Grades: 	K–12, Adult Learners 
Subjects: 	Visual Arts, English–Language Arts, ESL
Time Required:	Single Class Lesson
	1-hour class period
Author:	J. Paul Getty Museum Education Staff 
Lesson Overview
This lesson focuses on artworks that depict things people wear. Students will build vocabulary and enhance language arts skills while learning about different media (painting and photography). Activities emphasize descriptions using adjectives—through discussions about the clothing people are wearing in the featured works of art.

Learning Objectives
Students will be able to:
•	orally identify basic clothing worn by people in a work of art. 
•	use adjectives in sentences to describe the clothing worn by the figures.
Featured Getty Artwork
Burroughs Family, Hale County, Alabama by Walker Evans
http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=41210 

Related Getty Artworks
La Promenade by Pierre-Auguste Renoir http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=944 

Jeanne Kéfer by Fernand Khnopff http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=112007 

Ybor City, Florida by Mitch Epstein
http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=134071

Materials
•	Reproduction of Burroughs Family, Hale County, Alabama, Walker Evans 
•	Information for Teaching about Burroughs Family, Hale County, Alabama, Walker Evans
•	Information for Teaching about La Promenade, Pierre-Auguste Renoir
•	Information for Teaching about Jeanne Kéfer, Fernand Khnopff
•	Information for Teaching about Ybor City, Florida, Mitch Epstein
•	Teacher Resource: “Art Vocabulary”
•	Student Handout: “What to Wear?”
•	Paper and pencils
Lesson Steps
1.	Begin by asking students to name some of the clothing they are wearing. Generate a class list of the clothing items and write the words on the board. Introduce new vocabulary as appropriate.
2.	Show students the image of Burroughs Family, Hale County, Alabama. (See the Information for Teaching about Burroughs Family, Hale County, Alabama by Walker Evans.) Lead a class discussion analyzing the photograph by discussing the following:  
•	Describe the people in the photograph.
•	What do you think their relationship is?
•	Inform students that in this picture the artist Walker Evans photographed the family as they wanted to be seen, dressed in their best clothing.
3.	Using the class-generated list from step 1, ask students to identify the clothing shown in the photograph. Point to the clothing in the image as students respond.  Ask students follow-up questions such as:  
•	Do you like his/her ___________________? 
•	Do you wear ___________________?
•	Do people wear ____________________ today?
4.	Next, introduce the Art Vocabulary word medium and review the word painting. Pass out the “What to Wear?” handout, briefly discussing each work of art, when it was made, and the different media each of the artists used (Renoir and Khnopff made their paintings in the 1800s; Epstein made his photograph in the 1900s). (See the Information for Teaching PDFs about La Promenade by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Jeanne Kéfer by Fernand Khnopff, and Ybor City, Florida by Mitch Epstein.)
5.	Have students identify clothing worn by each of the figures in the works of art by completing the “What to Wear?” handout.
6.	Ask volunteers to share some of their responses from the “What to Wear?” handout. Discuss how the clothing styles depicted in the different images have changed over time (i.e., the clothing in the paintings is from an earlier time period than the clothing in the photograph).

Extensions
•	Inform students that Mitch Epstein liked Walker Evans and his photographs. Using a Venn diagram, have students compare and contrast the two families in the photographs.
•	Ask students to consider: What do you wear when someone takes your picture? What is your favorite clothing? Describe orally what you wear using the following sentence frame:  My favorite thing(s) to wear is/are my ________________   ________________.							         [adjective]	         [clothing]

Standards Addressed

Common Core Standards for English Language Arts 

Grades K–5

LANGUAGE
K.5 With guidance and support from adults, explore word relationships and nuances in word meanings.
1.1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
1.6 Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, reading and being read to, and responding to texts, including using frequently occurring conjunctions to signal simple relationships (e.g., because).
2.6 Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, reading and being read to, and responding to texts, including using adjectives and adverbs to describe (e.g., When other kids are happy that makes me happy).
3.6 Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate conversational, general academic, and domain-specific words and phrases, including those that signal spatial and temporal relationships (e.g., After dinner that night we went looking for them).
4.6 Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, including those that signal precise actions, emotions, or states of being (e.g., quizzed, whined, stammered) and that are basic to a particular topic (e.g., wildlife, conservation, and endangered when discussing animal preservation).
5.6 Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, including those that signal contrast, addition, and other logical relationships (e.g., however, although, nevertheless, similarly, moreover, in addition).

SPEAKING AND LISTENING
K.1 Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about kindergarten topics and text with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
1.3 Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says in order to gather additional information or clarify something that is not understood. 1.4 Describe familiar people places, things, and events, with relative details expressing ideas and feelings more clearly.
2.4 Tell a story or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking audible in coherent sentences.
3.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 3 topics and texts, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.
4.3 Identify the reasons and evidence a speaker or media source provides to support particular points. 
4.6 Differentiate between contexts that call for formal English (e.g., presenting ideas) and situations where informal discourse is appropriate (e.g., small-group discussion); use formal English when appropriate to task and situation. (See grade 4 Language standards 1 and 3 for specific expectations.)
5.3 Summarize the points a speaker or media source makes and explain how each claim is supported by reasons and evidence, and identify and analyze any logical fallacies. 
5.6 Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, using formal English when appropriate to task and situation. (See grade 5 Language standards 1 and 3 for specific expectations.)