WAYNE -- Teachers at Wayne Elementary School are beginning to integrate images from a 40-painting collection the school recently received into lessons in a variety of subject areas, from English to music.

The copies of American history-related works of art came to the school as part of a National Endowment for the Humanities grant award. The program is known as "Picturing America."

In fact, each of the six schools and three public libraries in the Maranacook-area school district, which serves students from Manchester, Mount Vernon, Readfield and Wayne, received a set of the 40 paintings.

At Wayne Elementary School, Adelberg and the school's art and music teachers have begun shuffling the paintings around their classrooms to add to classroom lessons' visual appeal.

On Tuesday, Adelberg used Puryear's work to introduce the students to Booker T. Washington.

"Can we assume he had a tough life?" she asked, encouraging students to "look a little deeper" for the art's meaning.

A resource book that accompanies the 40-painting package aids instructors in teaching the context behind each work. It also recommends age-appropriate questions to use to encourage discussion about each painting.