J. Paul Getty Trust
Writing the Artist's Statement
Learners read and write an artist's statement. In this artist's statement lesson, students read Dorothea Lange's artist statement before writing one of their own about their photography. They examine their own photography and use...
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...
Curated OER
Breaking the Chains: Rising Out of Circumstances
Study history through photographs. In this visual arts and history activity, learners learn to analyze photographs to discover details about life during the Civil War era. Students write journal entries as if they are the...
Curated OER
Photo Scavenger Hunt
Learners celebrate Earth Day by applying what they've learned about studying the natural world. In this Photo Scavenger Hunt lesson plan, students use a digital camera to capture outdoor imagery and to help them understand the...
Curated OER
Photojournalism
High schoolers choose a historical or present-day event to portray through photographs. They narrate this event with photographs and text to communicate its significance in history or our current daily lives.
Curated OER
U.S. History: Technology of the 19th Century
Eighth graders, working in pairs, explore the technological advances of the 19th century particularly photography. Researching on the Internet, they find the earliest photograph and prepare to use notes to answer questions about the...
Curated OER
Photography in the Holocaust
Students analyze photographs for the use of propaganda. They explore the idea of having photos used as historical documents. Students realize the importance of having photos to tell stories.
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
French Realism and Its Place in History
Students can gain a greater understanding of 19th century Europe by focusing on French Realism.
Curated OER
Walter Cronkite: Witness to History
Students brainstorm a list of news sources. They interview people about today's media and discuss their results. After watching segments of a film about Walter Cronkite, they role play as reporters and subjects from an historic period...
Curated OER
Forest History for Kids
Students explore the Forest and the vocabulary associated with it. In this Forest activity, students take the roles of photographer and reporter to examine an area of land for evidence of past life. Students take a close-up and complete...
Curated OER
Digital Time Capsule
Students discover ways to pass on stories to future generations by creating a time capsule. In this history preservation instructional activity, students utilize a digital camera/camcorder to record their daily lives which is turned...
Curated OER
Cloud in the Classroom
Learners watch a video about wild stallions and conduct research about wild horses and wildlife photography. Students explore the relationships between animals and humans and conduct Internet research about the treatment of wild horses...
Curated OER
What Concepts are being presented
World War II, WWII, the Holocaust, the Rise of the Nazi Empire, Concentration Camps, the effect on children. The first 9 slides are of images and scenes of WWII, Black and white photography Slides 10 to 20 show present day photos of...
Stanford University
Civil War Photographs
One of the first photographed images of the Civil War give historians a glimpse of the realities of war. By viewing images from the war—including pictures of those killed in the bloodiest battles—learners experience the war's impact...
Curated OER
A Visual Connection to the Past
Celebrate National Photo Month by engaging pupils in a community history project.
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
Public Service Graphic Design
Twelfth graders create a billboard design (on the computer) to promote and increase awareness of a social problem. Students conduct research of public service issues that are of interest to them. They collect photos and images through...
Curated OER
Presidential Places Quilt
Young scholars design historical quilts. In this presidential history lesson, students research past presidents and landmarks named for them. Young scholars create quilt squares to represent the landmarks and piece all of them together...
Brooklyn Museum
Lorna Simpson: Gathered
Lorna Simpson is a photographer who has put together a collection of photos from the 1950s in order to challenge the idea that primary source documents are objective in their portrayal of history. Learners are introduced to Ms. Simpson's...
Curated OER
What Are the Social Studies?
Identify core social studies subjects with adult learners. They will discuss key issues from twentieth century American history and identify key social studies concepts taught at elementary grade levels. They then modify this activity to...
Curated OER
Respect for Girls
Students gain a greater appreciation of women's contributions to history and culture. They product an iMovie based on the contributions of women.
Museum of Modern Art
Modern Art and Ideas
The Museum of Modern Art provides this educators' guide to Dada and Surrealism. Featuring the works of such artists as Jean Arp, Salvador Dali, Joan Miro, and Meret Oppenheim among others, the guide is ideal for art history and...
Annenberg Foundation
Native Voices
The Navajo people build their dwellings with the doors facing the rising sun in the east to welcome wealth and fortune. Pupils learn about the traditions of the Navajo people in the first part of a 16-part unit. They explore American...