Sandra K. Friday
One of the skills that I want to teach students is to be able to look at a photograph and, ultimately, answer the question, "What is this person's story: socio-economic, cultural, and historical?" To answer this, it will be helpful and usually necessary along the way to answer several questions such as: "What is the
composition
of the photo: Is it made up of verticals/horizontals, borders, open/closed (are there walls blocking the view or is it open?" "What
props
are visible in the photo, including pictures or posters on walls?" "What is the
condition
of the room and items?" "How are the subjects clothed and what is the
condition
of the clothing?" "What do you think is the
significance of the proximity
of items and people to one another?" "What is the approximate
historical time
of the photograph?" "What
emotion
is
expressed
in the faces and body language of the subjects?" "If you were to write a
caption
for the photo, what would it be?" "If the person or people in the photo were
speaking
or having a
conversation
, what would they say?" And last, (the riskiest and most subjective), if you were to describe
what you feel
looking at this person or persons, what would you say?"
Once students have recorded their answers to these questions on a graphic organizer (see Appendix A), using their answers, they will write the story to go with the photo, including the
socio-economic
,
cultural
, and
historical
context of the person or persons. They will have practiced this in the modeling activities explained in the following section, and will use their
practice process
as a rubric for Parks' photos. As they write the story, they will include their reasons using the information they gathered on their graphic organizers. Once they have answered the questions and filled out the graphic organizer, they will have done a lot of preparation for the story they will write. Their response to each photo, including their graphic organizers and stories, will comprise a portfolio for each student.