Paint and Create a Play Like Jacob Lawrence
Greenville Renaisance Scholars, Greenville, Mississippi
teach with jacob l awrence
Created by Margaret Carter Joseph, community program director
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Project description
Twelve seventh- and eighth-grade students participated in
our Greenville Renaissance Scholars (GRS) after-school class
entitled Paint and Create a Play Like Jacob Lawrence. For their
culminating project, the Scholars collectively researched,
wrote, and produced a play about the Great Migration, called
Hard Times.
With a similar spirit as Lawrence approached The Migration
Series, the Scholars researched the Great Migration, using the
Internet, excerpts from Nicholas Lemann’s The Promised Land,
and the Teaching Kit. They also interviewed a local resident who
had moved north during the Great Migration. Scholars then
developed individual ideas for the play and, through consensus,
chose one theme as a focus for their play.
This project also
gave deeper meaning
to conversations
students had with their
families; they began
to view their own
families, and indeed
themselves, as part of
a historical movement.”
—Margaret Carter
Joseph
Curriculum
connections: Drama,
Language Arts, Social
Studies, Visual Art
Length: 7 classes,
75 minutes
Grade level: Seventh
and eighth grade
The Scholars viewed The Migration Series at the Mississippi
Museum of Art (MMA), in Jackson — 90 minutes away. Afterwards we
discussed their personal reactions to the series. Their confidence
interpreting and ability to make personal connections to the artwork
grew. Gradually, the once “distant and academic” became more real.
After writing the play, the students designed props and a stage set
inspired by Lawrence’s imagery and their own research. Later that
spring, the Scholars traveled to Washington, D.C., to perform Hard
Times at The Phillips Collection’s Family Festival.
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Students will:
Program profile
research develop a greater
•• Through
understanding of the Great Migration, its
In January 2007, a board of parents and business
and civic leaders founded the Greenville
Renaissance Scholars (GRS) to prepare public
middle- and high-school students for college
through summer and after-school academic
enrichment programs. Camp Renaissance, the GRS
summer program for middle-school students, offers
fine arts and academics. Last summer, its curricular
themes included the Harlem and the European
Renaissances, and the influence of the blues during
the Great Migration.
causes and effects, regional impact, and
relevance in their lives.
more about Jacob Lawrence, his
•• Learn
subject, artistic method and the Series
through research and synthesis.
their research on the Great
•• Analyze
Migration and articulate a clear, collective
••
understanding of its causes and effects.
Utilize the five-step writing process
(prewriting, writing, revising, editing and
proofreading, publishing).
their research to write a play about the
•• Use
Great Migration as it relates to Mississippi.
in Lawrence’s style to create art, which
•• Paint
can be used as backdrops for the play.
a final project, perform the play they have
•• As
written.
Materials
Journals, sketchbooks, pencils, pens, tracing
paper, construction paper, glue, scissors,
Masonite boards, gesso (if Masonite is
unprimed), acrylic paint, brushes.
Our programs start with Greenville’s middle-school
students and continue with them through highschool graduation. Our goal is to be a source of
support and assistance to students as they work
towards college admission. There are no grade
prerequisites to participate, just a demonstrated
ability to respect others and work hard.
National standards of learning
Language Arts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11
Social Studies: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10
Technology: 1, 4
Visual Arts: 1, 4, 6
teach with jacob l awrence
Objectives
Teaching Kit resources
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Primary sources: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13,
14, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 32, 33, 34, 35
Other resources: Nicholas Lemann, The
Promised Land: The Great Black Migration
and How It Changed America (1991); “Digital
History” at www.digitalhistory.uh.edu;
“Great Migration” at www.encyclopedia.
chicagohistory.org; “The African-American
Mosaic” at www.loc.gov
Step 5. Writing a play in the style of Jacob Lawrence
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Step-by-step teaching unit
Step 1. Collecting information—
the Great Migration Wall
As an introduction, students watch and then
discuss the Teaching Kit video on Jacob
Lawrence and The Migration Series. Students
collect as much information as possible about
Jacob Lawrence, The Migration Series, and the
Great Migration. Pieces of information are
displayed on the Great Migration Wall—
a collective source of information.
Museum profile
The Mississippi Museum
of Art opened in 1903
and is now the largest
art museum in the
state of Mississippi. The
collection has around
3,800 artworks with an
emphasis on mid-nineteenth-century and
twentieth- century American art. European, Asian,
and ethnographic art are also part of the permanent
collection, as is a growing selection of sculpture and
Native American baskets. The museum also has a large
collection of work by Mississippians. The museum’s
goal is to engage Mississippians in the visual arts.
Step 2. Research teams
Teach with jacob l awrence
Using resources gathered from the Teaching Kit
and elsewhere, students work in three teams
local resident who moved to the North
to answer questions for the Great Migration
during the Great Migration. Students develop
Wall. Each team has to answer all the questions.
interview questions that probe when, why, and
Then, as a larger group, the students revise and
where their subjects moved; the questions
finalize answers to each question.
also lead to gathering information about the
1930s and ‘40s, useful for developing the
Step 3. Interviews
play. Students add information from their
Students interview family members and
interviews to the Great Migration Wall.
conduct an e-mail correspondence with
Nicholas Lemann (author of The Promised
Step 4. The Migration Series in letters
Land). Students may also interview a
Students walk around the classroom to view
community resident. Greenville students
copies of the 30 odd-numbered panels of The
interviewed Phalange Word, a 90-year‑old
Migration Series (owned by the Phillips) and
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read Lawrence’s captions. Students pick one
Lawrence panel and write a letter, as if they
were a person in the picture who is writing to
a loved one in either the North or the South.
