Wallace Stevens: Poems Lesson Plan

Picasso's "The Old Guitarist"

Kind of Activity:

Classwide Discussion

Objective:

Students will think about the relationship between visual art and writing.

Common Core Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.11-12.1

Structure:

Project the image of Picasso's "The Old Guitarist" in the classroom where it is visible to everyone. Ask students to write silently for 5-7 minutes about the mood of the painting--tell them not to think of Stevens's poem at all yet, but to focus on what the painting makes them feel. Tell students to avoid telling a story or explaining what they see, but to rather focus on the sensory experience of the painting (and use their imaginations! What...