National Identity #googlearts

The people of a nation share a government, a history, and often, a landscape. But
within that landscape, smaller groups have different surroundings, different climates, different ancestry, and different cultures. Using portraits from the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery we will examine how portraits both reflect and affect national identity.

In this lesson, you will learn:
❖ How a person’s nationality affects their identity.
❖ How a portrait can reflect an individual’s national identity.
❖ How individual identities and portraiture shape national identity.

This lesson will take 30–45 minutes to complete.

This lesson can be used in the classroom or given to students to work through independently, with fellow students, or with another adult. The content is accessible to a wide range of ages, but is especially geared toward students aged 12 and over.

This lesson plan was created in association with ePublishingPartners and the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery