"Treasures in the Attic": Researching Historical Documents, Works of Art, and Literature
Kristin Runyon, Charleston High School, runyonk@charleston.k12.il.us
Thursday, February 2, 2012, Williams Elementary School (Mattoon, IL)
The Common Core Standards require teachers to integrate knowledge and ideas through the use of various
“artistic mediums,” “seminal U.S. documents,” and “foundational U.S. documents.” This presentation explores
resources for locating these works, demonstrates writing assignments that analyze art and historical
documents in terms of literary themes, and brainstorms pairings.
Reading Literature (RL) Standard 7:
K--With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the story in which they appear (e.g., what moment
in a story an illustration depicts).
1--Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, or events.
2--Use information gained from the illustrations and words in a print or digital text to demonstrate understanding of its characters,
setting, or plot.
3--Explain how specific aspects of a text’s illustrations contribute to what is conveyed by the words in a story (e.g., create mood,
emphasize aspects of a character or setting).
4--Make connections between the text of a story or drama and a visual or oral presentation of the text, identifying where each version
reflects specific descriptions and directions in the text.
5--Analyze how visual and multimedia elements contribute to the meaning, tone, or beauty of a text (e.g., graphic novel, multimedia
presentation of fiction, folktale, myth, poem).
6—Compare and contrast the experience of reading a story, drama, or poem to listening to or viewing an audio, video, or live version
of the text, including contrasting what they “see” and “hear” when reading the text to what they perceive when they listen or watch.
7--Compare and contrast a written story, drama, or poem to its audio, filmed, staged, or multimedia version, analyzing the effects of
techniques unique to each medium (e.g., lighting, sound, color, or camera focus and angles in a film).
8--Analyze the extent to which a filmed or live production of a story or drama stays faithful to or departs from the text or script,
evaluating the choices made by the director or actors.
9-10--Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two different artistic mediums, including what is emphasized or absent
in each treatment (e.g., Auden’s “Musée des Beaux Arts” and Breughel’s Landscape with the Fall of Icarus).
11-12--Analyze multiple interpretations of a story, drama, or poem (e.g., recorded or live production of a play or recorded novel or
poetry), evaluating how each version interprets the source text. (Include at least one play by Shakespeare and one play by an
American dramatist.)
Reading Informational Texts (RI) Standard 7:
K—With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the text in which they appear (e.g., what person,
place, thing, or idea in the text an illustration depicts).
1--Use the illustrations and details in a text to describe its key ideas.
2--Explain how specific images (e.g., a diagram showing how a machine works) contribute to and clarify a text.
3--Use information gained from illustrations (e.g., maps, photographs) and the words in a text to demonstrate understanding of the
text (e.g., where, when, why, and how key events occur).
4--Interpret information presented visually, orally, or quantitatively (e.g., in charts, graphs, diagrams, time lines, animations, or
interactive elements on Web pages) and explain how the information contributes to an understanding of the text in which it appears.
5--Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating the ability to locate an answer to a question quickly or to
solve a problem efficiently.
6--Integrate information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words to develop a
coherent understanding of a topic or issue.
7--Compare and contrast a text to an audio, video, or multimedia version of the text, analyzing each medium’s portrayal of the subject
(e.g., how the delivery of a speech affects the impact of the words).
8--Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of using different mediums (e.g., print or digital text, video, multimedia) to present a
particular topic or idea.
9-10--Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums (e.g., a person’s life story in both print and multimedia),
determining which details are emphasized in each account.
11-12--Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as
well as in words in order to address a question or solve a problem.
Reading for Literacy in History/Social Studies (RH) Standard 7:
6-8--Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with other information in print and digital
texts.
9-10--Integrate quantitative or technical analysis (e.g., charts, research data) with qualitative analysis in print or digital text.
11-12--Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, as
well as in words) in order to address a question or solve a problem.
Reading Informational Texts (RI) Standard 8:
9-10--Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is valid and the evidence is
relevant and sufficient; identify false statements and fallacious reasoning.
11-12--Delineate and evaluate the reasoning in seminal U.S. texts, including the application of constitutional principles and use of legal
reasoning (e.g., in U.S. Supreme Court majority opinions and dissents) and the premises, purposes, and arguments in works of public
advocacy (e.g., The Federalist, presidential addresses).
Reading Informational Texts (RI) Standard 9:
6-- Compare and contrast one author’s presentation of events with that of another (e.g., a memoir written by and a biography on the
same person).
7--Analyze how two or more authors writing about the same topic shape their presentations of key information by emphasizing
different evidence or advancing different interpretations of facts.
8--Analyze a case in which two or more texts provide conflicting information on the same topic and identify where the texts disagree on
matters of fact or interpretation.
9-10--Analyze seminal U.S. documents of historical and literary significance (e.g., Washington’s Farewell Address, the Gettysburg
Address, Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms speech, King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”), including how they address related themes and
concepts.
