“The American West: Images of Its People”
This is a sweet little lesson on “The American West: Images of Its People” from the Library of Congress. A picture says a thousand words: And this is a very visual generation. It meets both Common Core and Nevada State Standards for 6-8 grades. This lesson could be an easy collaboration with the English department. It includes four different galleries of photos (three each). It’s also very inclusive and shows what life was like in many different cultures and communities. This lesson would be perfect for a gallery walk in the hallway - and is most likely to generate some school-wide buzz.
From the Lesson Overview: Different peoples have contributed to the history of the western United States. To gain an understanding and appreciation of this history, students investigate the region's cultures and identify the contributions that each make to the whole. This unit leads students to recognize cultural elements through the analysis of photographs from American Memory. Using thematic galleries of photographs, students develop questions about the photos for further research into the region's history and culture Collaboration with language arts teachers is recommended.
From Lesson Objectives: Students will be able to identify cultural components or photographs; analyze photographs; develop questions about the photos based on these observations; and show their interpretation of the photos by writing first person narratives about the photos.
From the Lesson Overview: Different peoples have contributed to the history of the western United States. To gain an understanding and appreciation of this history, students investigate the region's cultures and identify the contributions that each make to the whole. This unit leads students to recognize cultural elements through the analysis of photographs from American Memory. Using thematic galleries of photographs, students develop questions about the photos for further research into the region's history and culture Collaboration with language arts teachers is recommended.
From Lesson Objectives: Students will be able to identify cultural components or photographs; analyze photographs; develop questions about the photos based on these observations; and show their interpretation of the photos by writing first person narratives about the photos.
http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/lessons/our-people/