Have you noticed the featured artwork at the beginning of the Era 5 article, “Empires Fall?” One of my favorite treats I allow myself when preparing any of the articles throughout the eras is to read the credits at the end and learn a little more about the artwork. Did you know the Thomas Cole painting at the start of this article is actually one of five in a series? I place all five paintings randomly in a slide deck and ask the students to put them in chronological order before we even read the article. We spend time talking about why each student made the choices they did and what it says about the progress of society, at least according to Thomas Cole. (Please read more about this artist who inspired the Hudson Valley School at this website.
Here is the slide deck that I use if you’d like to see the images as well. The Course of Empire
