Education | The Morgan Book Project 2012–2013

In the News: Teaching Children the Value of Pre-Web Pages — The New York Times

The Morgan Book Project is a free program, in which the Morgan collaborates with public school teachers to develop a unit of study designed to engage students in writing, illustrating, and building a book. The Morgan Book Project Award is the program's culminating event.

We gratefully acknowledge the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust for underwriting program development.

THE PROGRAM
The Morgan Book Project follows an eight-month timeline:

Teacher team making paint with natural pigments.

JUNE 28–JULY 1, 2012
The Summer Institute for Teachers
This four-day workshop is designed to accommodate school teams of one Visual Arts teacher + One (Social Studies or Language Arts or classroom teacher), for grades 3 to 8.

Teachers will:

• the Morgan as a resource and complement toThe Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subject, as well as The New York City Department of Education Blueprint for Teaching and Learning in the Arts

• exceptional primary sources, including medieval and Renaissance manuscripts from the Morgan's collection

• collaborative planning
• activities offering cross-disciplinary models that support the five strands of the Blueprint
• strategies to teach basic book art techniques in the classroom

• a comprehensive cross-disciplinary unit of study around an integrated art project for implementation in the 2012-2013 school year
• a handmade book using traditional professional grade materials

Handouts include:

• Two teacher's guides: Illumination for the Classroom and Build an Accordion Book.
• Reference material related to book arts
• Professional grade book binding material, as well as traditional and unusual art supplies to carry out the book project into the classroom

Student blowing on glue before applying gold leaf.

OCTOBER 2012
Class trip to the Morgan
Students will draw upon the Morgan's superb collection of illuminated manuscripts and relate them to world history in a way that will deepen their understanding of cultural identity and interaction among diverse peoples across time and space. They will then reflect on the books' aesthetics and make numerous sketches in preparation of their own book projects.

Dates for the class trip will be discussed with teachers during the Summer Institute.

OCTOBER 2012 THROUGH MARCH 2013
Classroom project
Teacher teams will implement the cross-disciplinary unit of study developed during the Summer Institute as they lead their students in the writing, illustration, and binding of manuscript books. Morgan program staff will be available for support. One technical support meeting will be scheduled in December to address any issues teachers may have with the project.

MARCH 11, 2013
Books submission deadline
Teachers submit their best student book projects to a jury of artists, book professionals, and school librarians.

Student after receiving Award in the Gilder Lehrman Hall .

APRIL 5, 2013
The Morgan Book Project Award
The winning books are featured in a one-day installation at the Morgan, while the students whose books are selected received an award in the presence of their families, schoolteachers, and principals in the Morgan's Gilder Lehrman Hall.

The Special Award
The judges select three to four particularly remarkable books among winning entries, whose authors will receive the Special Award: These books will be installed in a public space at the Morgan for a few weeks. In addition these books will be featured on the Morgan's Web site, with an artist statement from each of the authors. To see 2012 Special Award winners, click here.


APPLICATION
Deadline May 31, 2012

Who may apply?
This program is reserved to New York City Public School teachers.

Teachers must apply as a team. Each team must include: one Visual Art teacher + One (Social Studies or Language Arts or classroom teacher) for grades 3 to 8.

Both teachers in the team must commit to attend the full four-day Summer Institute. (We reserve the right to reject teachers who arrive without a teammate.) Teams must commit to carry out the project in the classroom and submit four student works to The Morgan Book Project Award on March 11, 2013.

Because space is limited, we will accept only one teacher team per school.

Application Process
Applicants will be selected based on samples of their current or past student work.

To apply please do the following:

1. Print and fill out the application form.
2. Copy photos of at least three samples of your students' art work done this year or within the past three years onto a CD (JPEG format, 5x4 inches, 300 dpi).
3. Photocopy at least three samples of your students' writing (any topic) done this year or within the past three years.
4. Clearly label every item with school name and address.
5. Mail application form, CD, and photocopies by May 31, 2012 to:

Only the applicants who have been accepted in the program will be contacted. A confirmation letter will be sent to them and their principal by June 11, 2012.

Please note

• Do not e-mail us photos. We may not be able to open the files.
• Due to the volume of submissions, we cannot mail back any material that is sent to us.

If you have questions, please contact us at schools@themorgan.org.