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Students were also enthusiastic about depicting

images of jazz in our art project. A few even

began teaching their schoolmates songs they

had heard at home, which had previously held

little significance for them. It was rewarding

to see students influence each other in such

a personal way. The combination of learning

about music and The Migration Series, while

creating art based on family history, had a

compelling and powerful influence on our

students. The result is a collective Oyster

Migration Series featuring stories of migration,

immigration, and life in America.

Migr aTion, MoVeMenT, anD MUSic

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Student voices “I have many family backgrounds. I am part white, part African American, and mostly Latina. The Migration Series has much to do with my family. Some of my ancestors came here by ship, some of them in chains, and some by their own will. But my father’s side of the family didn’t come here at all. Only he did. He is from Guatemala.” —Stephanie Cristina Guzman

backgrounds. I am part white,

some by their own will. But my father’s side of the

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My Story in Pictures and WordsShepherd elementary School, washington, D.c.

Created by Joele Michaud, elementary art teacher

Project description

Combining language arts and visual arts curricula, fifth-grade students at Shepherd Elementary studied the elements of narrative, specifically character, plot, and setting. Simultaneously they learned about the life of Jacob Lawrence and the story he told in The Migration Series. Students then wrote four-sentence stories about themselves, their families, or their ancestors.

These young artists worked individually and in groups to illustrate their stories, using mixed media and colored drawings in Lawrence’s abstract style to create four-framed narratives. During the process, they continuously checked their work for visual and written clarity and consistency. To enrich the curriculum, students also studied the Great Migration with their classroom teacher, Tim Leonard, and visited The Phillips Collection to see Lawrence’s art. Students learned about communication through both visual and language arts, while making a personal connection to issues of immigration, migration, and American history.

The students’ stories show us the heroism, kindness, empathy, perseverance, and open-mindedness that we hope to instill in our youth.” —Joele Michaud

curriculum connections: Language Arts, Social Studies, Technology, Visual Arts

Length: 12 classes, 40 minutes each

grade level: Fifth grade

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MY STorY in PicTUreS anD worDS

objectivesStudents will:

• View and discuss The Migration Series as a visual historical narrative of African-American history.

• Compare African-American life in the rural South to that of life in the urban, industrial North, including the roles of industry, media, technology, and the economy as instigators of change.

• Conduct research to discuss how Lawrence relates his family history to The Migration Series.

• Describe the elements of a narrative (character, setting, events, plot, beginning, middle, and end).

• Write and edit a simple autobiographical or ancestral narrative of a memorable personal event. Share and critique personal narrative with classmates.

• Sketch and draw a simplified color image in Lawrence’s style to illustrate narrative.

• Write a personal response to the project. e

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MaterialsWriting paper, pencils, drawing paper, 18 x 24 inch tag board, crayons, oil pastels, colored pencils, markers, colored chalks.

Teaching kit resourcesPrimary Sources: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 15, 16, 17, 18, 23,

24, 28, 29, 30

national standards of learningLanguage Arts: 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8

Social Studies: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Visual Arts: 1, 3, 4, 5, 6

School profile Shepherd Elementary is a public school in Northwest Washington, D.C. Opened in 1928, Shepherd has a population of 332 students from pre-K through sixth grade and serves a community that is ethnically and economically diverse. Shepherd houses an International Baccalaureate program that uses a cross-disciplinary approach.

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Step 9. Transfer to storyboardsStep 9. Transfer to storyboards

MY STorY in PicTUreS anD worDS

Step-by-step teaching unit

Step 1. Introduction

Students view and discuss The Migration Series

in historical context, discussing factors that led

to the Great Migration such as the devastation

caused by the boll weevil, loss of jobs, forms of

racism, child labor, segregation, and the need

for labor in the industrial North.

Step 2. Preliminary writing

For homework, students write a short

biographical story of three or four sentences

about an event in their life or in the life of their

parent or ancestor.

Step 3. Internet and text research

Students research, report, and discuss African-

American history during the early 20th century,

the Great Migration, and the Depression.

Step 4. Analytic viewing

Students view and discuss reproductions

of The Migration Series, noting images that

represent white agents’ recruitment of African-

American labor, the role of African-American

newspapers in spreading news about northern

opportunities, and the conditions encountered

by migrants in the North.

Step 5. Preliminary sketching

For homework, students create pencil sketches

using simplified shapes to indicate characters

and setting in their family story.

