This piece is called Crap Game by Andree
Ruellan. Ruellan painted this picture in 1936 and it is currently housed at the
Georgia Museum of Art. This piece could be used in different contents, but I
would definitely use it in a social studies class. When I first took a look at
this picture I could pinpoint many things that stood out to me. There are many
routes I would go in class about this picture. The first thing that I would do
is have the students make predictions about where does the picture look like
its taking place at. It may sound basic, but it gets students creative juices
going because there are many different places the picture can be based in.
Outside of the location I would also have the students make predictions about
what time period did it look like it could have taken place during. The time
period wasn’t given so therefore most students would look at the type of
clothing that the guys in the paintings have on to make a guess. To get more
complex, the painting could be used as a stairway to discussing the Great
Depression. Even though I do not know the actual time period that is depicted I
would say that it takes place during the time of the Great Depression. The Great Depression
has always been a point of emphasis in middle grades social studies.
-WC: 236
Have to be honest, at first I could only see the title of this, "crap game," and thought to myself, "oh dear, what is Cinco up to." But your ways of using this in the classroom are very creative and would definitely work. And I agree with how you said that it may seem basic, because I felt like that about mine, too, but you're right- it's more about just giving the students a chance to be creative in their thoughts and get away from textbook type material!
ReplyDelete