In this series of lessons, we will read Vincent van Gogh’s biography and his works, and also specifically we will:
- Explore the details of Vincent van Gogh’s life (RI.8.1, RI.8.2, SL.8.1, SL.8.4
- Investigate influences on van Gogh’s style of painting (RI.8.2, RI.8.7, SL.8.1, SL.8.4, L.8.6)
- Study select paintings by van Gogh (W.8.7, SL.8.1, SL.8.4, L.8.6)
- Examine the content of select letters by van Gogh (RL.8.2, RL.8.4, SL.8.1, SL.8.4, L.8.6)
- Exhibit independent study results (SL.8.5, SL.8.6)
Lesson I: A HAIKU FOR VAN GOGH
Learning Targets:
- Write our own haikus, short poems of 17 syllables at most, inspired by Vincent van Gogh paintings. (W.8.5, W.8.6)
- Identify van Gogh’s birthplace on a world map (RI.8.1, SL.6.6)
- Investigate biographical details about young van Gogh’s life (RI.8.1, RI.8.2, RI.8.7, SL.8.1, SL.8.4, L.8.6)
- Note the members of van Gogh’s family (RI.8.1, SL.8.1)
Reading Plan: Close Reading : Their Reading Plan Book 10 minutes reading. Students will be using visible thinking routine using padlet.
Colour, Symbol, Image
As students are reading, make note of things that they find interesting, important, or insightful. When they finish, they will choose 3 of these items that most stand out for you.
- For one of these, choose a color that you feel best represents or captures the essence of what you read.
- For another one, choose a symbol that you feel best represents or captures the essence of what you read.
- For the other one, choose an image that you feel best represents or captures the essence of what you read.
With a partner first share your color and then share the item from your reading that it represents. Tell why you choose that color as a representation of that idea.
Teacher Instructions
Preparing for Teaching
- Students are asked to give 5 facts about Van Gogh. They should mentioned about his biography and exchange these information to the class. They are given 10 minutes to search for the facts.
Big Ideas and Key Understandings
Individuals have the power to be successful despite of his or her struggles and difficulties.
During Teaching (Instructions and Procedures)
1. The painting by Vincent van Gogh, can be described by telling what students see in this painting, or what is going on in the painting, students could use a whole lot of words. Or could keep it very short. The students will be shown some painting of Vincent Van Gogh and describe them with short details.
2. Now read this poem aloud. Ask the class: – What is this type of poem called? (Answer: It’s a haiku, a poetic form that originally comes from Japan. – Does anyone know how a haiku works? – Is it a good poem about this painting? Why or why not? Or is it really about the person who wrote the poem? Or about both?
3. Now discuss the structure of the poem. It has three lines, in the pattern 5-7-5: five syllables, seven syllables, and five syllables. Explain that you count syllables, not words. If you wish, you can discuss how to hyphenate words: ‘co-lour’ or ‘col-our’? ‘brush-es’ or ‘bru-shes’? [‘col-our’, ‘brush-es’, and ‘can-vas’ are correct]
4. Briefly the teacher will show the class the summary before going on to the next example. If the group already knows about haikus, they could discuss other possible variations .
5. Continue: Vincent made this painting (The Harvest, 1888) in the south of France. It shows a landscape with farmers bringing in the harvest.
6. On a hot day. Vincent later wrote in a letter that his job of drawing and painting was just as tiring as working on a farm. Ask the class: What would it be like if you were in the middle of that landscape, like Vincent? What would you see, hear, feel and smell?
Read the haiku with the group Ask the class: Is it a good poem about this painting? Why or why not? Explain that haikus are sometimes about the feeling you have when you look at a painting. Ask a student to divide the words into syllables on the whiteboard. (If you’ve talked about using fewer syllables, you could ask how to make this haiku shorter. For example, ‘The scent of earth – on a hot summer day – tickles my nose’, 4-6-4.)
Tell the class: These are examples of first lines for a haiku about this painting. Each one has five syllables. You can each choose a first line (individually or in pairs), and then you’ll have five to ten minutes to write the rest of the haiku. Make sure to use the right numbers of syllables.
Pair Activity:
Briefly go over this list of the main things to remember when writing a haiku, pointing out that there’s no need to answer all the questions. The questions are meant to help the students find words and sentences.
Now, students write another haiku (in pairs) based on a different painting by Vincent. They can choose among the paintings on the whiteboard or below. Then show the individual works, spending about ten seconds on each slide, and ask the students to look closely. Each slide includes a sample haiku in the notes, which you can use as you see fit .
Assessment or Homework: Reading aloud and Writing Haiku in Groups.
ICT Integration: Personal Blogging, commenting, and posting.
Vincent Van Gogh Paintings
The Potato Eaters (April-May 1885)
The Yellow House (The Street) (September 1888)
The Bedroom (October 1888)
Field with Irises near Arles (May 1888)
The Courtesan (October-November 1887)
Head of a Skeleton with a Burning Cigarette (January-February 1886)
Garden with Courting Couples: Square Saint-Pierre (May 1887)
Sources: Google Images