Unit Plan
J. Paul Getty Trust

Picturing a Story: Photo Essay about a Community, Event or Issue

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Picture this. Class members follow in the footsteps of W. Eugene Smith, Dorothea Lange, James Nachtwey, and Lewis Hine by creating their own photo essay about a local event or issue.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Analysis of Dorothea Lange's Photographs

For Teachers 7th - Higher Ed
Young scholars analyze a photo of Dorothea Lange and make connections to its historical context by creating a written and visual response. In this photograph analysis lesson, students analyze Lange's photograph and explain the historical...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Photographs of Dorothea Lange

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine theme in the photography of Dorothea Lange. In this photography lesson, students analyze photography taken by Dorothea Lange and identify themes that run through each. They design an exhibition that shows how the theme...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Dorothea Lange and the Relocation of Japaneses Americans

For Teachers 7th - Higher Ed
Students analyze Dorothea Lange's photographs about Japanese American relocation. In this art and history instructional activity, students analyze a photograph about the relocation of Japanese Americans. Students discuss the impact of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Migrant Workers Through the Lens of Dorothea Lange

For Teachers 8th - 11th
Students explore the lives of migrant workers during the Great Depression. In this Great Depression lesson, students examine photographs and song lyrics to gain an understanding of the conditions for people living in the era. Students...
Lesson Plan
J. Paul Getty Trust

Exhibiting Common Threads

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
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...
Lesson Plan
J. Paul Getty Trust

Writing the Artist's Statement

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Learners read and write an artist's statement. In this artist's statement instructional activity, students read Dorothea Lange's artist statement before writing one of their own about their photography. They examine their own photography...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Photographs of Dorothea Lange

For Teachers 7th - Higher Ed
Students research social-documentary photography using Dorothea Lange’s documentary projects. In this photography analysis lesson, students analyze examples of photographs by Dorothea Lange and research one or more of Dorothea...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Dorothea Lange

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students explain that a person's experiences influence their life, write a time line of their life, and analyze Dorothea's photographs and list descriptive words.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Dorothea Lange and the Relocation of Japanese Americans

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Learners consider the relocation of Japanese Americans during World War II. In this Japanese relocation lesson, students examine photographs by Dorothea Lange, the "Pledge of Allegiance," and a US government flyer from 1942. They use...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

About Life: The Photographs of Dorothea Lange

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Reflections of Hunger and Poverty: the Works of Lange, Kollwitz, and Orozco

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students explore the Great Depression depicted in artwork. In this interdisciplinary lesson, students analyze artwork by Dorothea Lange, Kathe Kollwitz, and Jose Clemente Orozco. Students create brochures that feature details regarding...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

About Life: The Photographs of Dorothea Lange Image as Metaphor

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students define metaphor in both art and writing. In this metaphor lesson plan, students examine a photograph by Dorothea Lange and discuss the metaphor that is displayed in the picture. They write about an object that symbolizes a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Writing About Photographs: Responding to the Art of Dorothea Lange

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students view and discuss photographs by Dorothea Lange. They describe what they see, pose questions about the images, reflect on their personal responses, and create diaries written in the voices of individuals depicted in the images.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Exploring Photographs - Writing the Artist's Statement

For Teachers 7th - Higher Ed
Pupils read an artist's statement by Dorothea Lange and write a statement based on their own photographs. In this photograph and writing instructional activity, students examine the relationship between photography and the artist's...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Picturing a Story: Photo Essay About a Community, Event, or Issue

For Teachers 7th - Higher Ed
Students research Dorothea Lange's documentary projects and create their own photo essay about a subject. In this photo essay lesson, students analyze examples of social-documentary photographs of Lange. Students define a social...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Image as Metaphor

For Teachers 6th - 12th
A Dorothea Lange photograph launches this study of metaphors. Using the questions provided, the class examines the image and the title to consider how Lange uses her photo as a metaphor. Class members then select an object they can use...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Images of Children in Dorothea Lange's Photographs

For Teachers K - 5th
Students look carefully at two photographs by Dorothea Lange for elements of art and narrative content. They use descriptive language when speaking and writing about Lange's photographs of studenT lives.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Read All About It! California History of the 30s and 40s

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

DEVELOPING A MONOLOGUE OR JOURNAL ENTRY BASED ON PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE DUST BOWL

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students infer the emotions of various individuals portrayed in the photographs and depict these feelings in a monologue or journal entry. Students explore the verisimilitude of art to reality, sharing ideas and observations in class...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Working in Photographs

For Teachers K - 6th
Young scholars analyze illustrations of workers in the 19th and 20th centuries. In this social science lesson, students examine photographs of workers and identify the types of work that were available in the 19th century compared to the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Journal Response to Art

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders observe various photographs by Dorothea Lange and write reflections in a journal. In this photography lesson plan, 4th graders interpret photographs and do a variety of writing responses to the photographs they observe.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Journey and Change: The Migrant and Immigrant Experience

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students look carefully at two photographs by Dorothea Lange that relate to the universal theme of a journey. They identify parallels between Lange's photographs and two poems. They write about the theme of journey as it relates to their...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Image as a Metaphor

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Young scholars define "metaphor" and discuss examples of it in writing. They look carefully at a photograph by Dorothea Lange and discuss its relationship to the concept of metaphor. They write effectively about their own experience,...