Distance Learning

Julian Alden Weir Biography – Reading Comprehension

Grade Level:
Upper Elementary: Third Grade through Fifth Grade
Subject:
Literacy and Language Arts

Program Description:

In this activity, students read about Impressionist painter Julian Alden Weir and then use their reading comprehension skills to answer the questions.

Duration:

  • 30 minutes

Essential Question:

  • Who was Julian Alden Weir?

Objective:

After reading a short biography about artist Julian Alden Weir, students will be able to identify information to answer reading comprehension questions.

Background:

This one-page worksheet is perfect to assign to students as an independent reading activity. No prior knowledge of Julian Alden Weir or Weir Farm National Historical Park is needed for this lesson. The reading serves as an introduction and way to learn about Impressionism, Julian Alden Weir, and Weir Farm NHP. They will apply their fourth grade reading skills of vocabulary identification, narrative structure, and figurative language.

Materials:

Procedure:

Preparation:

Present “Ways of Seeing” video to the class.

Video discussion prompts:

  • What drew Julian Alden Weir to the site now known as Weir Farm? Color, light, patterns, the farm setting

  • What does en plein air mean? Painting outside

  • What is so special about Weir’s studio? The large, tall windows that face north for more light

  • How do Impressionists paint? They focus on a moment, and the shifting of light and color, paint with feeling, allowing emotions to be the guide

  • Do people still paint in the Impressionist style? YES!

Developmental Activity:

This assignment can be completed as a class or independently. Students should have familiarity with reading comprehension skills to answer the questions.

The Julian Alden Weir Biography Reading Comprehension Passage and the Julian Alden Weir Reading Comprehension Worksheet should be printed double-sided onto one piece of paper.
 

  1. The teacher distributes the Julian Alden Weir Biography Reading Comprehension Passage and the Worksheet to the students.
  2. Students work independently to read the passage and answer the questions.

Vocabulary:

  • Biography – the written story of a person’s life
  • Depiction – the portrayal of something
  • Instructor – teacher
  • En plein air (pronounced "on plen air" in French) – painting outdoors
  • Honed – practiced
  • Curator – manager of art collections

Assessment:

Review worksheet responses using the answer key.

Additional Resources:

Curriculum Standards:

Fourth Grade Common Core English Language Arts Standards

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.4.4.A Read grade-level text with purpose and understanding.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.1 Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.5 Describe the overall structure (e.g., chronology, comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution) of events, ideas, concepts, or information in a text or part of a text.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.4.4.A Use context (e.g., definitions, examples, or restatements in text) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.4.5.A Explain the meaning of simple similes and metaphors (e.g., as pretty as a picture) in context.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.4.5.C Demonstrate understanding of words by relating them to their opposites (antonyms) and to words with similar but not identical meanings (synonyms).

Image Citations:

George Willoughby Maynard, Untitled (Drawing of Julian Alden Weir), Pencil on paper drawing, Weir Farm National Historical Park.

Julian Alden Weir, Dogs on the Hearth No. 1., ca.1887, Etching, Weir Farm National Historical Park.

Last updated: February 16, 2024