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Symbolism in the Medal of Honor

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Symbolism in the Medal of Honor

Grade Levels

10th Grade, 11th Grade, 12th Grade, 6th Grade, 7th Grade, 8th Grade, 9th Grade

Course, Subject

History, Visual Arts, English Language Arts, Reading and Writing in History and Social Studies
Related Academic Standards
CC.1.2.6.G CC.1.2.6.G
Integrate information presented in different media or formats (e.g. visually, quantitatively) as well as in words to develop a coherent understanding of a topic or issue.
CC.1.2.7.G CC.1.2.7.G
Compare and contrast a text to an audio, video, or multimedia version of the text, analyzing each medium’s portrayal of the subject (e.g. how the delivery of a speech affects the impact of the words).
CC.1.2.8.G CC.1.2.8.G
Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of using different mediums (e.g. print or digital text, video, multimedia) to present a particular topic or idea.
CC.1.2.9-10.G CC.1.2.9-10.G
Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums (e.g., a person’s life story in both print and multimedia), determining which details are emphasized in each account.
CC.1.2.11-12.G CC.1.2.11-12.G
Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in different media or formats (e.g. visually, quantitatively) as well as in words in order to address a question or solve a problem.
Expand
  • Big Ideas
    Comprehension requires and enhances critical thinking and is constructed through the intentional interaction between reader and text
    Information to gain or expand knowledge can be acquired through a variety of sources.
    Artists use tools and resources as well as their own experiences and skills to create art.
    Historical context is needed to comprehend time and space.
    Historical interpretation involves an analysis of cause and result.
    Humans have expressed experiences and ideas through the arts throughout time and across cultures.
    People have expressed experiences and ideas through the arts throughout time and across cultures.
    People use both aesthetic and critical processes to assess quality, interpret meaning and determine value.
    Perspective helps to define the attributes of historical comprehension.
    The arts provide a medium to understand and exchange ideas.
    The history of the Commonwealth continues to influence Pennsylvanians today, and has impacted the United States and the rest of the world.
    The history of the United States continues to influence its citizens, and has impacted the rest of the world.
    The skills, techniques, elements and principles of the arts can be learned, studied, refined and practiced.
    There are formal and informal processes used to assess the quality of works in the arts.
    Active listeners make meaning from what they hear by questioning, reflecting, responding and evaluating.
    Critical thinkers actively and skillfully interpret, analyze, evaluate, and synthesize information.
    Effective readers use appropriate strategies to construct meaning.
  • Concepts
    Essential content, literary elements and devices inform meaning
    Informational sources have unique purposes.
    Textual features and organization inform meaning
    Textual structure, features and organization inform meaning
    Validity of information must be established.
    A vocabulary of critical analysis allows people to compare artworks and make judgments about quality even if the works are very different.
    A vocabulary of critical analysis allows people to compare musical works and make judgments about quality even if the works are very different.
    A vocabulary of critical analysis allows people to compare works in different arts disciplines and make judgments about quality even if the works are very different.
    Actors and directors depend on research skills to gain insights into a play’s themes and characters.
    Actors use in-depth script analysis to reveal emotional, social and intellectual dimensions of a role which enables them to create and sustain characters.
    Artist refine skills and techniques to carry out their intentions in their artworks.
    Artistic practice often involves collaboration among groups of people.
    Artistic teams may introduce new creative elements or place a play outside of its cultural or historical context to communicate a particular perspective.
    Artists and designers use the elements of arts and principles of design in strategic ways to convey meaning.
    Artists and students of art frequently engage together in formal critiques of artwork as part of the process of developing their practice.
    Artists assess the quality of their work using evaluation criteria that is specific to the media, material, or technique.
    Artists assess their work at each stage, making choices throughout the process of planning, creating, and exhibiting a work of art.
    Artists engage in critical response to describe, analyze, interpret, and evaluate works of art.
    Artists often address social issues or concerns in their artwork.
    Artists use various techniques to create strong reactions to their work.
    Artists work to develop skills, techniques, and ideas in a sketchbook or visual journal to document and refine their process.
    Beliefs about acting and stage conventions have changed over time and throughout history.
    Comprehension of the experiences of individuals, society, and how past human experience has adapted builds aptitude to apply to civic participation.
    Contemporary actors and directors apply ideas and techniques from many schools of thought to explore character actions and create a performance.
