Making Observations
Artists have made illustrations about the Pine Tree Schillings story.
Here are three of them.
Picture A
Picture B
Picture C
Materials Required
• Two stories: The Pine Tree Shilling (Hawthorne original) and The Mintmaster's Daughter.
• Three pictures
• STEM notebook
Procedure
1. Choose one of the pictures and one of the stories. Do a close reading of the story. Make notes on the details.
2. Examine the picture. Make a table similar to this. In the item column list items from the picture that you are observing such as the box, the scales, the people, the clothing, and anything else you observe. Try to list at least 7 items.
Two examples for Picture A—You add the rest
3. Look at the third column when you are finished with the first picture. How accurate is the picture?
4. Repeat with the other two pictures. Which artist best represents the story?
Discussion
Artists have their own motives in how they tell a story. For STEM professionals, illustration is often used to describe a concept or to show a design idea. In this case, the illustration should be as accurate as possible! For example, just one small detail in the illustration of a patent application can make a difference in who receives a patent.