11-12--Analyze seventeenth-, eighteenth-, and nineteenth-century foundational U.S. documents of historical and literary significance
(including The Declaration of Independence, the Preamble to the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and Lincoln’s Second Inaugural
Address) for their themes, purposes, and rhetorical features.
Reading for Literacy in History/Social Studies (RH) Standard 9:
6-8--Analyze the relationship between a primary and secondary source on the same topic.
9-10--Compare and contrast treatments of the same topic in several primary and secondary sources.
11-12--Integrate information from diverse sources, both primary and secondary, into a coherent understanding of an idea or event,
noting discrepancies among sources.
Common Core State Standards
www.corestandards.org
 PDF download of all standards—click on “The Standards” tab on the far right
 PDF download “Text Exemplars and Sample Performance Tasks”—appendix B
 PDF download “Samples of Student Writing”—appendix C
In an online article about pairing songs and literature, Dr. Christian Z. Goering of the University of
Arkansas identified six distinct types of connections:
1) a song is inspired by literature directly;
2) a song connects to a text thematically;
3) a song's setting connects to the setting of a literary work;
4) characters in a song mirror the characters in a classic work;
5) the tone of a song is similar to the tone of a piece of literature, and;
6) a song's plot structure or narrative follows that of a literary work.
(www.corndancer.com/tunes/tunes_cncts.html)
However, I would suggest that these six connections can be applied to any textual or artistic medium
extension. Any activity does not need to, and probably should not, incorporate all six connections.
 Teacher may choose both the extension and the connection
 Teacher may choose the extension, but allow the students to choose the connection
 Teacher may choose the connection, but allow the students to find an extension
 Students may choose both the extension and the connection
Extension/Connection activity:
 Scaffolding
 Pre-reading
 During reading; paired with a specific scene/speech
 Post-reading; culminating activity
 Create a thematic unit
Key Phrases:
 Contributes to the meaning
 Compare and Contrast
 Choice to stay faithful or depart from text
 Emphasized or absent
 Cite textual evidence
 Visual cues
Artistic Media:
 Graphic novels
o Classical Comic (classicalcomics.com)—Differentiated Instruction
Leveled using same illustrations and page number
Original/Plain/Quick—mostly for Shakespearean plays
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Library of Congress (www.loc.gov or www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials)
Lesson Plans
Themed Resources
Primary Source Sets
Presentations and Activities
Collection Connection
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Art Museums online
o Museum of Modern Art
www.moma.org/modernteachers/--teacher resources (PDF downloads)
www.moma.org/explore--online collections
o Art Institute of Chicago (www.artic.edu/aic)
Exhibitions
Artwork Resource Packets (PDF downloads)--Teaching activities have IL Learning Standards (not CCR)
o National Gallery of Art (www.nga.gov/education/classroom)
Online Interactive Lesson Units; for example, Heroes and Heroines with 5 works of art
o
Smithsonian American Art Museum (americanart.si.edu/education/resources/)
Content Links—online exhibitions
Teacher Guides--47 teacher resources with artwork; activities vary
Example: “Telling Stories: Norman Rockwell” includes activities for various
subject PLUS a list of primary sources to pair with the artwork
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Political Cartoons
o Daryl Cagle’s Political Cartoonists Index (www.cagle.com)
o Cartoons for the Classroom (nieonline.com/aaec/cftc.cfm)
o “It’s No Laughing Matter: Analyzing Political Cartoons”
(www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/activities/politicalcartoon/index.html)
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Fine Art Resources provided by literature series
o Artwork provided in textbook; teacher’s guides usually include some additional
background information plus questions to discuss.
o Transparencies provided in teacher resources; some accompany literature, some just
practice analyzing artwork
o Can purchase online at reduced costs (www.amazon.com, www.alibris.com)
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Websites
o PBS Teachers (www.pbs.org/teachers)
o Thinkfinity (www.thinkfinity.org)--lesson plans
o Zamzar (www.zamzar.com)--converts YouTube video files
Seminal and Foundational U.S. Documents:
 Library of Congress (www.loc.gov)
Teaching with Primary Sources (www.eiu.edu/~eiutps/)

National Archives (www.archives.gov)
www.archives.gov/education--teacher resources
Our Documents: 100 Milestone Documents from the National Archives
(www.ourdocuments.gov)--also a book
Docs Teach: The National Archives Experience (docsteach.org)
o Categorized by National History Standards
o 1754-1820s (Revolution); 1801-1861 (Expansion); 1850-1877 (Civil War and
Reconstruction); 1870-1900 (Industrialization); 1890-1930 (Modern America); 19291945 (Great Depression and WWII); 1945-early 1970s (Postwar); 1968-present
(Contemporary)
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Dover
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Publications (www.doverpublications.com)
Famous Documents and Speeches of the Civil War
Great Speeches by Abraham Lincoln
Great Speeches by African Americans
Great Speeches by American Women
Great Speeches by Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Great Speeches of the 20th Century
The Declaration of Independence and Other Great Documents of American History:
1775-1865
Suggested Pairings:
Common Core Curriculum Maps: English Language Arts
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Available for Grades K-5, Grades 6-8, and Grades 9-12
Jossey-Bass publisher, an imprint of Wiley
www.jossey-bass.com
Contemporary Music and Literature
 “Suggestions for Pairing Contemporary Music with Canonical Literature”
o
o
o
www.corndancer.com/tunes/tunes_cncts.html
“Songs were inspired by the artist’s reading of the classic work. Confirmed either through album liner
notes or published interviews that specifically mention the artists’ sources of inspiration.”
