New Media Classroom

Using Photographs to Construct a Narrative

Overview

Do photographs represent the truth? What are the advantages and disadvantages of using photographs to tell a story? How can photographs be used to empower or discredit a community? Using resources found on the WBA? CD-ROM and the Web, students will examine primary sources to construct a narrative on Native American life and culture in the late 19th century.

Objectives

Interrogating primary sources; Developing creative writing and visual literacy skills; Constructing a narrative

Resource(s)

Who Built America? CD-ROM
History Matters: The U.S. Survey Course on the Web
"New Perspectives on the West" (PBS)

Activity

Step I:

Examine the two photographs at http://www.ashp.cuny.edu/sept2.htm Then write a few paragraphs explaining what you see. Your writing can take the form of a story, poem or historical comment.

Step II:

Share your writing with your partner. Together, brainstorm a list about what else you need to find out in order to explain and contextualize the photos.

Step III:

Go to the Archives of the West/ Episode Seven section of the "New Perspectives on the West" web site. Find and identify the images.

Step IV:

Using the Find and Resource functions of the WBA? CD-ROM and the Search function of the History Matters web site, gather information from secondary and primary sources -- text, images and audio -- that help you situate and understand the two photographs. Then pick three documents - one text, one image, and one oral - that you think will best add context and meaning to your initial reaction to the photographs.

Step V:

In a few sentences, explain why you chose the three documents. Then re-write your initial story, poem or historical analysis to add meaning to the photographs. Be prepared to share your writing as part of a full class discussion.