Lesson Plan: Bisa Butler's Safety Patrol

This resource includes three types of activities that can be facilitated by the teacher or assigned to older students to complete independently. All activities are framed by the essential question/s of the resource and support student voice and multimodal learning. The activities are modular and can be used on their own or in combination. When implementing two or more activities together, we recommend grounding students learning with the Look activities. 

• Look activities promote sustained observation, active listening, and curiosity. 
• Explore activities provide opportunities for students to consider further contextual information, including diverse perspectives, and to challenge their assumptions. 
• Respond activities engage students in creative expression, self-reflection, and the synthesis of ideas. 

As you prepare to explore Butler’s work with your students, read the essay on the work provided and become familiar with the ideas and prompts in the activities. Hold off on providing your students any information about the work of art until they have had ample time to examine and discuss the work so that they remain open to many possible interpretations. 

For additional approaches to engaging students in observation and meaning-making with works of art, consult the Art Institute of Chicago’s Tips for Discussing Works of Art or use the Making Observations and Questions activity.

• How can the lived experience and cultural heritage of an artist influence the development of their work? 
• How do choices made by an artist affect how we perceive the subject of a portrait? 
• How can works of art expand our understanding of the past and the present?
• How can point of view and bias impact what information is accessible and how and what history is recorded?

This content is adaptable for use by students grades 4–12. Notes on the age range of specific activities and suggestions for adapting the content for a range of learners are included throughout the document.

Common Core Literacy Standards  

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.
• Research to Build and Present Knowledge

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.W.7

• Draw information from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

National Core Arts Standards 

Visual Arts: Responding, Anchor Standard 7: Perceive and analyze artistic work
Enduring Understanding: Visual imagery influences understanding of and responses to the world

Conceiving and developing new artistic ideas and work.

• Anchor Standard #1. Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work.
• Anchor Standard #2. Organize and develop artistic ideas and work.
• Anchor Standard #3. Refine and complete artistic work.

NCSS Social Science Standards

D2.His.6.6-8. Analyze how people’s perspectives influenced what information is available in the historical sources they created.