Teaching in the Visual Realm
Approaching a photograph, drawing, sheet music cover or political cartoon as a primary document can be an exciting experience for your students, as they gain information and insight. At the same time, the class can learn skills that transfer readily to written documents, such as recognizing bias and “author's” purpose, extracting information and using historical context. To help teachers take advantage of the opportunities imagery offers, we have developed Teaching in the Visual Realm, a workshop for social studies teachers that covers
* finding the most interesting and appropriate images for your class content (including the best Internet image sites).
* presenting images in the most effective way your technological resources allow (including basic PowerPoint training).
* viewing an image as a primary document rather than just an illustration.
* formulating questions that will help your students interpret and discuss images with interest and discernment.
* teaching your students to do image research independently.
Teaching in the Visual Realm is appropriate for teachers at all grade levels and can be tailored to your school or school district's available time and financial resources.
Students of all ages find this new access to American history challenges their preconceptions.
