Lesson Overview:
This lesson targets three chapters in Little Women that focus on dressing up. Students are divided into groups and read an assigned chapter. Groups then research the clothing of the times and pantomime getting dressed up. Next, students design a costume for one of the characters, and create a watergraph drawing on a Polaroid picture on it. Finally, students write reflections on dressing up today as compared to the 1860’s.
Length of Lesson:
Four 45-minute periods
Notes:
This lesson is particularly suitable for grades 4 - 6.
Instructional Objectives:
Students will:
- create a “watergraph” (drawing on a Polaroid) of the costume.
- design a costume for a character based on research and reading of fiction.
- interpret what is read to create a costume for a character in Little Women.
- pantomime getting dressed in the costume.
- reflect by comparing dressing up today vs. dressing up in 1860’s.
- research clothing worn in 1860’s America.
Supplies:
- Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
- Paper
- Pencils
- Markers
- Crayons
- Colored pencils
- Writing journal
- Polaroid camera with 600 Write-On film (enough for each student to have one photo)
Instructional Plan:
Background Information:
Little Women begins during the Civil War. All of America was suffering from a shortage of clothing and fabric. Both sides were using the sewing machine—a new invention--to make uniforms as quickly as they could. The North had successfully blockaded the trade of Southern cotton.
In the novel, the March family had once been comfortably wealthy; now they are poor, but not destitute. They knit socks and scarves for the soldiers. They also embroider and sew to mend worn parts on their own clothes. They have a rag bag with bits and pieces of old things. They are invited to fancy parties, dances, and go to visit neighbors. They keep up as best as they can with the latest fashions by adding fresh flowers to their hair or wearing a clean glove and carrying a dirty glove.
Instructional Plan:
Model for the students a pantomime of a woman and a man getting dressed up in the 1860’s. Have the students copy your actions.
Tell the students that the ladies have on a chemise (cotton or linen two piece underwear from the shoulders to the knee. Add a corset hook it in the front and get someone to tie it tight in the back. Put the crinoline (hoops) on the floor and step into the center. Pull it up to the waist and tie it in front. Drop two petticoats on top of the crinoline. Put on stockings to the knee and tie them. Add the skirt and bodice (top of the dress). Step into a low-heeled boot and lace it up. Top with a shawl or a mantle (coat/cape with open sleeves) and a bonnet that ties under the chin. Carry a fan and gloves. Walk around "wearing" these imaginary clothes.
The gentlemen begin with a union suit (long underwear that is one piece to the knee and buttons from the neck and down the chest). Add a long-sleeved shirt over top and button it. Put cuff links on each cuff. Add socks and step into trousers that button up the front. Place suspenders over the shoulders and in the button-holes in the front and back of the trousers. Place a waistcoat (vest) on top of the shirt and button all four buttons from the breast down to the lower abdomen. Next, step into the boots and lace them up. Lift the collar of the shirt and tie a cravat (fat tie) in a bow at the neck. Finally add the frock coat on top of everything else. Be sure to smooth it down in the back. (It comes down to mid-thigh.) Clip on a pocket watch with the chain going from the left to the right. Tuck the watch into the lower right pocket. Carry a top hat, gloves, and walking stick. Strike a pose.
Ask the students what felt different as they added each layer of clothing. Remind them even though it was a pantomime, they should have imagined how it felt to wear the clothes. Did they walk differently? Did they feel heavy or hot? Could they move easily? Why or why not?
Obviously getting dressed in the 1860’s is very different from what we do today. Ask students to reflect for a moment in writing about what was learned from the pantomimes.
Tell students that they will have an opportunity to create their own costumes for characters in Little Women. Divide the class into three groups. Assign each group one of the following chapters from Little Women:
- Chapter 3,“The Laurence Boy”: Meg and Jo go to a New Year's Eve dance and get to know Laurie.
- Chapter 9, “Meg Goes to Vanity Fair”: Meg is invited to a week with a wealthy family and is transformed into a lady of means.
- Chapter 29, “Calls”: Amy and Jo get dressed up to call on neighbors and relatives.
(Note: Students can either read from the book or the web.)
As they read "March Girls", have students note any reference to getting dressed up. What accessories do they take? What colors are they wearing? How do their clothes compare with those of other characters? What do they do to try to look fashionable?
After reading the chapter, the students should decide whose costume they will design. (This is an individual task; each student should create a design of his or her own.)
Using the notes they have made about what the characters wore, the students should now research what a person would wear in 1860's America. Primary source materials such as photos, drawings, and paintings of the time are a great place to start. Costume books (as suggested in the Teacher’s References) and Web sites such as, the Costume Gallery and The Metropolitan Museum of Art are good places to explore. Remind students that they need to stay historically accurate in their designs.
Using the Vocabulary Handout, ask why following vocabulary words were important in 1860s fashion: crinoline, waistcoat, trousers, mantle, and corset. Post the vocabulary words and definitions so that the students can see them. Give students the opportunity to add vocabulary words to the list, in case they come across words that they do not understand. They should look up these words and define them for the class.
Once the research is complete, each student should sketch out a design. Depending on the students' abilities, you may wish to allow them to accomplish this by tracing a form, or alternatively by downloading, photocopying, or scanning a design. The students should color the design and add accessories, such as a fan, shoes, or a hat. They should also write the name of the character somewhere on the design.
Take a snapshot of each student with Polaroid 600 Write On film. Explain to the students that they are going to create "watergraphs" by painting their costume designs onto the Polaroid. Place water based pastels, watercolor pencils and paint, brushes, and water on tables. The students should dip the watercolor pencils or brushes in the water and draw the costume on top of their Polaroid. The pastels can go directly onto the picture. To correct a mistake, the students should dip a tissue in water to wipe it off and start again.
Display the sketches and watergraphs and have the students tour the collection. As a final reflection piece, ask the students to compare the way one dresses up today with the way one dressed up in the 1860s. In what ways is it different? The same? Which seems more formal, more comfortable, or more time consuming? Have the students identify three details to support their opinions.
Assessment:
Assess the students based on the following criteria:
- The students participated in the dressing up pantomime.
- The students read a chapter of Little Women and created a costume design for a character.
- The costumes created were historically true to the styles of the 1860s and the character represented.
- The students created a watergraph of their costume design.
- The students wrote reflections on dressing up today and in the 1860s and supported their opinions with details from what was learned.
Extensions:
Conduct another pantomime exercise after the costumes have been designed. Individuals can volunteer to demonstrate how to wear the costume.
Design costumes for other chapters in the book. What do their everyday clothes look like?
Sources:
Print:
- Alcott, Louisa May. Little Women. New York, 1868.
- Foster, Vanda. A Visual History of Costume-The Nineteenth Century. New York: Drama Book Publishers, 1984.
- Knight, Margaret. Fashion Through the Ages from Overcoats to Petticoats. New York: Viking/Penguin Putnam, 1998.
- Miller, Brandon Marie. Dressed for the Occasion-What Americans Wore 1620-1970. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications Company, 1999.
- Nunn, Joan. Fashion in Costume. Chicago: New Amsterdam Books, 2000.
- Rowland-Warne, L. Eyewitness Books. Costumes. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1992.
Web:
Authors:
-
Mary Beth Bauernschub, Teacher
Kingsford Elementary School
Mitchellville, MD
