Virtual Lesson Plan: Cobalt and the Color Blue

A work made of porcelain painted in underglaze blue. — Shallow Dish with Long-Tailed Birds in a Garden of Stylized Peonies and Fronds, Encircled by a Scrolling Wreath of Camellia and Lotus Blossoms, Yuan dynasty (1279–1368), early/mid–14th century

China

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This virtual tour engages students in the process of historical inquiry, using works of art from the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago to explore the expansive history, diversity, geography, and enduring influence of Asia, in the world. Students will follow the influence of the material cobalt and the artistic tradition of blue and white pottery to consider how people and ideas move across space and time through trade, migration, colonization, and warfare.

This virtual tour is part of the Art + History learning frame, which emphasizes the close reading of works of art as primary sources. Contextual information and prompts for reflection and discussion are layered in to help scaffold students’ understanding from simple to complex.

Explore how artworks can serve as primary sources that spark historical inquiry.
Analyze different historical sources and perspectives, including artworks, and consider how they can impact understanding.
Examine the movement of ideas, people, and materials over time and throughout Asia and beyond, gaining a more complex understanding of Asia as a continent with global influence.

Art + History Frame

What can primary sources (including artworks) teach us about art, history, and culture?
Based on a deepened historical understanding, what new questions can we ask about our own place and time?

Asia in the World Theme

How has Asian art and culture intersected with and/or impacted the development of ideas around the world over time?

Next Generation Social Science Standards

Global Interconnections: Changing Spatial Patterns

D2.Geo.11.3-5. Describe how the spatial patterns of economic activities in a place change over time because of interactions with nearby and distant places.

Human-Environment Interaction: Place, Regions, and Culture

D2.Geo.4.6-8. Explain how cultural patterns and economic decisions influence environments and the daily lives of people in both nearby and distant places.

Common Core Literacy Standards

Reading: Key Ideas and Details

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.1

Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it: cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.2

Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.

Illinois Arts Learning Standards: Visual Arts

Responding

Anchor Standard 7: Perceive and analyze artistic works

6–12

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