    Dance is a product of the time, culture, social climate and place in which it is created.
    Dance is both a reflection of the time, culture, social climate and place in which it is created and a way to change culture.
    Dancers and choreographers use a variety of styles to choreograph, stage and perform original works in dance.
    Dancers and choreographers use elements of space, time and energy to create, notate, and perform dance.
    Dancers and choreographers use various musical rhythms and genres to create, notate, and perform dance.
    Directors and actors analyze the script and understand the motivations and behaviors of the characters.
    Directors and actors use and record planned stage movement and actions that focus audience attention.
    Historical comprehension involves evidence-based discussion and explanation, an analysis of sources including multiple points of view, and an ability to read critically to recognize fact from conjecture and evidence from assertion.
    Historical literacy requires a focus on time and space, and an understanding of the historical context, as well as an awareness of point of view.
    Historical skills (organizing information chronologically, explaining historical issues, locating sources and investigate materials, synthesizing and evaluating evidence, and developing arguments and interpretations based on evidence) are used by an analytical thinker to create a historical construction.
    Marketing materials are often disguised as unbiased critiques.
    Modern technologies have expanded the tools that dancers and choreographers use to create, perform, archive and respond to dance.
    Music may be performed as a singular art form or in combination with the elements and principles of dance, theatre or visual arts.
    Musicians use both aesthetic and critical processes to assess their own work and compare it to the works of others.
    People of different cultures use movement to convey meaning.
    People use analytic processes to understand and evaluate works of art.
    People use critical processes to compare works in dance.
    People use the elements and principles of art as tools for artistic expression.
    People use the elements and principles of music as tools for artistic expression.
    Plays reflect time, place and culture in elements of staging and playwriting.
    Technological advances have increased communication between cultures, allowing elements of theatre from many different cultures to be used by people all over the world.
    Textual evidence, material artifacts, the built environment, and historic sites are central to understanding the history of Pennsylvania.
    Textual evidence, material artifacts, the built environment, and historic sites are central to understanding United States history.
    The artist’s creative process is reflective work that happens over time to integrate knowledge, solve problems, and synthesize ideas.
    The elements of music are shared through a universal system of musical notation that has changed through time.
    The historical and cultural context of a work of art influences both how it is made and how it is interpreted.
    The quality of dances that are very different can be determined using the three models of artistic criticism: formal, intuitive, contextual.
    The quality of performances that are very different can be determined using the three models of artistic criticism: formal, intuitive, contextual.
    Theatre artists use both aesthetic and critical processes to assess their own work and compare it to the works of others.
    Theatre artists use improvisation to explore characters, relationships and motivations.
    Theatre artists use works in theatre to communicate ideas that challenge cultural norms.
    Theatre artists use works in theatre to communicate ideas that support cultural norms.
    There are similarities between works in different arts disciplines from different time periods and different cultures.
    There are similarities between works in different arts disciplines from the same culture and time period.
    There are similarities between works in different arts disciplines that originate from the same time and place.
    Viewers of art often respond to a work intuitively, using subjective insight.
    Visual culture, art, and design are sometimes created to sell ideas.
    When assessing quality, interpreting meaning, and determining value, one might consider the artist’s intent and/or the viewer’s interpretation.
    While each culture has unique music, there are similarities in the role of music in all cultures.
    While much of the school-based musical experience happens within a group, it is also important for people to be able to create, recreate, rehearse and perform music independently.
    Artists create works of art that communicate their personal vision, concerns and life experiences.
    The process of reflection and revision help dancers and choreographers to improve their works.
    The relationship between artists and news media can affect the way people perceive artists’ work.
    Diverse Media
    Evaluating Information
  • Competencies
    Analyze and evaluate information from sources for relevance to the research question, topic or thesis.
    Analyze organizational features of text (e.g. sequence, question/answer, comparison/contrast, cause/effect, problem/solution) as related to content to clarify and enhance meaning
    Distinguish between stated facts, reasoned judgments, and opinions across texts
