Activity Four

Introduction to Photographic Analysis

1. Choose a photograph from the American Memory collections and project it on a screen. Italian bread peddlers, from the Touring Turn-of-the-Century America: Photographs from the Detroit Publishing Company, 1880-1920 collection, works well for this activity.
2. Lead the students through a group photographic analysis activity, using the questions from the photographic analysis handout as a guide.
3. Students work in pairs to search for and print a photograph from the Touring Turn-of-the-Century America: Photographs from the Detroit Publishing Company, 1880 - 1920 collection to analyze. Use the photographic analysis handout as a guide. The worksheet requires them to consider prior knowledge and to write objective and subjective observations as well as deductions about the photo.
4. Photographic analysis may be introduced to the students before the immigration unit begins. For an example, see the Westward Expansion Photographic Analysis Activity. Alternately, refer to the Learning Page workshop, Students As Historians, for teaching guides on photographic analysis.

Overview  |  Teacher's Guide