Ms. Cole’s and Ms. Ranger’s Third Grade Class
Arts Integrated Social Studies Lesson
The Life of Clara Barton “Angel of the Battlefield”
Clara Barton slide show tableau: After studying historical figures of the Civil War groups of students used the
tableau art strategy to illustrate the life of Clara Barton. Each group of students created a tableau, a frozen picture
using their bodies, depicting a particular time period of Clara Barton’s life. These tableaus will be put together in a
slide show fashion to show her lifetime of achievements.
Step 1
Students worked in groups to study,
learn, and become experts about
Clara Barton’s life.
Step 4
“ Clara Barton Puzzle”
The pieces of the puzzle were put
:together to represent each part of
Clara Barton’s life.
Step 2
Working cooperatively
students designed puzzle
pieces depicting events in
Clara Barton’s life.
Step 3
Students used their puzzle piece to teach the other students
important information and significant events that took place
during a specific time period of Clara Barton’s life.
Step 5- Creating Tableaus
Student groups collaborated to create a tableau, a frozen picture, each of which illustrated a
portion of Clara Barton’s life. The first picture illustrates Clara Barton becoming a teacher and
founder of the first free public school in New Jersey. The second picture illustrates Clara
Barton’s infancy and early childhood. The third picture illustrates President Lincoln giving Clara
Barton permission to find missing soldiers and reunite them with their family.
Learning Objectives
Beginning Theatre
Student Reflections
Strand one- Create
Collaboration- concept 1
PO 101. Demonstrate respect for others’ opinions by respectfully
listening while ideas are articulated.
PO 102. Cooperate in the dramatic process.
PO 103. Demonstrate the ability to collaborate while coming to
consensus in the dramatic process.
PO 104. Follow established theatre safety rules.
Acting – concept 2
PO 101. Imagine and describe characters, their relationships, what
they want and why (e.g., through variations of movement and
gesture, vocal pitch, volume, and tempo).
PO 102. Sustain a scene using appropriate language or movement
with the teacher role-playing or giving clues ( e.g., from literature
or students’ personal experiences).
PPO 105. Work cooperatively and follow established safety rules.
Playwriting- Concept 4
PO 103. Improvise by imitating life experiences, knowledge of
literature, social issues, and/or historical situations, and create
imaginary scenes that include characters, setting, and storyline.
 “When I am doing a tableau I am not as easily
distracted and I am more focused on my lesson.”
 “It helps me to remember what she did and what she
experienced. Using a tableau makes me feel like I
am her, like it is really happening to me.”
 “I think using a tableau helps me because you get to
see a picture in your mind and then act it out.”
 “I think using tableaus helps our relationships
because we all have to work together and agree.”
Directing- Concept 5
PO 102. Demonstrate leadership skills in small group work.
PO 103. Lead small groups in planning a scene and rehearsing the
scene for in-class performance.
Strand two- Relate
Acting- concept 2
PO 101. Describe how the characters in a situation might be similar
to or different from real life experience.
PO 102. Describe how place and time affect characters and story in
class improvisations, scripts and productions of theatre and /or
other media.
Social Studies Objective
SS03-S1C6 Civil War and Reconstruction 1850 – 1877:
Regional conflicts led to the Civil War and resulted in significant
changes to American social, economic, and political structures.
SPO1
: Recognize that there were issues (e.g., slavery, states’ rights,
South seceded from the Union) associated with the Civil War.
SPO2 Discuss contributions of people (e.g., Abraham Lincoln,
Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, Harriet Tubman,
Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass) during the Civil War era.
Teacher Reflection
“Utilizing tableaus when exploring the life of
Clara Barton allowed the students to gain a
deeper understanding and a more
comprehensive insight into the experiences that
influenced her life. Interpreting her life’s events
by using body formations has helped the student
retain the important information. Students were
also able to take ownership of their learning by
collaborating and engaging in an artistic
process.”