Create a 'Connecting Through Visuals' Activity

This activity is a good introduction to primary sources and their value in connecting to a time and place beyond our own. Because it involves recognizing different themes or topics, it can also reinforce higher level thinking skills as students sort images into categories and wonder about unanswered questions. It could also be used to introduce a new unit of study; however, with the multiple themes being represented, it may be more difficult to find different yet related examples of photos or other visuals.

PREPARATION

Locate visual primary sources that fit with a variety; of themes. Two sources of ready made “sets” are found on the Teacher Page, either Themed Resources or Primary Source Sets. You can also look at American Memory Collections and select items with a common theme yourself: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html

Because your students will be identifying themes in the photos and grouping themselves by theme, you will want to choose 3-5 different visuals from each “theme” or “set.” Select and print as many visuals as necessary for your classroom size. The number of sets depends on the total number of students.

Be sure to mix the items together before placing them on the table so that the items from each set are separated.

PROCEDURE

1. Spread items on tables for students to browse. Ask students to select one item that appeals to them and take it back to their seats.
2. Ask students to individually take a close look at what they have selected and consider what theme, topic or historical time period the item represents or fits.
3. Ask students to get up and move around the room, comparing their item with others’ and looking for other items of a similar theme or time period. Participants should form groups based on the common theme or time period of their primary sources. Walk around and make a note of the kind of questions they are asking or ways they are connecting to prior knowledge.
4. If one student appears “lost” (can’t find a group that fits), have them “visit” different groups and have him or her describe their visual. Groups can invite this person to join them, briefly explaining their rationale for why the item fits with their group.
5. Once all groups are formed, ask them to create a title for their group: The Great Depression, Founding Documents…etc.
6. Groups will report by showing their items.
7. Ask students to consider and share how prior knowledge helped them figure out what was in the visual and how it belonged with others, or how unfamiliarity with some items “stumped” them. Have them share how working together contributed to their knowledge base and how they discovered how they belong together.

Quick Links:

Optional Assignment for Credit
Connecting Through Images
Life in a Box
Found Poems
Discussion Board
Guide for using the unctps.org website to submit assignment