Ain’t I a Woman? – A lesson plan

Mickalene Thomas, American, born 1971 Ain’t I a Woman (Sandra), 2009 Rhinestones, acrylic, and enamel on panel; DVD and framed monitor Crocker Art Museum, gift of Emily Leff and James Davis III, 2020.68.2

Objective

Students will compare and contrast two pieces of art with the throughline of Sojourner Truth’s famous speech, “Ain’t I a Woman?”. Students will work together as a class to analyze two pieces of art depicting two influential African-American women. Students will use prompts to sort informational cards and write a collaborative essay.

Artwork

Sojourner Truth (American, ca. 1797–1883) , “I Sell the Shadow to Support the Substance”, Unknown (American) 1864, Albumen silver print from glass negative

Sojourner Truth was an influential humans rights activist in the 19th century. Born an enslaved person, Truth fought for her right to live as a free woman. She dedicated her adult life to advocating for freedom and civil liberties. Please read her 1851 speech, “Ain’t I a Woman?”, here.

Mickalene Thomas, American, born 1971,  Ain’t I a Woman (Sandra), 2009 Rhinestones, acrylic, and enamel on panel; DVD and framed monitor Crocker Art Museum, gift of Emily Leff and James Davis III, 2020.68.2

Mickalene Thomas is an American born mixed-media and performing artist based in New York City. Her piece, Ain’t I a Woman (Sandra), is a depiction of her mother, Sandra Bush. -Read more about the thriving career of Mickalene Thomas at her website. www.MickaleneThomas.com.

Materials Preparation:

You will need to prepare informational cards before your lesson. Each table group will need one group of flash cards (including images of the artwork if possible) The students will analyze flash cards and sort into groups assigned to the focus artwork. It is recommended to have students work in groups of 4-6 students.

For each table group, create cards with the following words or phrases:

1. Lived in 1871

2. Photograph

3. Worked to end slavery

4. Sojourner Truth

5. Lived in 1974

6. Painting

7. Was a model

8. Sandra Bush

Background

1. Project or display the two images. Discuss with the students what they see, think, and wonder about the women and artwork they see.
2. Create a class KWL (Know, Want to know, Learned) chart to gather information from the students.
3. Provide information about Sojourner Truth, Sandra Bush, and the artist Mickalene Thomas. Information can be found on Thomas’s website, the Crocker website, The National Park Service, as well as historical databases and numerous books.
4. Share Sojourner’s speech, “Ain’t I a Woman?”. Adaptation- you may choose to print out the speech and have a copy for each student. Time may be spent reading independently, highlighting, and identifying important pieces.

Focus Questions

• What can we learn about a historical time period and female artists’ contributions to art, by looking at their photographs? Reading their speeches and letters?
• How did the 19th century female photographers demonstrate the photographers’ power to connect to all people?
• How can we use photographs to compare women across time?

Process

Today we will be looking at two pieces of art. One piece is a photograph of a woman who lived in the 1870s. One is a photograph and painting of a woman who lived in the 1970s.

1. Project or display the two images. Discuss with the students what they see, think, and wonder about the women and artwork they see.
2. Create a class KWL (Know, Want to know, Learned) chart to gather information from the students. Complete the K & W section. The L will be completed during the conclusion of the lesson.
3. Info load. Share resources with students so they may learn more about Sojourner Truth’s speech, “Ain’t I a Woman?”, and Thomas’s artwork, “Ain’t I a Woman? (Sandra)”. Please refer to the resources section, your school library, and students.
4. Sort flash cards. Put students into table groups. Ask them to review the KWL chart with their group and discuss the focus questions.
   1. Each group will have one group of flashcards and photos of the artwork
   2. Students work together to find the correct group for their corresponding cards and art.
5. Writing. Students will use the information available (KWL, discussions, resources, flashcards) to write their responses to the focus questions.
   • What can we learn about a historical time period and female artists’ contributions to art, by looking at their photographs?
   • How did the 19th century female photographers demonstrate the photographers’ power to connect to all people?
   • How can we use photographs to compare women across time?

Conclusion

Call the class together to re-vist the KWL chart and complete the “L” section.

• What did we know when we started? What do we know now? What did we learn? What assumptions of ours were correct, which were not?

Clean up. Students can now return their materials and return to their original seats if necessary. Writing can now be turned in.

Thank the students for their work and focus today.

Extensions and Adaptations

– Encourage students to visit the Crocker Art Museum and view Mickalene Thomas’s work along with other Black artists’s works at the Hopes Springing High: Gifts of Art by African American Artists exhibition.

-Provide sentence starter strips to assist in collaborative conversations

-Consider assigning table group names that are relevant to the topic

Resources

Resource-  Hopes Springing High: Gifts of Art by African American Artists Exhibition, Crocker Art Museum

Resource- Crocker Art Museum

Article- “Mickalene Thomas on her Photographic Muses”, Vogue

Resource- http://mickalenethomas.com/

Speech- “Ain’t I a Woman?” by Sojourner Truth

California State Standards and Framework

History/Social Science
Learning and Working Now and Long Ago (grade K)
K.4 Students compare and contrast the locations of people, places, and environments
A Child’s Place in Time and Space (grade 1)
1.2 Students compare and contrast the absolute and relative locations of places and people and describe the physical and/or human characteristics of places.
1.4 Students compare and contrast everyday life in different times and places around the world and recognize that some aspects of people, places, and things change over time while others stay the same.
1.5 Students describe the human characteristics of familiar places and the varied backgrounds of American citizens and residents in those places.
People Who Make a Difference (grade 2)
2.1 Students differentiate between things that happened long ago and things that happened yesterday.

Arts
Responding
Individual aesthetic and empathetic awareness developed through engagement with art can lead to understanding and appreciation of self, others, the natural world, and constructed environments.
Visual imagery influences understanding of and responses to the world
Connecting
Through artmaking, people make meaning by investigating and developing awareness of perceptions, knowledge, and experiences.
People develop ideas and understandings of society, culture, and history through their interactions with and analysis of art.

Connecting- Anchor Standard 11: Relate Artistic Ideas and Works with Societal, Cultural, and Historical Context to Deepen Understanding
K.VA:Cn11 Identify a purpose of an artwork
1.VA:Cn11 Understand that people from different places and times have made art for a variety of reasons
2.VA:Cn11 Compare and contrast cultural uses of artwork from different times and places
3.VA:Cn11 Recognize that responses to art change depending on knowledge of the time and place in which it was made
4.VA:Cn11 Through observation, infer information about time, place, and culture in which a work of art was created
6.VA:Cn11 Analyze how art reflects changing times, traditions, resources, and cultural uses

English Language Arts
Reading
Key Ideas and Details, Craft and Structure, Integration of Knowledge and Ideas, Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity
Speaking and Listening
Comprehension and Collaboration, Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas
Language
Conventions of Standard English, Vocabulary Acquisition and Use

Materials

• Projectable images of the artworks
• Vocabulary flash cards
• Tape
• Writing paper and pencils
• Poster paper and/or white board and markers