Grade Level: 3
Time: 40-45 minutes
Standards: Cultural Communities in Connecticut Present and Past
3.Geo.4.a. Explain the impact of diverse cultures within a local community and throughout Connecticut (e.g., art, businesses, foodways, language, music, religion).
Learning Objective:
Students will be able to identify John Brewster Jr. and his role in pioneering deaf education in the United States as a member of the first class at the American School for the Deaf. Students will compare images and interpret Brewster’s choices, then produce their own portraits.
Teacher Background:
Note: Deaf communities are diverse with people identifying as Deaf, DeafBlind, DeafDisabled, Hard of Hearing, and Late-Deafened. There are variations in how a person becomes deaf, level of hearing, age of onset, educational background, communication methods, and cultural identity. How people identify themselves is personal and may reflect identification with the deaf communities, the degree to which they can hear, or the relative age of onset. Over the years, the most commonly accepted terms have come to be Deaf, DeafBlind, DeafDisabled, Hard of Hearing, and Late-Deafened. (National Association of the Deaf)
This lesson can be used on its own or combined with “Thomas Gallaudet and the Birth of ASL.”
John Brewster Jr. was one of the preeminent portrait artists of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His achievements appear all the more remarkable when considering Brewster’s success came despite his being born deaf in an era before the standardization of sign language.
Brewster was born the son of Dr. John Brewster—a direct descendant of the Mayflower pilgrim William Brewster—in Hampton, Connecticut, in May of 1766. A member of New England’s Federalist elite by birth, the challenges John Brewster Jr. faced in communicating with others kept him from socializing far outside his immediate family.
As a young man, Brewster learned to paint from a local pastor and painter, the Reverend Joseph Steward. By the 1790s, Brewster traveled throughout New England in search of commissions. Influenced by the works of Ralph Earl, Brewster’s paintings often incorporated the expressive facial features of his subjects set against a simple background depicted by broad areas of color.
Despite his success on canvas, Brewster continued to encounter challenges faced by the deaf in a country that widely ignored the needs of deaf culture. So, in 1817, when the American School for the Deaf opened in Hartford, Connecticut, Brewster (now age 51) became a member of the first class of students to enroll. Brewster’s class consisted of just 7 students with an average age of 19, but this did not stop Brewster from engaging in fluent conversations with his classmates thanks to the help of an increasingly standardized form of American Sign Language.
Click here for more information on Brewster.
Materials:
- Blank paper
- Pencil and coloring tools
Introduction (10 minutes)
Discussion:
Show students examples of Brewster’s paintings (see Slides Presentation). Ask students to look closely and describe what they see:
- What stands out to them?
- What emotions do they see?
- What is the same in each portrait?
- What is different?
Teacher Prompt:
“John was born in Hampton, Connecticut in 1766. He was born deaf, and because he was born before sign language was common, it was hard for him to communicate with others outside his family. When he learned how to paint, however, he started to travel all over New England painting portraits, which are pictures of people. As a non-hearing person, he had to be highly observant and pay close attention to people’s faces to navigate his world. When John painted, he didn’t care about fancy backgrounds. He used simple colors behind his subjects so that everyone would focus on one thing: the expressive facial features of the person.
John eventually became one of the first students at the American School for the Deaf – at 51 years old!”
Main Activity: Draw a Portrait (25 minutes)
“In sign language, your facial expressions and body movements are just as important as your hand shapes. We are going to draw portraits of each other where the background is simple, but the eyes and the face tell us exactly how that person is feeling.”
As they draw their portrait, students will choose one emotion (like “excited” or “confused”) and focus on capturing that emotion through the subject’s facial features and eyes, just like Brewster did in his folk art.
- Have the class write a list of emotions (adjectives) on the board as a reference to choose from.
- Pair up students and have each pair choose an emotion.
- Distribute paper and pencils.
- Set a timer for 5 minutes. One partner acts out the emotion (paying extra attention to their facial expressions!) while the other partner sketches.
- Set another timer and have students swap.
- Distribute coloring tools and have students color their portraits. Remind students that Brewster used simple colors for his backgrounds.
Opportunities for Assessment
- Class Share (10 minutes, optional): Students can present their portraits to the class.
- Closing Reflection Questions (5 minutes):
- What specific facial features were the most important to capture when you were trying to show your partner’s emotion without using words?
- Despite his success as a painter, Brewster continued to encounter challenges faced by the deaf in a country that widely ignored the needs of deaf culture. Why do you think Brewster wanted to go back to school at the age of 51?
- If you couldn’t use your voice to tell someone you were “confused” or “excited,” how else could you make sure they understood you?
- Why might it be important to use your face and body, and not just your hands, when signing?
Learn More
- Watch these videos to learn some ASL!
- Explore important deaf history sites in Connecticut.
- Learn about Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and his role in pioneering education for the deaf in the United States.
