Curated OER
The History of Photography
By discussing the history of photography, students can learn about this art and its importance in recording major events.
Curated OER
Read All About It! California History of the 30s and 40s
Explore the Great Depression! Discover the challenges people experienced during the time period. Learners investigate photographs from the Dust Bowl and WWII era and create a story line about the photographs, writing a newspaper article...
Curated OER
Putting a Face on History with Photographs
Use the Library of Congress to draw your students into history through photographs.
Curated OER
Breaking the Chains, Rising Out of Circumstances
Discuss the history of slavery by analyzing historic photography depicting slavery. Learners write fictional stories based on these photographs. This is a creative and motivating way to launch a discussion of these topics.
Curated OER
Intermediate Critical Reading - Photography
Inform your class about the origins of photography with this short passage and accompanying questions. After reading a short informational text, leaners answer 3 questions about the content of the text. This resource could be used in a...
Curated OER
A Soldier's View of the American Civil War
Study and research the American Civil War in this explanatory writing lesson plan. Middle schoolers complete six activities to learn about the American Civil War and soldiers' views of the war. The lesson plan includes several options to...
Curated OER
Exploring History Through Photographs
A fascinating series of four lessons on how photography and society have evolved over time. These lessons bring in elements of art, math, social studies, and geography. Everyone gets to make maps, look at old photos, and take part in a...
TED-Ed
From Aaliyah to Jay-Z: Captured Moments in Hip-hop History
To take "the definitive portrait of that person in that moment" is the quest of photographer and hip-hop historian Jonathan Mannion. In this short video, Mannion details his dedication to his art and the process he goes through to catch...
Curated OER
Lesson: David Goldblatt: Structures and Normativity, looking at Photography
Art can be a vehicle for social change and cultural expression. Upper graders examine the art of photographer David Goldblatt, as it pertains to apartheid, South Africa, and the AIDS epidemic. Discussion questions and image links...
Curated OER
No Taxing of the Tea for Thee
Research the history of the Boston Tea Party. Learners read the book The Boston Tea Party and write down important facts. They use the Internet to continue their research and construct an art project of a boat that contains a tea bag.
Curated OER
Aerial Photography
Eleventh graders compare the artistic values of Terry Evans' photography with LandSAT images and other images made for purely scientific, government and commercial purposes. They consider the artistic choices made in aerial photography.
Facing History and Ourselves
The Power of Images
One picture but a thousand stories. As a part of a case study of how the death of Michael Brown was reported by professional news sources and on social media class members examine the reactions of various groups to a photograph taken by...
Curated OER
What would Monet do with a digital Camera?
Students take ditigal pictures of any subject. Using Photoshop Elements, students organize and save their pictures. They edit the pictures using a Paint Dabs filter. Students discuss their photographs and how photography influenced the...
Civil War Trust
Civil War Photography: Photography as a Primary Source
Can we learn a thing or two about history by looking at pictures from the past? As young historians view 2-D and 3-D primary source photographs, they respond to a series of worksheets that guides them toward unveiling clues...
Curated OER
Photography and the National Park Service
During the 1800s the United States was expanding westward; land was there for the taking. Kids explore how some early photographers used their photography to influenced the US Congress to save areas like Mirror Lake. They...
Curated OER
Rural Voices Through Photography
Students research the history of the Depression particularly in the ways it was documented by photography. Then they take their own pictures in the style of one of the best documentarians, Dorothea Lange.
National First Ladies' Library
The Power of Images in Shaping Ideas
Learners examine the role of photography in recording and sharing history. They view online photos that Life magazine has identified as changing the world, then conduct research on one of the photos. Students create and present an oral...
J. Paul Getty Trust
Exhibiting Common Threads
Artists working in different media often explore the same themes—to model how these same themes weave their way through different forms of artistic expression, scholars analyze images by Dorothea Lange, identifying key themes in her...
American Battlefield Trust
Gettysburg Virtual Tour
Step into one of the most iconic battlefields of the American Civil War with an educational interactive resource. Young historians learn about key moments, locations, soldiers, and turning points in the battle with a clickable map and...
Oklahoma City of Museum Art
Harlem Renaissance
Individuals expressed the Harlem Renaissance in diverse forms of art, ranging from poetry to photography to painting. Learners explore pieces using a carefully curated collection from the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. Included lessons ask...
Curated OER
Photographs and History
Students prepare for a visit to the National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC, to preview a photo exhibit (specifically of James Van Der Zee). This lesson could be adapted when viewing any photo exhibit.
Curated OER
A Lens into the Past
Explore the history of immigration through photographs. Scholars will view and discuss photographs depicting the culture and lifestyle of late 19th and early 20th century immigrants. They take pictures of current examples of culture in...
Curated OER
About Life: The Photographs of Dorothea Lange
Students use art to analyze a period in history. In this instructional activity about the effect of art on history, students study many different pieces of photography by Dorothea Lange. Students will observe photographs from certain...
Curated OER
On Deck of a Union Warship
Students examine role of Naval blockades in Union war strategy, and analyze primary source image "On Deck of a Union Warship" and make detailed observation about people and activities shown.