Lesson 4: Using Photographs to Time-Travel

Students use photographs to gain a sense of what it was like to live in an historical period.

(Adapted from the American Photography Teacher's Guide)

Subjects: Social Studies, Language Arts

Grade Levels: 10-12

Time Frame: 2-3 class periods

Materials Needed:

• Access to online photo collection

• Reference Materials

• Essay Organizational Structure Worksheet

1. Learning Objectives: Students will:
   
   Place themselves in a historical period by using source materials to gain a sense of what it is like to live in that period.

2. Write descriptive and accurate essays/journals about a historical period.

3. Understand the historical perspective.

4. Demonstrate competence in the general skills and strategies of the writing process.

5. Use grammatical and mechanical conventions in written compositions.

6. Gather and use information for research purposes.

7. Demonstrate competence in the general skills and strategies for reading a variety of informational texts.

Procedure:

1. Begin by asking students some of the ways we have of knowing about the past.

Students may raise such possibilities as:

• reading about past time periods

• talking to people who lived in a certain time period

• looking at art/photos

2. Discuss with students the idea that we have a way of knowing about the past by Not witnessing it firsthand, rather we are able to imagine the past with the resources we have. In essence, time travel in our imaginations.

3. Introduce the time travel assignment by allowing students to choose a photo from an online collection as a point of focus for their essays/journals. Allow students to think about which historical period they would like to visit.

• Students may want to pay special attention to the evolving photography over time. Knowing how photography was used during their chosen time period will help them more accurately portray themselves responding in that time period.

4. Using photos from the online collection, students should gather information about their chosen period and about the place of photography in that time.

• Was camera ownership common?

• Were there photos in magazines and newspapers?

Based on the information they gather, students should place themselves in their historical periods and imagine how they would have responded to one of the photographs of their chosen time.

5. Have students write their essays/journals using the essay organizational structure worksheet as a guide.

• Students may want to adopt an identity for the essay/journal or choose to approach a single photo from different perspectives. E.g. explore the various perspectives that could occur within a single family/community. A point of focus could promote thematic coherence.

Extension: Has the meaning of their chosen photo changed? How might present response to the photo differ?

Essay Organizational Structure

1. Opening Paragraph

• Statement of place, identity and time period

• Identification of photograph and Initial response

2. Body

• Description of photograph

• Response to photograph

• Reasons for response

• Historical Viewpoint

3. Conclusion

• Future action? or Summarization of Response

Photography Unit

Lesson 4: Using Photographs to Time-Travel

Students use photographs to gain a sense of what it was like to live in an historical period.

Photograph Collections: 
Glenbow Archives Photographs
http://ww2.glenbow.org/search/archivesPhotosSearch.aspx

Louise Mckinney Riverfront Photo Gallery
(not available at this time)
http://www.louisemckinneyriverfront.com/
Flood of 1915, Ice making, Coal & gold mining, Brickyards, Other industries, Bridges, Boats & boat building, First Nations People, Recreation and Louise McKinney

National Archives of Canada
http://www.archives.ca/
Living Memory, Places, People, and Aboriginal Peoples

Alberta Home, Home on the Plains 
http://www.abheritage.ca/pasttopresent/
Land of Opportunity, Settlement History or Rural Life

Alberta How the West Was Young
http://www.abheritage.ca/alberta/
Archaeology & Pre-Contact, First Nations & Métis, or Fur Trade & Mission History

Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation
http://civilization.ca/
Archaeology, Civilizations, Cultures, First Peoples, History, and Military History

[Top]

Lesson 1: Using Historical Photographs

Lesson 2: Using Historical Photographs 2

Lesson 3: Using Specific Historical Photographs

Lesson 4: Using Photographs to Time Travel

Lesson 5: Photographic History Timeline

Lesson 6: Manipulating Photographs

Lesson 7: To Censor or Not? The Power of War Photographs

Download Lesson 4 in Word Document format.