We the People: Connecting Art to the Arkansas 5th Grade Core Curriculum

This is a guiding tool created for teachers to connect students to art based on the Arkansas 5th Grade Core Curriculum.

We the People (black version) (2015) by Nari WardCrystal Bridges Museum of American Art

We the People (black version)

Creator: Nari Ward (born 1963)
Date Created: 2015

We the People (black version) (2015) by Nari WardCrystal Bridges Museum of American Art

Tell me about a time when you have heard the phrase, “We the People”
Why do you think the Phrase “We the People” is important to America? 

The Preamble of the U.S. Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787. The first three words are… “We the People"

Listen to the words of the Preamble. What promises are made to the people?

We the People (black version) (2015) by Nari WardCrystal Bridges Museum of American Art

Who is the “We” in this phrase?
Was anyone left out of this “We” whenever this was written? Who?
Why were they left out?

What material makes up this artwork?
Why do you think the artist chose to use this material?

Why do you think that the artist used different color shoe laces instead of one color? 
What do you think the shoelaces symbolize?

Imagine if you had the opportunity to add a shoelace to this artwork. If you could design a shoelace to represent yourself, what would it look like?

What colors or patterns would you choose? Why?

Math Connections

The length is 96 inches. The width is 27 feet. What is the area of the artwork?

Math Connections

What is a point?  What is a line?
How are points and lines used in Math?
How might points and lines be used in this work of art?

We the People: Script Work Part 1 (2022) by Crystal Bridges Museum of American ArtCrystal Bridges Museum of American Art

We the People: Script Work Part 2 (2022) by Crystal Bridges Museum of American ArtCrystal Bridges Museum of American Art

We the People: Script Work Part 3 (2022) by Crystal Bridges Museum of American ArtCrystal Bridges Museum of American Art

Credits: All media
The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.

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