Jonah and the Whale, 1936, black-and-white lithograph, 6” x 8 ½” plate
Featured in the 1937 International Exposition, Jonah and the Whale, 1936, color serigraph, 12” x 18”
1.Display this piece for your students. Have them meet with a partner to discuss what they see. Ask them if they have ever seen an image of Jonah and the Whale before. If yes, how does this image differ from what they have seen before?
2.Have students look closely at the man inside the whale. What does his face tell you about him? How is he feeling, and why do you think he feels that way? (Would you be as happy as he is if you were inside a whale?)
3. Talk about segregation and the 1930s. What would it have meant for a White woman to have painted this in the 1930s? What do your students think people would have thought or said?
4. Have students think about how this man may have gotten there, what the people on the ground are saying (or singing) and thinking, and what the angels may be saying.
5.Give students a choice as to how they could react to this piece. They could:
-Write a Poem
-Compose a Song
-Draw a Picture
-Write something from the point of view of the whale
MD State Standards
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
Music: Cn11:E:3-5:1/Cn11:E:6-8:1/Cn10:I:3-5:3/Cn10:I:6-8:3
Art: Cr2:E:3:3-5:2/Cr2:E:6-8:2