Lincoln Memorial and the Minute Man. (AM)

This article describes how using authentic artwork, such as that of Bernice Sims, as an instructional strategy can help young learners inquire about historical events. The accompanying lesson illustrates how to use Sims's works and life experiences to gain new perspectives and a greater understanding of the civil rights movement and social justice…

Provides background information on Seymour Fogel, a Depression era muralist. Considers Fogel's artwork of African Americans during the Depression, depicting such scenes as lynchings and the plight of the poor in many areas of the South. (CMK)

Explores the work of Frederic Remington, an illustrator who presented an image of the U.S. western frontier that was more myth than reality. Includes excerpts from "The Significance of the Frontier in American History" by Frederick Jackson Turner. Presents a lesson where students find connections between Turner and Remington's views of…

Cultural freedom involves the ability to recognize and participate imaginatively in the exploration of one's own environment for the sake of one's self and one's people and the ability to transcend that environment and speak to all people. Australian artists, writers, poets, music, and oral literature are discussed. (RM)

Presents a three-activity lesson plan based on Weir Farm, home of Impressionist painter J. Alden Weir and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Includes three student readings, three maps, and a tabular chart. Outlines step-by-step instructional procedures and a list of books for further reading. (CFR)

Under Hitler, art and drama were controlled in order to serve propaganda purposes exclusively, while under the New Deal the United States succeeded in giving work to artists and writers without controlling their output. Suggests class activities to help students gain understanding of this era. (CS)

Presents an annotated bibliography of six books that won the 1994 Carter G. Woodson Book Award presented by the National Council for the Social Studies. States that the award was established to inspire contemporary authors to continue to write books related to ethnic minorities. (CFR)