A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words
Students will analyze documentary photographs and discuss their context in the history of the United States.
After you select the photograph, you will want to: (1) describe and analyze the image, and (2) think about the historical significance of that photograph.
***Use the google image directions at the bottom of the page to locate the necessary information about your photograph.
1. Introduction to Photograph: Provide some specific contextual information about the photograph: who took it, where, when, and what is the general scene being depicted? What historical details can you provide, if any, about the "who, what, where, and when" of the photograph? Most importantly explain why this photograph caught your eye.
2. More Broad Historical Context: provide information pertaining to the larger historical context of the photograph, that you think would help your reader better understand what your photograph is connected to on a more broad, historical level.
3. Analysis of the Photograph:
***Use the google image directions at the bottom of the page to locate the necessary information about your photograph.
1. Introduction to Photograph: Provide some specific contextual information about the photograph: who took it, where, when, and what is the general scene being depicted? What historical details can you provide, if any, about the "who, what, where, and when" of the photograph? Most importantly explain why this photograph caught your eye.
2. More Broad Historical Context: provide information pertaining to the larger historical context of the photograph, that you think would help your reader better understand what your photograph is connected to on a more broad, historical level.
3. Analysis of the Photograph:
- What is the setting or scene? What action is happening or has happened? What features of the photograph do you first notice? What features do you notice upon closer inspection?
- Who is in the photograph? Describe the physical characteristics of the people: what are they wearing? What do they look like? Describe their emotional or mental characteristics? What kind of expressions do they have?
- Look at the way in which the photograph is framed--what is the angle from which it is taken; what features are in the foreground, the background, off to the side, etc.? What seems to be emphasized the most, and how do the different figures--human otherwise--intersect or stand apart in the photograph?
- Why might this photograph have been taken? Why was this picture something that the photographer felt was important to capture? What draws you toward this photograph and make you interested in it?
- What do you think about the historical moment that is captured in this photograph? What about the photograph makes you think that way? How does the photograph shape your understanding of the historical moment?