    Evaluate organizational features of text (e.g. sequence, question/answer, comparison/contrast, cause/effect, problem/solution) as related to content to clarify and enhance meaning
    Evaluate the presentation of essential and non-essential information in texts.
    Evaluate the relevance and reliability of information, citing supportive evidence in texts
    Evaluate the use of graphics in text as they clarify and enhance meaning
    Identify characteristics of primary and secondary source materials.
    Identify the use of bias, stereotype, and propaganda where present
    Locate and select appropriate resource materials to achieve a research goal.
    Summarize relevant information from source material to achieve a research goal.
    Synthesize information gathered from a variety of sources.
    Synthesize relevant information from source materials to achieve a research goal.
    Analyze a piece of visual culture that is designed to be effective in selling an idea and identify the techniques the artist uses to sell the idea.
    Analyze a primary source for accuracy and bias and connect it to a time and place in Pennsylvania.
    Analyze a primary source for accuracy and bias and connect it to a time and place in United States history.
    Analyze an American commercial or television show to identify elements from cultures around the world.
    Analyze and compare artworks from different genres using a vocabulary of critical analysis.
    Analyze and compare musical works from different genres using a vocabulary of critical analysis.
    Analyze and interpret the work of a contemporary artist who addresses social issues or concerns.
    Analyze scenes from plays for conflict, action and character motivation.
    Analyze text and subtext in scripts to identify character relationships, as well as physical, emotional, and social characteristics of an assigned role, and apply this knowledge to deduce motivation.
    Analyze the techniques used by a controversial artist and explain how the techniques affect audience response.
    Analyze their own performances and compositions and make judgments about their own works as compared with those of other performers and composers.
    Choreograph, notate and perform complex dance sequences in various forms using elements of space, time and energy.
    Choreograph, notate, and perform dances for flexible groups with multiple movement phrases using various musical rhythms and genres.
    Collaborate with other artists to explore and invent unique solutions to problems.
    Compare a variety of formal acting techniques (e.g. Meisner, Stanislavski, The Method) through theatre exercises and scene work and reflect on the elements of each in a journal.
    Compare a work of visual art to a work in another arts discipline (music, dance or theatre) that originates from the same time and place and list similarities between them.
    Compare and contrast their own musical performances with works in other arts disciplines using a vocabulary of critical analysis.
    Compare and contrast two distinct works in dance from the same time period and explain how they were influenced by and how they influenced the culture, social climate and place in which they were created.
    Compare own work to the works of others using a vocabulary of critical analysis.
    Compare the quality of two distinctly different dances using the three models of artistic criticism.
    Construct a critical analysis that compares an interpretation of two works art: one that relies heavily on the artist’s intent for interpretation, and one that relies solely an individual interpretation.
    Construct an intuitive critical response to a work of art based on subjective insight.
    Contrast multiple perspectives of individuals and groups in interpreting other times, cultures, and place.
    Create a logo in which elements and principles work together to enhance the meaning of the image and represent the personality of a company or organization.
    Create a multimedia presentation designed to guide the viewer through analysis of a work using formal, contextual and intuitive criticism.
    Create an artist statement that explains the intent of their artworks.
    Create and record blocking for a play or a scene, including entrances and exits, stage pictures and use of levels and space for emphasis.
    Create, notate and perform music that incorporates elements and principles from different arts disciplines.
    Critique a performance using the three models of artistic criticism.
    Demonstrate the ability to independently create, recreate, rehearse and perform musical works and explain why this is important.
    Describe how a contemporary artist’s current work is presented by news media and explain how the media coverage affects audience perception of the work.
    Describe plays and theatre exercises developed by theatre artists who challenge cultural norms or create theatre for social change, e.g. Bertolt Brecht, Augusto Boal.
    Determine the quality of works in many distinctly different styles of dance using the three models of artistic criticism.
    Develop and present a personal body of work that documents personal vision, concerns and life experiences.
    Document the choices they make in the stages of planning, creating and exhibiting a work of art.
    Document the process of reflection and revision while choreographing and rehearsing works in dance.
    Document the reflective process and explain how reflection assists in integrating knowledge, solving problems and synthesizing ideas.
    Engage in critical discussion with peers to describe, analyze, interpret, and evaluate a work of art.
