Perceiving the Prairie

Lesson Introduction

The word "prairie" is derived from the French word for "meadow," but the continental idea of a cultivated field or a woodland meadow is very different from the harsh reality of the vast Great Plains which historically covered large areas of North America. The idea of the prairie has evolved from each historical period to the next and has always depended upon the prejudices and needs of the beholder. For the Native Americans of the Great Plains, the vast territory represented a cultural heritage as well as a land of plenty. For European settlers, the land was fertile, but needed to be radically changed to be productive for their farms. Today, the aesthetics of the Prairies are still in dispute. Neighbors to prairie preserves have been known to call the diverse grasses, "weeds." These differing perspectives can be seen in the writings and artwork of people over this period.

Illinois State Goal	Standard	Learning Benchmarks
1	B	5a Relate reading to prior knowledge and experience and make connections to related information.
1	C	5e. Evaluate how authors and illustrators use text and art across materials to express their ideas.
2	A	5a. Evaluate the influence of historical context on form, style and point of view for a variety of literary works.

Lesson Objectives

• students will explore the changing concept of "prairie" through written and artistic works
• students will write their own poem or essay describing the prairie

Time Allotment

One class period of 45-60 minutes

Materials

• paper
• access to computers or library
• writing utensils
• web sites listed at the bottom of the page

PROCEDURE

Tap Prior Knowledge

1. Ask students to describe a prairie. What are the recurring images? You may want to write these on the board. Does a prairie appeal aesthetically to students? Why or why not? What do they see when they look at a prairie?

Share with Neighbor

2. Have students do a short role-play activity in which they view the prairie from the eyes of a current or a historical person: a European settler in 1818; a railroad planner in 1850; a farmer in 1900; a Native American in 1650; a Native American in 1898; a preservationist in 1980; a government planner in 1939; a real estate developer in 1990; a park ranger in 1998. You can choose any other interested characters. Have students interview each other, asking about the opinions and perspectives of their character.

Hands-on Activity

4. Pick one writing or artifact (photograph, daguerreotype, drawing, painting) from two time periods that are widely separated in their identification with and interpretation of the prairie.

5. Write a critique that compares and contrasts the artistic and cultural differences in the artifacts that you've chosen. Try to answer the following questions:

Who is writing the text or taking the picture? Who is their audience? What do they hope to accomplish with the work?
What is their idea or perception of the prairie, if any? Is it a natural landscape, an empty terrain, an area of beauty or is it ignored? How can you account for the writer's point of view?

6.In your essay, use examples of the historical changes that were taking place throughout the period of the last two centuries. How do these developments influence the writers and artists whose work you've chosen to discuss. Are they doing what you'd expect from that period or are they doing something different? What are your impressions?

7. Ask the students to present their writings, either reading them aloud or presenting them by a website presentation. Have students comment on each other's observations? Ask them to list what comes to mind now when they think of prairie; compare that list to the initial list done at the beginning of the class period.

Introduce Arts Principle

8. Changes in land use and preservation take place because of a change in attitude among the people who live on, work on, and own the land. The government also plays a large part in deciding how land is used. Citizens groups and environmental activists have shown how changing public opinion to view open land and prairies no longer as "empty space" but as a valuable landscape itself has enabled projects like Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie to exist. Discuss with students how they think these perceptions change over time. What part does media play in these changing perceptions?

Relate Activity and Concept

8. Throughout this activity, students are asked to look at the prairie, at their surroundings, from a different perspective. By imagining the audience for historical writings, prints, and photographs, students begin to see the ways in which art can influence an individual's perceptions, but also the ways in which individuals create writing and images with certain cultural predispositions in place. How do these affect the audience? How do these cultural assumptions affect us as viewers now?