Updated November 10, 2008
Pairing Contemporary Literature or Nonfiction Literature with Classic Literature
 Award winners and trusted lists (versus popularity contests, such as Rebecca Caudill/Abraham
Lincoln)
o American Library Association (www.ala.org)
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Alex Awards--The Alex Awards are given to ten books written for adults that have special appeal
to young adults, ages 12 through 18. The winning titles are selected from the previous year's
publishing.
Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults
William C. Morris Debut YA Award--honors a debut book published by a first-time author writing
for teens and celebrating impressive new voices in young adult literature.
Michael L. Printz Award--a book that exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature.
Schneider Family Book Award--honors an author or illustrator for a book that embodies an artistic
expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences.
Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal--the most distinguished informational book published
in English in the preceding year for its significant contribution to children’s literature.
o Young Adult Library Services Association (www.ala.org/yalsa/)
 Part of the ALA
 Numerous lists by years
o Junior Library Guild (www.juniorlibraryguild.com)
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Junior Library Guild chooses their best books before the other awards are determined.
The Awards & Lists page has links to all the awards pages (national, state) plus outstanding book
lists and book reviews
Themed Lists (www.juniorlibraryguild.com/awards/list.dT/themed-lists) by grades PreK-6 and
grades 7 and Up
Movies:
 Story of Movies (www.storyofmovies.org)
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o
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Lessons on film analysis
Specifics for To Kill a Mockingbird, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and The Day the Earth Stood Still
(1954 version)
Brigham Young University’s Media Education Database (medb.byu.edu)
Simply Scripts (www.simplyscripts.com)
Children’s books:
 Just as high school English teachers may want to incorporate young adult literature as a
scaffold for classic literature, elementary teachers may want to incorporate familiar children’s
texts, such as fairy tales, to focus on the skills and standards without tackling a difficult text.
o Little Red Riding Hood
 Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China
 William Wegman—illustrations are photographs of Weimaraner dogs
 Hoodwinked—movie, retold version of Red, three different points of view
o The Three Little Pigs
 The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs—wolf’s point of view
 The Three Little Javelinas—desert habitat
Historical Fiction: (primary versus secondary sources)
 Dear America series—written in first-person diary format, based on important events in
American history, includes primary sources in appendix
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
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Discovery Channel DVD Who Killed Julius Caesar?
“In the first ever application of modern science to the murder of Julius Caesar, this one-hour special uses the latest Crime
Scene Investigation techniques, computer reconstruction technology, and experts such as Luciano Garofano of the Italian
Carabinieri and criminal profiler Dr. Harold Bursztajn of Harvard Medical school, to reveal a shocking new assessment of the
truth behind ancient history's most famous assassination.”
Plutarch background about Julius Caesar (translated by Rex Warner)
Use as nonfiction reading and then teach only speeches from play
Four Freedoms Unit—created by Kerri Taylor, English teacher Charleston High School (sophomores)
 FDR’s “Four Freedoms” inauguration speech (provided photocopy of the primary source
reading copy AND listened to FDR speak online; seminal work)
 Norman Rockwell’s artwork of the Four Freedoms (Freedom from Want, Freedom from Fear,
Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religion)
 “Desert Exile” by Yoshiko Uchida (memoir) and President Gerald Ford’s proclamation revoking
the Japanese internment camp Executive Order paired with freedom from fear (Japanese
internment camp)
 “Weary Blues” by Langston Hughes (poem) paired with freedom from want
 “The Censors” by Luis Valenzuela (short story, Argentina) paired with freedom of speech
 Excerpt from Night by Elie Wiesel (memoir) paired with freedom of religion (also slideshow of
images of Wiesel with Oprah at Auschwitz available online)
 To Kill a Mockingbird—novel unit
Realism/Heroism/Civil War Unit—English III (juniors)
 “The Battle with Mr. Covey” (excerpt from “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass)
(memoir)
 “Beat! Beat! Drums!” by Walt Whitman (poetry)
 “A Mystery of Heroism” by Stephen Crane (short story)
 “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce (short story)
 “A Sight in Camp in the Day Break Gray and Dim” by Walt Whitman (poetry)
 “Shiloh” by Herman Melville (poetry)
 “Gettysburg Address” by Abraham Lincoln (speech)
 Civil War photographs from Library of Congress (primary sources)
 Wounded Drummer Boy by Hunt (painting)
 Photograph of Shiloh National Battleground (contemporary photograph)