Benton, Wood and Curry Artists of the Regionalism Movement

Title: Taking a look at Thomas Hart Benton, painter of the mural at the Truman Library, and two other regional artists, Grant Wood and John Steuart Curry.

Teacher: Marty Brown, art teacher School: Truman Elementary, Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Grade Focus: Third through Fifth

Time Frame: Four 45-minute art class periods

Show Me Standards Covered: F3, F5

Unit Introduction: Thomas Hart Benton, painter of the mural at the Truman Library, and two other regional artists, Grant Wood and John Steuart Curry are considered the most important artists in the Regionalism movement. This unit will take a look at each of these artists and compare and contrast their work and their lives.

Goals or objectives leading towards results: 1. We will visit each artist's homepage on the web, view their artwork and learn about each man. 2. Students will look at vertical files of clippings, prints, museum brochures, etc. to find items that are interesting to them 3. Each day, students fill out one column of a three column sheet with Thomas Hart Benton, Grant Wood, and John Steuart Curry, as the categories.

Preparation for the Learning Adventure: *Find and book mark web sites for each artist:

Thomas Hart Benton

Grant Wood

John Steuart Curry

Book mark or find hard copies of examples of each artists' landscapes and portraits. The following are three examples:

• Create a three column chart listing birth dates, hometown, economic standing, education, personal life, travel, etc.
• Gather together copies of articles and prints for a vertical file

Scope of Student Work: Each 45-minute class will be divided into three 15-minute sections: First, Investigation and Research: The students will look at the web site of the "Artist for the day". Second, Communication and/or Collaboration: In small groups, kids will pour over samples from a vertical file of relevant clippings. Third, Student decision making: The kids will fill out on their own charts what they found interesting about the artist and his work. Fourth and last day of the unit, the students will get together in small groups and create one chart using Microsoft 4.0 Works, using all of the above learning styles.

Resources and Technology used:

• Search engines - Netscape Navigator
• Books - John Steuart Curry and Grant Wood: A Portrait of Rural America by John Steuart Curry, Grant Wood, and Joseph S. Czestochowski

• Students will display their charts on the computer/TV hook up and present their information.
• Students will turn in their own copies of the chart, with a paragraph about how their copy changed after meeting in a small group, and what they learned from other students