Use the photos posted in this feature for writing prompts, warm-up activities, drawing templates or as part of a photo analysis.
Teenagers at a Party, 1947 Tulsa, Oklahoma. Photo by Nina Leen for the LIFE Magazine.
“LIFE reported they ‘munch doughnuts and sip cokes whenever they are not dancing with serious faces to sentimental music.'”
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Use the photos posted in this feature for writing prompts, warm-up activities, drawing templates or as part of a photo analysis.
Couple at the sideshow, July 1942 Klamath Falls, Oregon. Photo by Russell Lee for the Office of War Information.
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We all (or most of us) know about the concept of persuasive writing, as this is one of the major focuses in our Language Arts curriculum. Getting students to understand the power that words have to influence and sway opinion one way or another or to reinforce already held beliefs. But what about visual representations of the same concepts?
This is where Persuasive Cartography, or map making, comes into play. These are not your typical maps that would be found in an atlas or even used to teach basic geography, but are rather intended to send a message to the viewer. The PJ Mode Collection at Cornell University is an open source collection of 800+ of these maps that cover a variety of topics and time periods and is fully searchable and easy to browse:
What’s also nice is each map in the collection is able to be downloaded for use in the classroom, made into a poster or handout for tabletop activities, and fully sourced for citation purposes.
For more information, OpenCulture published an article detailing the collection and persuasive mapmaking as a whole that you might find informative.
Potential use in the classroom: As a warm-up or discussion activity around historical events in your course, or as a discussion kickstarter for the topic of persuasion and propaganda.
Recommended grade levels: 7-12.
Use the photos posted in this feature for writing prompts, warm-up activities, drawing templates or as part of a photo analysis.
April 1939. “Old Negro [former slave] with horn with which slaves were called; Near Marshall, Texas.” Additional title: [An African American man sitting in doorway and holding a horn, April 1939.] Gelatin Silver print by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration.
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Use the photos posted in this feature for writing prompts, warm-up activities, drawing templates or as part of a photo analysis.
March 1957. “Women on board destroyer U.S.S. Maddox posing with sailors, modeling clothing with a nautical influence.” Photos by Christa for the Look magazine assignment “The Middy Look — Summer Clothes Go Nautical.”
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Use the photos posted in this feature for writing prompts, warm-up activities, drawing templates or as part of a photo analysis.
June 1937. “Child of Texas migrant family who follow the cotton crop from Corpus Christi to the Panhandle.” Photo by Dorothea Lange.
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Use the photos posted in this feature for writing prompts, warm-up activities, drawing templates or as part of a photo analysis.
1917. “Members of a chain gang building roads for the state of South Carolina. Camp Wadsworth, Spartanburg, SC”.
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Use the photos posted in this feature for writing prompts, warm-up activities, drawing templates or as part of a photo analysis.
Washington, D.C., circa 1910. “Ambassador White at Poet Miller Cabin, Meridian Hill.” This is the former home of poet Joaquin Miller, “Poet of the Sierras,” relocated to Rock Creek Park in 1911 to make room for Henry White’s mansion. It remains the only example of a late 19th century wooden cabin in Washington DC, and is a US Historic District Contributing Property. [WIKIPEDIA]
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Use the photos posted in this feature for writing prompts, warm-up activities, drawing templates or as part of a photo analysis.
Here is a fun “then and now” photo, showing a Manhattan storefront in 1937 with the plethora of accompanying signage and distinctive architecture. Today it is a very non-descript, generic Starbucks (See below) [GOOGLE MAPS]
May 7, 1937. “William Goldberg, 771 Broadway, Manhattan.” 8×10 gelatin silver print by Berenice Abbott for the Federal Art Project.
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Use the photos posted in this feature for writing prompts, warm-up activities, drawing templates or as part of a photo analysis.
The Jersey Shore circa 1908. “The bathing hour, Atlantic City.” 8×10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company.
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