Looking and Discussing
Grade: 4–5; 6–8
Subject: Visual Art, Language Arts, Social Studies
Examining the Portrait of Sitting Bull
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Describe Sitting Bull’s expression in this portrait.
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Why do you think Sitting Bull is not smiling? (It was customary
for people having their portrait made in the 1800s to show little
expression. At the time Barry made this portrait, subjects sometimes
had to hold their pose for up to half a minute.)
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Ask a student to sit in a chair, as if posing for a portrait. Have
the student hold a smile for thirty seconds, while classmates keep
the time, and then ask the students what the smile looks like after
that time. Have the posing student describe what it feels like to
hold a pose that long.
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Describe what Sitting Bull is wearing.
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What clues in the photograph tell you this photograph was taken
outdoors in natural light? What makes this photograph look as if
it was taken inside? If you could state or write a caption to this
photograph, what would it say?
Documenting the Past
Barry documented the culture of the American West with his camera.
Look at Barry’s image and the section About
the Work of Art as you lead students in this discussion.
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What does “document” mean? What types of documents
exist to tell us about history? What can a photograph tell us that
other documents cannot? What can other documents tell us that a
photograph cannot?
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How do you think photographs were used 100 years ago? How are they
used today?
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What newer forms of documentation exist today that Barry did not
have in his time?
Research and Writing
Grade: 6–8; 9–12
Subject: Language Arts, Social Studies
Great Historical Figures of the Northern Plains
Sitting Bull, Chief Gall, Rain-in-the-Face, and John Grass were among
the most notable people David Barry photographed.
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Have students research these key figures from the northern Plains
and write a short biography on each. Include a photocopy of each
subject’s portrait.
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After writing the paper, students should write an identification
label for each photographic portrait including the artist’s
name and when it was taken. Did Barry take any of the portraits
they found?
Events on the Northern Plains
Have students research the following significant events on the northern
Plains:
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The Battle of Little Bighorn
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Wounded Knee uprising of December 29, 1890. (Note: In February
1973 there was another uprising at Wounded Knee.)
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Ask students to write a paper on factors that led to these conflicts,
the conflicts’ major events, and the outcomes of the conflicts.
A good source of information is the video or Web site on Ken Burns’
documentary The West, www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/.
Link to TEKS Connections
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