Step 6. Story structure and sharing

Students identify elements of a story—

beginning, middle, and end—as each student

reads his or her family story to the class.

Teacher profile Joele Michaud had broad exposure to art from her mother, a portrait and mural painter, and her maternal grandmother, a decorative artist who designed and painted lampshades and furniture. After working in the airline industry, Michaud graduated with honors from Howard University and taught in the elementary classroom for the District of Columbia Public Schools. In 1997, Michaud started teaching art at Shepherd Elementary School. In 2006, she earned a master’s degree in art education from the Maryland Institute College of Art. Thesis research on the presence of and communication about art in African-American families allowed Michaud to discover her own family’s connections to the mid 20th-century African-American art movement in Chicago. She has exhibited her own work in Washington, D.C., New Delhi, India, and St. Petersburg, Russia.

mother, a portrait and mural

the airline industry, Michaud graduated with

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MY STorY in PicTUreS anD worDS

Step 7. Storyboards

Students translate their sketches into a visual

narrative storyboard, with sentence captions

for each of the four frame drawings; students

choose the simplest visual imagery to show the

plot’s essence.

Step 9. Color interpretation

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Step 8. Museum visit to The Phillips Collection

Students view The Migration Series at The

Phillips Collection to describe, analyze, and

decide how effectively Lawrence told the story

of the Great Migration.

Step 9. Color interpretation

Students transfer storyboard drawings to tag

board and make color choices; students add

sentence captions once drawings are complete.

Step 10. Written reflection and response

Students answer these questions: What led you

to pick this particular story to tell? Now that

you have shared your story, how does it make

you feel?

Step 11. Museum exhibition and community celebration

Student artwork is exhibited at The Phillips

Collection as part of the

Young Artists Exhibition

Program (see page T 62).

Students perform poetry

and song for a school

and family audience at

the Phillips community

celebration.

Step 7. Storyboards

Student artwork is exhibited at The Phillips

Program (see page T

Students perform poetry

and song for a school

and family audience at

the Phillips community

celebration.

Step 7. Storyboards

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MY STorY in PicTUreS anD worDS

rubric for assessmentStudents were graded on the following rubric

using a point system:

Level 4—All elements of Level 3 are met.

Narrative is presented with creative, expressive

language. Illustrations are imaginatively drawn

in a simplified, abstracted style and are colored

using a limited palette while varying scale.

Storyboard shows unity and creative harmony

between pictures and words.

Level 3—Four-sentence story about self, family

member/s, or ancestors is biographical. Correct

language mechanics (i.e., spelling, grammar,

and vocabulary) are employed. Story has

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characters, plot, and setting, with a beginning,

middle, and end. Sequential thinking is clear

and biographical elements are present. Each

sentence caption is accompanied by a mixed-

media colored drawing in Lawrence’s style.

Each drawing illustrates and clarifies the story.

Illustration demonstrates proficiency in media,

creates illusion of depth, and uses color to

express atmosphere. Written and visual works

are basic, elemental, clear, and consistent.

Level 2—Five or six elements of Level 3 are

met.

Level 1—Four or fewer elements of Level 3

are met.

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Panel No. 59

impact statementToday’s students are given too few

opportunities to tell us about themselves

through authentic, personal stories. This project

gave me the opportunity to see into their

private selves, as well as to gain understanding

of the people, events, and values they hold

important. As the students wrote their personal

narratives, created artwork, and visited The

Phillips Collection, their unique attributes as

individuals emerged. Their stories show us the

heroism, kindness, empathy, perseverance, and

open-mindedness that we hope to instill in our

youth. These stories also show us that those

values already exist and are important in the

young people’s world. Without this project, I

would not have known my students as well, nor

have developed such respect for them.

When sharing their stories, students expressed

feelings like bravery, pride, and happiness.

Many told stories about deceased relatives or

about their own or relatives’ personal triumphs.

Some stories were funny, others were just fun,

and many had never been shared before. It is

most significant that all of the artworks hold

true meaning for their respective artist/authors.

It is a privilege to have facilitated their creation.

MY STorY in PicTUreS anD worDS

Student voices“I am Summer Durant and I am in the fifth grade and I go to Shepherd Elementary School. I liked doing the Jacob Lawrence series because I learned a lot about my family that I did not know, and I liked looking at the paintings at The Phillips Collection. One of my favorite paintings was Panel No. 59, because even though the blacks did all that work, and they still had to be watched by guards, they triumphed by having the freedom to vote.” —Summer Durant

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