*Note: You may have children in your class who experienced deep grief and loss throughout the pandemic. Their experience is vastly different. Please be sensitive to those children鈥檚 needs and seek support from experts at your school. Furthermore, some children may have experienced an earlier loss and are also at risk of being triggered by this conversation, as current discussions of loss can often harken back to earlier experiences. It鈥檚 important to be mindful and considerate of these children as well. Do not force a child to talk about a death or a traumatic experience if they don鈥檛 want to. This may be more harmful than helpful .
Secondary (6-12) Lesson
Created by Dr. Lauren M. Shea and
Jody Hagen-Smith
Thank you for thinking about students鈥 emotional learning in the time of the pandemic and in its aftermath. In America: Remember aims to recognize American鈥檚 grief and loss as a result of the pandemic. This lesson, including educational materials and resources, was designed for you to achieve the following goals: 1) to support secondary students鈥 social and emotional development, 2) to strengthen secondary students鈥 connection to U.S.history, and 3) to promote the use of art to participate in our communities. Links to all materials, resources, and alignment to Common Core State Standards are provided below.听You can also download a PDF version of this lesson here.
Secondary Lesson Plan
Objective
Foster ways for students to interact with and express themselves through In America: Remember, an art exhibition commemorating the lives lost from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Materials
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- Chart paper
- Markers
- Embedded links聽
- Picture supports: (optional)
- Printed copies of examples of art (optional)
Use a to activate students鈥 prior knowledge. Ask students to think about what they know about the COVID-19 pandemic (). Provide 2-3 minutes for students to write down their thoughts. Then, have students turn to a partner and share their thinking.听
*Note: For this sensitive topic, it鈥檚 important for teachers to keep a neutral and accepting stance. This conversation may trigger strong feelings and reactions from your students. If needed, use Mental Health America鈥檚 for support on facilitating this topic.听
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- 鈥淲hat do you know and/or remember about COVID-19 and the pandemic?鈥
- 鈥淛ot down everything you know about COVID-19 and the pandemic.鈥
After students have had time to share with their partner, ask several pairs to share their thoughts with the whole group. Document students鈥 contributions.
Pose the following question and record student responses. Mark the personal ways with a 鈥淧鈥.听
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- 鈥淲hat are some examples of ways that your life changed because of the COVID-19 Pandemic?鈥
While writing, ask students to identify which of those personal ways were also community-level impacts (school, masks, etc.). Mark them with a 鈥淐鈥 for community. Then, code the impact at the national level with 鈥淣鈥 and the impact on the world with 鈥淲鈥.
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- 鈥淒oes this way also impact the community, nation, or the world? If so, how?鈥
Transition the discussion to the impact of the virus more broadly.听
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- 鈥淭here are many ways this virus is impacting us, our community, and the world.鈥
Ask the students to return to their Quick Write to document all the feelings or expressive words associated with COVID-19 and the pandemic.听
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- 鈥淲hen you think about COVID-19 and the pandemic, what feelings do you have?鈥
- 鈥淛ot down all the feelings you are feeling as a result of the pandemic.鈥
Tell students that feelings are neither right nor wrong. Different people have different feelings. Feelings come and go. We can have multiple feelings at the same time.听
You may choose to use visuals or real objects to support multiple language learners throughout the lesson. Display new or challenging vocabulary terms on a word wall. You might want to provide to provide language support, such as 鈥淲hen I think about ______ , it makes me feel _____ because ____.鈥 ()
Encourage students to consider their personal reactions and emotions as well as others who are experiencing the pandemic differently. Remind students that feeling with others is called 鈥渆mpathy鈥.听
Explain that there are many ways for people to share emotions. Recognizing and sharing our feelings are an important part of growing up. Even very strong, persistent feelings (like grief) get easier over time. It鈥檚 helpful to have ways to comfort yourself or distract yourself from them. But allowing yourself to have and express the feelings helps them subside over time.听
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- 鈥淲hy is it important to recognize and talk about our feelings?鈥澛
Art is one way to express your feelings and bring attention to important issues.
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- 鈥淎nother way to express our feelings is to create art.鈥
Show students one or two examples of artwork (: For example, Rockwell鈥檚 The Problem We All Live With, the Vietnam Memorial, the AIDS quilt, etc.) that was created to evoke strong emotions, and in some cases, bring attention to social issues.听
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- 鈥淎rt can move people to take action.鈥
As each art example is shared, students can discuss (1) what they noticed about the art and (2) their emotional reaction to the artwork.听
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- 鈥淲hat message is the artist trying to convey?鈥
- 鈥淲hat emotions do you feel when you experience this piece of art?鈥
- 鈥淲hat aspects of the artwork make you feel that way?鈥
- 鈥淲hy do you think the artist created this piece of art?鈥
- 鈥淲hat other ways can artwork invite responses or participation?鈥
Share with the students that there is an art exhibition in Washington DC to honor and remember the lives lost due to the COVID-19 virus.
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- 鈥淥ne artist wanted to create art that represented the collective grief our nation has felt through the COVID-19 pandemic. Let鈥檚 hear from the artist about what it means and why she created it.鈥澛
Play to hear about why and how she created this art.
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- 鈥淲hy did Ms. Firstenberg create the flag art installation?鈥
- 鈥淢s. Firstenberg says she鈥檚 a visual artist. What is a visual artist?鈥
- 鈥淲hat does each flag represent?鈥
- 鈥淲hy did Ms. Firstenberg decide to use flags for her art?鈥
- 鈥淲hat is one important message Ms. Firstenberg wants to convey through her art?鈥
Take time to look at the website. Review photos of the art exhibit and explore the website鈥檚 features and interactive nature. Show how families can 鈥渄edicate a flag鈥 to memorialize their lost loved one through participation in the art.
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- 鈥淗ow does this art make you feel?鈥澛犅
- 鈥淗ow does this art unify us?鈥澛犅
- 鈥淲hat could you imagine this art feels like to others?鈥澛犅
- 鈥淗ow does this art help memorialize individuals or communities?鈥
Ask students for their ideas and thoughts. Do they have any other questions?
Remind students they are all artists and can express their emotions through art.听
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- 鈥淗ow can you use art to portray the impact of COVID-19 on you or your community?鈥
- 鈥淗ow can you use art to bring attention to or amplify an important issue?鈥
- 鈥淗ow can you use art to inspire others?鈥
- 鈥淗ow can you use art to change the world?鈥
Offer students an opportunity to participate in , an art project for students to express their emotions, thoughts, and ideas about the pandemic. Invite students to create art to reflect and share diverse ideas and voices in response to the exhibit. Students can create music, poetry, drawings, sculpture, or any other form of art to express feelings. Sharing the art with the class can help create a sense of collective grief, and ultimately healing. We also encourage sharing the art with your community.
Artwork will be showcased, without identifiers, on .