Art is an exciting way to teach cross-curricular History lessons:
The following lesson idea was submitted by "Mark" to the "Teaching Ideas" website:
This would be a cute way to tell a story about Potts Inn or about one of the travelers to Potts Inn after a museum visit.
1) Give each child in your class a copy of the storyboard sheet found here.
2) Ask them to make up a story about anything that they want.
3) Ask them to draw the events of the story in the larger boxes in the sheet. The smaller boxes are for text, but they should not fill these in at the moment.
4) When the children have finished their drawings, collect in the storyboards, mix them up, and give them back (but not to the correct children). Now, each child should be looking at a storyboard which is not their own.
5) They should now look carefully at the pictures, and make up some text to go with them.
6) When this is done, the writer and the artist should get together and look at what each other have done. Does the artist agree with the story that the writer has made? Was this what the artist had in mind at the beginning?
Quilts:
Before visiting the Potts Inn Museum, have students watch this short video on folk art: quilts. As they tour, have them describe each of the quilts they see. How many styles can they describe (they need not know the pattern's popular name, just describe in their own words.)
Why did pioneers create quilts? How did they do it? What tools were needed? Why do people quilt today? How are the tools different today?
Paintings:
What other artforms are seen at the Potts Inn Museum?
Paintings: ask your tour guide about the painting over the mantel in the Ladies' Parlor and the paintings in the dining room. These have unique connections to the Potts Family.
Pottery:
Find below some examples of Quapaw and Caddo pottery. both tribes called Arkansas home before the Trail of Tears or Indian Removal of the 1830's.
What pottery can you see at the museum? How is it similar? How is it different? What do you think these items were used for?
Create your own pottery shapes using this website as a guide. Make your own playdoh or use commercial playdoh or clay.
