LESSON TWO:COMPARING TORNADO OVER KANSAS AND THE GREAT WAVE OFF KANAGAWA

Overview

In lesson two, students will compare and contrast Tornado over Kansas with The Great Wave off Kanagawa, a print from the Japanese artist Hokusai, from another time and culture that also portrays the destructive forces of nature. As a class they will also write haiku poems about the two artworks.

Unit Objectives

· Students will compare and contrast artworks about forces of nature.

· Students will evaluate artworks that exhibit the power of natural forces, supporting their beliefs with reasoned responses.

· Students will demonstrate an understanding of how two artists depict the forces of nature, influenced by their times and cultures.

· Students will analyze and evaluate the impact of natural disasters such as tornadoes, tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanoes on the environment and human activity.

Reproductions

The Great Wave off Kangawa, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York , www.metmuseum.org; also available in Take5 Art Prints set, Printmaking, Crystal Productions, www.crystalproductions.com.
Tornado over Kansas, Muskegon Museum of Art, Muskegon, Michigan, www.muskegon.k12.mi.us/mma, also available in Take5 Art Prints set, Interdisciplinary Connections: Art and Science, Natural Environments, Crystal Productions, www.crystalproductions.com.

Materials and Resources

· Venn diagram

· Map of Pacific Ocean and surrounding territories

· Overhead transparency of Lesson Vocabulary

· Overhead transperancy of Haiku poems worksheet

· Overhead projector and pen

· Student Reading: Tsunamis Safety Rules

· The Big Wave by Pearl Buck, 1986 edition

· Pacific Tsunami Museum
www.tsunami.org

· The National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation
www.pmel.noaa.gov/tsunami-hazard

· Tsunamis in the Pacific Northwest
walrus.wr.usgs.gov/tsunami/cascadia.html

Teacher Preparation

Become familiar with background information and vocabulary about the artwork. Assemble both reproductions and the map. Make overhead transparencies of a Venn diagram, the lesson vocabulary, and Haiku worksheet (page 12). Make copies of the student reading on tsunamis (page 20). Continue to collect newspaper and internet articles about natural disasters brought to class by the students.

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