U.S. Humanities Site-Based Learning at the Art Institute of Chicago
Help me give my students the chance to enhance and extend the learning that takes place in our U.S. Humanities course by going on a field trip to the Art Institute of Chicago.
Our juniors and senior students represent a cross-section of races, ethnicities, and socioeconomic classes. More than 40% of our students qualify for free or reduced-fee lunch.
They attend an award-winning public high school in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
It has been recognized by the Washington Post in its annual list of "America's Most Challenging High Schools." It was also recognized by Newsweek magazine as one of 500 schools nationwide that is "Beating the Odds" by doing an excellent job of preparing students for college while overcoming the obstacles posed by students at an economic disadvantage. Finally, it was one of four schools recently honored by the Iowa State Board of Education for its Breaking Barriers to Teaching and Learning Award for African American student achievement.
My Project
Our students will participate in a docent tour and then individually explore the Art Institute of Chicago, followed by small-group tours of selected architectural sites in the Chicago Loop area. The field trip experience will augment our course curriculum and expand the range of experiences of our students. The U.S. Humanities course is designed to challenge students to look at the developing patterns of culture and thought in the United States. Through the integrated study of literature and the arts, we can better understand this changing culture and our own place in it.
A few of our students have been fortunate enough to experience the art and culture of one of our great American cities, but this field trip extends that opportunity to a wider range of students.
The Art Institute is one of the finest museums in the United States, and the students will be able to view one of the preeminent collections of American art. We'll be focusing on such American artists as Winslow Homer, Georgia O’Keeffe, Edward Hopper, and Grant Wood. Our tour of the Chicago Loop will bring us into contact with the works of great American architects such as Louis Sullivan, Daniel Burnham, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. We recognize the value of viewing, interpreting, and analyzing artworks and buildings as primary sources. The experience of learning about an artwork or building and then seeing it in person is unforgettable.
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