Chalk Talk (Ideas for Integrating Art)
"Do Your Bit": A Chalk-Talk for Young Folks" by J. W. Bengough, Bengough's Chalk-Talks (Toronto: Musson Book Co., 1922).
During the 1800s and early 1900s, public lectures were a popular form of educational entertainment. Audiences could hear about current events, politics and world news in an entertaining way. Soon, cartoonists began giving "Chalk talks" that not only entertained but informed the audience. One such cartoonist was J. W. Bengough. Bengough began making "chalk talks" in Canada in 1874, and by the first decades of the twentieth century cartoonists across the continent were supplementing their incomes with public performances of the art they first practiced for print.
Bed Bugs is a story that appeared in the July 12, 1893 edition of the daily newspaper, the Lake Madison Chautauquan.
Bed-Bugs
We were startled lately on hearing a lady remark, "I found a bed-bug." What a woebegone look will cloud a woman's face when she runs across one of these pests! And what a curiosity would be a woman who who would acknowledge she had bed-bugs, ahem, ahem! We mean what a curiosity would be a woman who would acknowledge there were bugs in her house. A bug is found and the lady hastens to explain that some lady laid a baby on the bed for a few minutes; that some visitor had just left, or that some member of the family had slept away from home a night or two ago and must have contracted beg-bugs and regardless of a future life she affirms that she never saw a bed-bug in her house before. Now no many has any respect for a beg-bug, they are endured from necessity but the bug is blissfully oblivious of the fact that he is an unwelcome intruders. Did you ever notice the bland smile that illuminates the face of the first bug of the season as he notices the consternation depicted on the woman's face when she discovers his presence? It seems almost a fiendish smile that graces his face. There is nothing open or honest about the bug, he is a hypocrite of the first water, in fact a back-biter, we speak from experiences, as he has bitten our back more that once. The beg-bug like the country visitor at the world's fair gets his living off some one else. It has been said that the bug was strictly temperate, that he will not bite a man who is done up in alcohol or rather who has the alcohol done up in him, which is most common. Some folks have a propensity for squeezing a beg-bug whenever found, regardless of the bug’s feelings. This is wrong, one should never squeeze a bed-bug or a skunk and we always treat them alike -- give them the right of way.
After listening to or reading the newspaper article about the bed-bugs, draw your picture of a bed-bug. Author and illustrator Gary Harbo gives online drawing lessons each month. Check out his site for the latest character. For more information about bed-bugs, refer to Bed-bugs and Their Relatives.
Variation: The bed-bugs must have their own story. What is their view of the humans? Write a story about it and draw a picture of humans from a bed-bug's point-of-view.
remember...don't let the bed-bugs bite!
Teacher, enjoy sharing ideas and concerns with other teachers at Chalk Talk Online for Teachers, a discussion board with resources for teachers.