Lesson Plan Step 1: Analyzing a Photograph

Let’s Look at a Photograph of Wichita

Questions that encourage observation:
What do you see in the photo? What do you see that makes you say that?
Tell something specific about what you see.

Select the appropriate method for your class:

Data Projector with Internet access:

Locate the Student Activity Page and project on a screen.  Go to “Let’s look at a Photograph of Wichita” and follow instructions for viewing and discussion in Step 1-a.

Students at Personal Computers:

Instruct students to locate the Student Activity Page on their personal computers.  Go to “Let’s look at a Photograph of Wichita” and follow instructions for viewing and discussion in Step 1-a.

No Internet access:

Distribute printed copies of the photograph “Street Scene” in the “Let’s Look at a Photograph of Wichita” segment and follow instructions for discussion in Step 1-a. Photocopies of a printed download may not show as many details as image on screen.

Ask students to describe what they see in the photograph.  They are to report specific details and then make inferences from the features they observe.

Discussion Guide for Street Scene photograph

(1) Look at the people.

What are they wearing? Can we tell from their clothing what the weather might be?  What season?

(2)  Look at the vehicles.

Can you see different kinds of vehicles?  What are they?  Do they look like our cars and trucks?  Why not? What does this tell us about the photograph?  (Hint: approximate date.)

(3)  Look at the buildings.

Do you see a house?  What details tell you it is a house? What do you see close to the house? Is the building next to it a house?  What do you see that makes you say that? Do you see any other houses? Do you see a sign?  Can you read it? (Answer: “Parking”)

(4)  Look at the house.

Why are these things near the house?  Is this house being used as a house? (Hint: There is not enough information in the photograph to know how the house is being used.) How could you find out about that?  Where might you look?  Whom might you ask?

View the metadata and learn some facts about the photograph.

Data Projector with Internet access:
Use “Back” button to return to “Let’s look at a photograph of Wichita” and click computer icon in Step 1-b to read metadata. 

Students at Personal Computers:
Use “Back” button to return to “Let’s look at a photograph of Wichita” and click computer icon in Step 1-b to read metadata. 

No Internet access:
Copy metadata on board or distribute photocopies to students.

Read a newspaper article and learn what was happening.

Data Projector with Internet access:
Use “Back” button to return to “Let’s look at a photograph of Wichita” and click newspaper icon in Step 1-c to read part of a newspaper article. 

Students at Personal Computers:
Use “Back” button to return to “Let’s look at a photograph of Wichita” and click newspaper icon in Step 1-c to read part of a newspaper article.

No Internet access:
Copy newspaper article on board or distribute photocopies to students.

Data Projector with Internet access:
Use “Back” button to return to “Let’s look at a photograph of Wichita” and click camera icon to review photograph. 

Students at Personal Computers:
Instruct students to use “Back” button to return to “Let’s look at a photograph of Wichita” and click camera icon to review photograph. 

No Internet access:
Instruct students to refer to photocopies of the photograph.

Discussion Guide, continued:

(5) Look at the house again.

What will happen to the house?  Imagine the photo with no house.  What might happen next? Does this photograph tell us that the way the land is used can change?  What changes can you imagine?