Downes Curtis, 1935, black and white lithograph, 11 ⅝” x 14 ¾” plate
1. Project this image to students. Ask them to look for 30 seconds, silently. Then ask them to write down everything they noticed about this picture. Give them 2 minutes to write. If you think it would help your students, you could project the following questions.
-What do you notice about this lithograph?
-What caught your eye first?
-Where do you imagine this scene is taking place?
Have students meet in pairs or groups to discuss what they wrote down. Ask them to look for similarities and differences in what they each saw in the lithrograph.
2. Bring the group back together. Have them share with the group what they came up with in small groups. Discuss where they thought this picture, or lithograph was set. Explain that it is set in a loft on Tilghman Street in Oxford, Maryland and that the man in the lithograph is a skilled sailmaker named Downes Curtis. Ask them what time period they think this took place in. (1935) Ask them why Oxford, MD might need a sailmaker.
3. Discuss the geography of the Eastern Shore of MD - That it is a peninsula between the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean - that has many rivers that come off of the Chesapeake Bay. Have students use Google Maps to locate Oxford, MD and the Tred Avon river. Have them locate Tilghman street and see if they can decide which building would be the building where Downes Curtis once made that sail.
4.Have students write a reflection on why Downes Curtis was important to Oxford MD in 1935. If possible, you could project these questions for your students:
-Why was his job important?
-What impact did he have on the community?
-Why was it important to have a skilled sail maker in Oxford in 1935?
MD State Standards
CCSS.W.6.2/W.7.2/W/8/2
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.3.1/CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.4.1/CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.5.1/CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.6.1/CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.7.1/CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.8.1
W.3.1/W.4.1/W.5.1 & W.6.3/W.7.3/W.8.3