Jacob Lawrence’s The Migration Series
This first lesson in the Economics and the Great Migration curriculum uses the art of Jacob Lawrence to teach the history and economics behind the early years of the Great Migration.
Students learn about the Great Migration by combining the paintings of Jacob Lawrence with economic concepts. In the lesson, students are shown paintings from Jacob Lawrence’s The Migration Series. They are asked to match economic concepts and graphs to the paintings, helping the students understand how different disciplines view an event in history. While it is helpful if students have been exposed to supply and demand and graphical analysis before the lesson, it is not required. Part of the fun is to match the many modes of communication—paintings (visual) to captions (words) to economic concepts and graphs—even when a student may be unfamiliar with paintings or economic concepts.
Related: View all lessons in the Economics and the Great Migration Curriculum.
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