Students then exchange the letters with
classmates for peer editing. Students then
revise and write a final draft of their letter,
which is shared with the class.
Step 1. Collecting information—the Great Migration Wall
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Step 8. Storyboard to revision
Students create a storyboard graphic organizer
to develop an outline for the plot. Students then
write and revise the play through discussion
and improvisation.
Step 9. Practice and rehearsal
Students finish revisions and practice their
play. (In Mississippi, students voluntarily spent
several extra classes rehearsing.)
Step 10. Performance
Step 10. Performance
Students perform the play at The Phillips
Collection’s Family Festival and in Greenville,
Mississippi, for family and friends.
Students visit the Mississippi Museum of Art to
view Lawrence’s work and learn more about his
artistic process.
Step 6. Brainstorming
Students write down, individually, several ideas
for a play and then develop one or two into
short paragraphs. Students discuss ideas and,
through consensus, select one for development.
Step 7. Creating backdrops
While writing the play, students create works
of art that will serve as backdrops. Students
develop drawings based on The Migration
Series. After demonstration, students then
create collages based on their drawings and
using only five colors. Students trace their
collages and transfer the drawings to primed
Teacher profile
Margaret Carter Joseph
founded and directs the
Greenville Renaissance
Scholars. Her lifelong
involvement in education
spans teaching in traditional,
nontraditional, and
after-school settings.
Born in Greenville, Mississippi, and raised
in New Orleans, she retuned to Greenville
after receiving a master’s degree in education
from the Harvard School of Education. She
then became the regional director of a rural
community development organization. Many of
the projects she initiated involved after-school
youth programs and centers. While raising two
daughters, she was appointed by the Governor
to serve a five-year term with the Mississippi Arts
Commission; simultaneously, she continued to
work and volunteer in Greenville’s public schools.
teach with jacob l awrence
Step 5. Museum visit to the Mississippi
Museum of Art
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Masonite board. Students paint their Masonite
boards with a limited palette of five colors.
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Rubric for assessment
Students are told in advance that the instructor
will assess each student’s approach to a
project based on the scale below. GRS uses the
following terminology in its program:
Student—Follows directions, asks questions
when something is not clear.
Master—Follows directions, asks questions
when something is not clear, presents findings,
Student voices
“My name is Lauren A. Page
and I am 14 years old. I am
a Greenville Renaissance
Scholar. In Panel No. 57,
the female is washing
clothes and it makes me feel
like she is a hardworking
woman. I think that is good
because she can take care of herself and has a lot
of strength. That reminds me of my grandmother.”
—Lauren A. Page
and/or tackles problem with interest in the
larger goal.
Scholar—Follows directions, asks questions
Teach with jacob l awrence
when something is not clear, presents findings,
and/or tackles problem with interest in the
larger goal; can pass along his/her skill and
knowledge to another.
Panel No. 57
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Individual grading scale
Each scholar received 20 points for each
component:
1.Participated in development of the story
by coming up with three or more possible
overviews. Each overview needed to be at
least four sentences long and needed to
originate from a panel, the Great Migration
Wall, and our interview of Phalange Word.
2.Participated in choosing the final story line
and in the development of the final overview.
3.Participated in creating graphic web of
the plot.
4.Helped write the script.
5.Was willing to act out some areas of the story
when developing the script.
Group grading scale
The group receives a grade. Each area is worth
20 points:
1.Found information in timely manner using
the available materials.
2.Divided work within the group.
3.All members participated in finding
information.
4.Presented information clearly.
5.Participated in final editing of information on
the Great Migration Wall.
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Impact statement
Panel No. 7
The Scholars viewed The Migration Series at the
Mississippi Museum of Art, in the state capital
Jackson, which is about 90 minutes away. At the
museum, they discussed Lawrence’s work in
depth with The Phillips Collection’s education
specialist Rachel Goldberg. After seeing The
Migration Series, the students began to discuss
their personal reactions to the artwork. Their
confidence interpreting the artwork grew, and
the panels began to touch them on a personal
level. Gradually the history that had been
distant and academic became more real.
Great Migration. In learning about this period
in history, they filled a gap in understanding
that frequently exists in school history
curriculum from the period of slavery to the
civil rights movement. This project also gave
deeper meaning to conversations students had
with their families; they began to view their
own families, and indeed themselves, as part
of a historical movement. The collaborative
Great Migration, life in the North, and life in
process of creating a play led to great
Mississippi during that time.
discussions and deep realizations about the
Program evaluators from the Institute for
teach with jacob l awrence
The students gained a clearer sense of the
Learning Innovation also interviewed the
Scholars after their Phillips Collection
Student voices
“When I first saw the
painting [Panel No. 7],
I was puzzled. However,
it looked as if something
was growing out of the
earth, into the real
world, in a place it had
never been before. Then
I thought about blacks
migrating to the North
adjusting to things they had never experienced.”
—Donreál Walton
performance of Hard Times. This is an excerpt
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from the report produced following the focus
group discussion:
Participation in the Jacob Lawrence project
enabled these students to create something
personally meaningful and use it as a means
to connect more deeply with each other, their
families, and their communities. They exuded
excitement and enthusiasm and this reflected
their feelings of accomplishment, success,
and pride in their work.*
*Evaluation Report, Jacob Lawrence Project, Institute for
Learning Innovation, February 2009.
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