LOOKING AND LEARNING PROGRAM

This program is made possible through the generous support of the Cameron Baird Foundation.

Franz Marc (German, 1880-1916) The Wolves (Balkan War), 1913 Oil on canvas, 27 7/8 x 55" Charles Clifton, James G. Forsyth, and Charles W. Goodyear Funds, 1951

LESSON PLAN: IF YOU COULD TALK TO THE ANIMALS

Based on: Franz Marc’s painting The Wolves (Balkan War) in the permanent collection of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery

INTRODUCTION:
This lesson plan includes activities that are designed to introduce students to looking, thinking, and drawing conclusions about a work of art. The plan could be used to complement curriculum areas such as social studies (politics, history, societal relations, etc.), science (animal characteristics, categorization, analysis, and drawing conclusions), or language arts. It also includes activities and topics for discussion with your students to do prior to looking at the painting, as well as information about the work of art, suggestions for guiding your students through an analysis of the work, and a worksheet for you to copy for your students. Before beginning this lesson with your class, please be sure to read the lesson plan in its entirety.

SUPPLIES: pencil and paper

DISCUSSION PRIOR TO SHOWING STUDENTS THE WORK OF ART:

• Ask the students to think of stories with animals as the main characters. Examples might include Charlotte’s Web, Winnie the Pooh, The Lion King, and any of Aesop’s Fables.
• Discuss with the class how animals are often used to represent aspects of human nature and teach us lessons about our own behavior.
• Discuss the relationship between animals and sports teams. Names such as the Philadelphia Eagles, Detroit Lions or Tigers, and Toronto Raptors all imply strength and speed. What would your students think of a football team called the Buffalo Bunnies? Or a basketball team named the Tennessee Turtles?

STUDENT ACTIVITIES:
Now show your students Franz Marc’s painting.
Ask your students to look carefully at the images. Do not tell them anything about the artwork. Have students:

• write down everything they notice about the painting
• share their observations with the class. Write them down where everyone can see them.
• classify the observations into categories: observations about color, shape or lines; observations about objects included in the work; feelings it inspires; and interpretations of what is happening. If an idea does not fit exactly into one of these categories, put it down in another category and after all the ideas have been shared, you might want to create another category.
• analyze and discuss the data and try to come up with conclusions about what the artist’s intention might have been with this artwork.

Based on the information provided in this lesson plan for educators, discuss how the students’ conclusions are similar or different from the artist’s intention and why. Please note: Students’ ideas about the meaning of the painting should be considered valid even though different from Marc’s original intention.

• Hand out a copy of the student activity sheet included in this lesson plan to each student and have them complete the activity. Discuss their decisions.
• Instruct the students to write and illustrate their own short story where animals teach us a lesson.
• As a conclusion to the lesson, ask each student to do a fun homework assignment. Have them ask each member of their family which kind of animal they would like to be and why. Each student should write down the responses to share with the class the next day.

STUDENT ACTIVITY
Think about each animal on the list below. What is it like? How big is it? What does it do all day? Then look at the three categories. In which category does each animal fit best? Write the name of the animal in the appropriate category box. You can put an animal in more than one category if you want to! Be ready to share your answers with the class, and explain how you made your choices.

CATEGORIES:

ANIMALS:

Further Information for Educators