Winslow Homer’s painting of a house in the Bahamas will introduce students to the climate and geography of this island nation. They will then break into groups to research possible pollutants and provide solutions to protect the inhabitants and land. Lastly, they will imagine daily life in the Bahamas by writing a journal entry.

Using Cazin’s painting The Quarry of Monsieur Pascal near Nanterre, students will hypothesize about the workings, setting, and size of this French quarry. Then, applying his working method of “memory painting,” they will draw or paint a setting from memory after close observation without taking notes or preparatory sketches.

Students will be introduced to farming in an arid climate through art-based inquiry of Miró’s The Farm. Learning that his family had to implement two water collection devices, students will collect and investigate the amount of rainfall in their region to design a sketch proposal for how to best collect rainwater for their local farms.

With Vuillard’s painting of a park in Paris as a backdrop, students will explore the social concepts of parks both in this painting and their own life. They will then embody a character in the painting to write from their perspective. Lastly, they will select an outdoor scene that they will document seasonal and environmental changes through writing and sketching over a long period of time.

Discussion of a landscape painting by George Inness will introduce students to the impact of the railroad to the countryside in mid-nineteenth century America. They will depict this same scenery as they envision it in the past and in the future. Lastly, they will write an essay on how they would preserve the environment as the head of a railroad company.

While the other paintings in these lessons record actual locations, Rousseau imagined Tropical Forest with Monkeys from trips to botanical gardens, zoos, and illustrations in books. Students will conduct research and imagine themselves in a place other than where they live. They also will investigate the macaque monkey to compare to Rousseau’s depictions.