|
Currier Museum of
Art
New Hampshire History Through Art
Suggested classroom activity
to be used after your museum visit.
Create a Sign
Preparation and discussion
1. Ask students to recall the Inn
Sign (unknown artist, 1810) that they saw in the slide program and in
the American gallery at the Currier Museum of Art. Have them describe
the various features of the sign and perhaps have someone sketch it on
the board as classmates recall features. (Image attached for reference.)
2. Lead a discussion of the information that is communicated through the
various elements in the Inn Sign.
1810 -
identifies the year the sign was made
Jones - Levi Jones was an innkeeper (his tavern
was on the main road from
Portsmouth to Wolfeboro)
the
heart - most likely a symbol of hospitality; it would be recognized by
travelers
as the indication of a place to eat and stay
the night
keys,
a carpenter's square, and a compass these are the emblems of the
Masonic order; the Masons were a secret
society whose purpose was mutual
aid and fellowship; the inn was probably
a meeting place for the Masons
Remind students that many people of this era would not have been
literate. Signs were a way of communicating information in a visual way.
Shopkeepers identified their businesses with emblems representing their
specialty (shoemaker, blacksmith, cooper or barrel maker, pharmacy,
etc.) If you have access to pictures of such signs, share them with your
class.
3. Brainstorm a list of signs of today that are familiar to you
students. Examples :
Traffic signs, the sign in front of their school, signs at local
businesses, national recognized signs (Dunkin’ Donuts, McDonalds).
4. Discuss how information is communicated in these examples.
Activity
1. Students will create a sign of
their own. A variety of options may be
considered for the content of the sign:
+ to represent a business that the student would like
to own or manage
+ to represent a New Hampshire business of the
colonial or
early 19th century period
+ to be used as a house sign for the student's home
(or room)
+ to represent the personality or interests of the
student
+ to identify their school or classroom
Encourage students to use simple elements as in the Inn Sign to convey
information. Provide large paper or poster board for the construction of
the signs.
2. Signs could be displayed on
the walls of your classroom or hanging from the ceiling if possible. If
all the classrooms along a hallway participate in the project, signs
could be hung above doorways as they would have been seen along a street
of the colonial or early 19th century period.
Resource:
+ The Colonial Williamsburg website has a lesson plan entitled
"Signs of the Times" that contains a list of
eighteenth-century occupations and businesses, illustrations of signs,
and a brainstorming sheet you might wish to use,
Sign of the
Times Colonial Williamsburg
Lesson Plan provided from the Currier Museum of Art.
|
