PHOTOGRAPHS--VISUAL LITERACY
GRADES: HIGH SCHOOL
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APPROXIMATE LENGTH OF TIME: 2--50 MINUTE SESSIONS ​
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SUMMARY:
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This lesson uses the visual literacy theory, students will view historical photographs of Indigenous peoples to process what they see compared to what the photo caption reads. Visual literacy enhances the student’s understanding of and ability to interpret and comprehend photographs in a comparative manner as reading and writing. The combination of visual, reading, and writing enhances the pedagogical approach to understanding historical photos by complimenting written and oral proficiency with visual language.
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LEARNING TARGETS:
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Students will critically analyze the conditions that led to The Myth of the Vanishing Race based on historic photographs of Native Americans.
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Students will be able to summarize, in writing, how the photographs perpetuated "The Myth of the Vanishing Race."
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Materials:
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Sticky Notes
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Computer/Internet
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PDF The Myth of the Vanishing Race: Interpreting Historical Photographs of Native Americans (non-captioned photographs)
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PDF The Myth of the Vanishing Race: Interpreting Historical Photographs of Native Americans (captioned photographs)
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PDF Worksheet Analyzing Historical Photographs of Native Americans
LESSON:
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What stories can historic photographs reveal?
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1. GALLERY WALK a.k.a CHAT STATIONS STRATEGIES→
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A. Activity--
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Literal Observation and Interpretation Phase of historical photographs of Native Americans.
i. Create 5 stations around the classroom.
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* Each station will have a separate photograph from the following (PDF) selection.
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* note: these photographs do not include captions*
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ii. Divide students into groups of 4-8 depending on class size.
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*If your class is large, more than one group may be at each station at one time.
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iii. Each group will begin at a different station and given 5 minutes (the teacher will use a timer to control the tempo of the exercise) to analyze the photographs (using post-it notes to write answers on).
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* Example observations--caption the photograph, what is the picture of, who is portrayed, what is trying to be conveyed by the photographer.
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*The students will be able to read the previous group's answers and add their own ideas to the questions. When the timer goes off, students will move to the next station until all photographs have been analyzed.
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B. Worksheet--
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i. Each group will complete the worksheet "Analyzing historical photographs of Native Americans" (PDF)
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Example questions:
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​i. What do you notice about the photograph?
ii. What do you think the photographer’s purpose was? Persuasion, expressive, entertainment, or documentary?
iii. Why does it matter what the photographer was trying to convey? What is the significance of the photograph?
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2. How the original photograph caption led to The Myth of the Vanishing Race.
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a. Activity--
​
Literal Observation and Interpretation Phase of historical photographs of Native Americans.
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i. Create 5 stations around the classroom.
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* Each station will have a separate photograph from the following (Example Photographs of Historical Native Americans with captions (PDF) selection.
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* note: these photographs include original captions*
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ii. Divide students into groups of 4-8 depending on class size.
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*If your class is large, more than one group may be at each station at one time.
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iii. Each group will begin at a different station and given 5 minutes (the teacher will use a timer to control the tempo of the exercise).
*The student groups will travel through the gallery analyzing the photographs with captions prompting new discussions about what the photographer was trying to convey (using post-it notes to write answers on).
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*Reflecting on the captioned photos the students will answer the questions again from the worksheet "Analyzing Historical Photographs of Native Americans" on a separate sheet of paper or on the back of the original.
b. Analyzing historical photographs of Native Americans.
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*Once the groups have posted their descriptions of each photograph and completed the worksheets, ask each group to use the following worksheet. (PDF)
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i. How did they analyze the photograph?
ii. Did they apply what they learned from the previous materials defining historiography and historical authors' teachings? If so, what? If not, why?
iii. Was the photograph biased? If so, why? If not, why?
iv. What message was the photographer trying to convey?
v. Do they think the photographs are an accurate depiction of Indigenous peoples? If so, why? If not, why
vi. How will you approach historic photographs in the future based on what you have learned?
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If the instructor would like access to another worksheet follow the link to the National Archives Educator resources. This worksheet can be modified to meet the needs of the instructor.
Analyze a Photograph | National Archives
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c. Have a full class discussion based on the worksheet "Analyzing Historical photographs of Native Americans."
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*Ask the students to comment on how the captions led people to believe that Native Americans were a vanishing race.
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Assessment in this lesson:
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1. Informal assessment through class discussion.
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2. Completed 2 photograph worksheets; students will complete the questions, noting how they analyzed non-captioned and captioned photographs based on their
understanding of historiography.
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3. Complete a final essay assessing the inferences made by the photographer and how one can approach historic photographs in the future.