    Evaluate promotional marketing materials and compare them to a critical review.
    Evaluate the quality of a finished print using criteria appropriate for a specific type of printmaking (engraving, intaglio, linocut, etc.).
    Explain similarities between a musical work and a work in dance, theatre or visual arts from the same culture and time period.
    Explain similarities between works in dance, music, theatre and visual arts in various cultural and historical contexts.
    Explore plays which attempt to support beliefs important to the cultures in which they were produced and explain how the plays communicate those beliefs.
    Generate a series of entries in a sketchbook or visual journal that demonstrates attention to skills, techniques, and ideas in process.
    Identify historical and cultural influences and distinct theatre conventions (acting styles) from historical time periods.
    Identify how notation has changed through time and perform and notate music using modern musical notation.
    Identify the influence of historical, cultural, socialand geographical contexts on different types of dance, including dances native to Pennsylvania and the mid-Atlantic region.
    Identify the purpose ofcultural dance and decode the meaning of movement in various cultural dances.
    Identify the role of music in different cultures and time periods and explain the similarities in the role music plays in those cultures.
    Independently choreograph, stage and perform an original work in dance that synthesizes a variety of styles.
    Interpret the meaning of a specific work of art in the context of the historical time and culture in which it was made.
    Manipulate line, shape, etc. to plan and create pieces of art that express multiple ideas or a range of emotions.
    Manipulate rhythm, melody, form, etc. to create, notate and perform pieces of music that express multiple ideas or a range of emotions.
    Participate in a formal critique with peers to assess the developing qualities in their own artwork.
    Read plays from varied times and cultures, e.g. Shakespearean theatre, Greek theatre, melodrama, and analyze elements of staging and playwriting present in the plays.
    Reconceptualize scenes or plays, placing them in other time periods or cultures or breaking conventions in order to shed light on human behavior, e.g. Taming of the Shrew conceived as an episode of The Honeymooners 1950’s sit-com.
    Research plays and scenes in context and analyze the plays’ historical and cultural connections to determine the author’s intent.
    Use contemporary web technologies to archive and analyze their own and others’ performances, then use formal models of criticism to make judgments and compare and contrast their work with the work of others.
    Use modern technology tools to create, perform, archive and respond to dance.
    Using prompts from poetry, abstract ideas and other sources, improvise and sustain characters and interact with each other in role.
    Analyze the purpose of information presented in diverse media formats (e.g. visually, quantitatively, orally) and evaluate the motives (e.g. social, commercial, political) behind its presentation.
    Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums (e.g., a person’s life story in both print and multimedia), determining which details are emphasized in each account.
    Compare and contrast a text to an audio, video, or multimedia version of the text, analyzing each medium’s portrayal of the subject (e.g. how the delivery of a speech affects the impact of the words).
    Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of using different mediums (e.g. print or digital text, video, multimedia) present a particular topic or idea.
    Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in different media or formats (e.g. visually, quantitatively) as well as in words in order to address a question or solve a problem.
    Integrate information presented in different media or formats (e.g. visually, quantitatively) as well as in words to develop a coherent understanding of a topic or issue.
    Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g. visually, quantitative, orally) in order to make informed decisions and solve problems, evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source and noting any discrepancies among the data.
    Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse media or formats (e.g. visually, quantitatively, orally) evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source.

Description

Students define symbolism and identify how it is used in the actual design of the three different Medals of Honor. Students re-create a selected Medal of Honor and identify the symbolism in the medal.

Web-based Resource

Symbolism and the Medal of Honor

Content Provider

The Medal of Honor Character Development Program: Lessons of Personal Bravery and Self-Sacrifice is a resource designed by teachers for the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation to provide students with opportunities to explore the important concepts of courage, sacrifice, patriotism, integrity, and citizenship and how these values can be exemplified in daily life.

 The program was designed to be used for a variety of educational purposes by teachers in any school system in middle and high school. The primary goal is to prompt students to think of others before themselves and to make these good choices every day.

To learn more about the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation: www.cmohs.org  

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