Assignment

Throughout his years at the Martin Luther School, Frank has discovered many ways to provide a window to another time for his students. "My latest project is the Picturing America initiative, which involves a series of art prints and lesson ideas." After applying for a grant to receive the Picturing America poster set from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Frank attended a multiday workshop at the Philadelphia Museum of Art that offered teachers additional ideas and training for using the posters—as well as art from the Museum’s collection—in the classroom. When the Museum published their own set of posters and lesson connections, Pennsylvania Art: From Colony to Nation, Frank obtained this set as well. Before presenting a poster to his students, Frank searches through is personal collections as well as outside sources to find objects that might bring greater meaning to the visual images. "The kids really like the artifacts, because they are real things, they can handle them. They don't often get a chance to see these things, much less hold them. When I talked about the poster of Thomas Mifflin and Sarah Morris [link work?: http://www.philamuseum.org/collections/permanent/103026.html?mulR=8470], for example, I showed them a document I have that was signed by Thomas Mifflin. And the loom that she's using? I have one of those, as well as samples of the same kind of material she is making in the painting."

The artwork, like the artifacts, gives Frank a "hook" to help him engage his students as he teaches about history and everyday life from another time or place. "Being a collector comes in handy with my lessons because I'm always looking to help the kids make connections. I mentioned that Thomas Mifflin was a merchant, and we talked about what sort of goods a merchant might sell in Philadelphia in the 1700s. We began gathering these goods, and ended up collecting so much we could almost set up our own store!"

For more information, please contact Education: School & Teacher Programs by phone at (215) 684-7580, by fax at (215) 236-4063, or by e-mail at .