LessonTitle:BuffaloHidePersonalNarratives

Author:WadeBranstner&MichaelCarlson
CourseLevel:ThirdGrade
No.ofStudents:22
TotalTime:90minutes(45minuteclassx2)
RATIONALE
Thislessonplanwillofferstudentsauniqueperspectiveonhowculturesuselanguagetoshare
ideas.Buffalohidepaintingstellveryspecificstoriesinimages.Studentswilllearnaboutthe
useoforalhistoryandimagestocommunicateideasandevents.

PREPARATION
Materials
30paintbrushes,22palettes,22watercontainers,acrylicpaintinsmallcontainers(limited
colorpalette),24sheetsofupholstery(18

x24

),150sheetsofpresizedsketchpaper(approx.
6

x6

),30pencils

Resources
Texts&Imagesfrom:
https://americanhistory.si.edu/buffalo/hideactivity.html
Arnold,MorrisS..EighteenthcenturyArkansasIllustrated.
TheArkansasHistorical
Quarterly
53.2(1994):119

136.Web.
HorseCapture,GeorgeP.,andAnneVitart.
RobesofSplendor:NativeAmericanPainted
BuffaloHides
.NewYork:NewPress,1993.Print.
Pearce,Richard.
WomenandLedgerArt:FourContemporaryNativeAmericanArtists
.
Tucson:UniversityofArizona,2013.Print.
PowerPointpresentationandAVequipmenttoprojectit
Vocabulary
Oralhistoryrehearsedaccountsofthepastpresentedbyculturallysanctioned
traditionbearers
Personalnarrative
astorythatisimportantandhappenedtothestoryteller
Movement
aprincipleofdesignusedtocreatethelookandfeelingofactionandtoguide
theviewerseyethroughouttheworkofart
TEACHINGTHELESSON
ArkansasFrameworks
VisualArts:CR.1.3.3,CR.2.3.2,CR.3.3.1,R.7.3.2
Objectives
Studentswill:

Constructrepresentationsormapsoffamiliarplacesrelatedtotheirpersonal
narratives.CR.1.3.3
Createpersonallymeaningfulartworkthroughvariousmediausinggradelevel
appropriateelementsofartandprinciplesofdesign.CR.3.3.1
Safelyandresponsiblyusetraditionaland/ornewmedia(includingvinylandacrylic
paint)CR.2.3.2
Identifythemessagecommunicatedbythevisualimagesinthebuffalohidestories.
R.7.3.2

DayOne
Introduction
(10min)
Presentation:IntroduceclasstoNativeAmericanbuffalohidepaintingsandledgerart(ledger
artwillbeusedasasecondaryactivityforstudentswhofinishearly).Wewilldiscusstheuseof
oralhistoryandcommunicatingideasthroughthelanguageofpictures.

Thepresentation(seeattachment)includesimagesofuniquebuffalohidepaintingsand
questionstoaskstudents.
Otherquestionstoaskduringtheintroductiontokeepinterestandsparkideas:
Howdoyourelatetothesebuffalohidenarratives?
Arethereanyotherartformsthatseemsimilartothis?
Demonstration
(5min)
1) Drawtheshapeofthehideusingthemaximumareaofthematerial.
2) Cuttheshapeout.
3) Sketchideasforthenarrative.Wewillsharethestoriesbehindourexamplepieces.
StudentActivity
(25min)
Assignment:Studentswillcreateabuffalohidepaintingdepictingapersonalnarrative.
Ondayone,studentswillbeginbydrawingandcuttingouttheirsimulatedbuffalohides.Then
theywillsketchandplanouttheirstoriesonthesheetsofpaper.
GuidedPractice
Wewillconstantlymovearoundtheroomwhilethestudentsareworkingand
checkontheirprogress.Iftheyarestrugglingwiththeirnarratives,wecanaskthemquestions
aboutvacations,importantfamilyevents,holidays,etc.theymightwanttoinclude.
Cleanup
(5min)
Studentsneedtomakesuretheirnamesareontheirhidesandtheirsketches
beforeturningthemin.Returnallofthematerialstotheirproperlocations.
Assessment
(Conductedbeforecleanup)
Askstudentswhichcultureusedbuffalohidepaintingsandwhattheirusewas.
Dostudentsrememberwhatoralhistoryis?
Whataresomeeventsthestudentsareincludingintheirownhides?

DayTwo
Introduction
(3min)
Wewillbrieflyremindstudentsaboutwhatwelearnedintheprevious
weekandshowthemourfinishedpaintedhideexample,alongwithsomeimagesoforiginal
NativeAmericanpaintings.
Demonstration
(7min)
Today,studentswilltransfertheirsketchestothehidesandpaintthem.
Theinstructorwillquicklyshowthemhowthesketcheshavebeentranslatedtothehideusing

chalk.Aftergivingthestudentstimetodothis,ademonstrationwithacrylicpaintwillbegiven
todisplayhowtofillintheirdrawings.
StudentActivity
(20min)
Thepresentationwillbeavailableforvisualcues,questionswillbe
addressed,andstudentswillbeginpainting.
4) Studentswillhavedecideontheirpersonalnarrativeandconsideredwhatformattouse
basedonthepresentation:blockedstoriesalongapath,scenesusingtheedgeofthe
hideforagroundwithalandscapeinthemiddle,orverticalplacement(likealedger).
5) Afterdecidingthestoryandlayout,studentswilltransfertheirstoriestotheprepared
surfacewithchalk.
6) Then,usingacrylicpaint,thestudentswillfillintheirchalksketchesontheirhides.
GuidedPractice
Asstudentswork,theywillbemonitoredandaskedquestionsabouttheirnarrativesandthe
formattheyarechoosingtouse.Wewillupdatestudentsontheamountoftimeleftsothey
canfinishtheirhidesontime.Wewillwatchforcompositionalissuesandguidestudents
towardresolutions.Ifanyquestionsaboutmixingpaintarise,itmaybenecessarytoexplain
whichcolorsareusedtomakethedesiredcolorfortheentireclass.
Cleanup
(10min)
Atableleaderwillbeinstructedtocollectallthebrushesandtakethemtothesinktobe
rinsed.Allbrusheswillbecleanedandlefttogetherbythesink.Anotherstudentwillbein
chargeofpouringoutthetableswatercontainers.Thehideswillneedtobeputinthedrying
area,makingsurenottostackwetpaintingsontopofeachother.Paintneedstobestoredor
disposedofproperly.Paintonthetablesshouldbecleanedofwithwetwipesorsoapand
water.Studentswillputawaysuppliesandorganizetheirworkspace.
Assessment
(5min)
Studentswilldiscusstheirmotivationsforincludingthespecificeventsandpeopletheychose
toincludeaswellastheformattheyutilized.Studentswillbeencouragedtoaskeachother
questions.Studentswillbeevaluatedonstudiopractice,execution,andfinalproduct.
StudioPractice:3
points

Listeningandparticipationduringpresentation,leveloffocus
andeffortatplanningandmakingtheart,properhandlingof
thematerials

Execution:3points

Ideaworkedoutinsketch,arrangedonthehidewithcareful
planning,colorsmixedwellwithproperhandlingofmaterials.

FinalProduct:4points Finishedproductwithideafullypaintedout,thoughtful
narrativeinthework,useofcolorandspace.