Observe/See – Reflect/Think – Question/Wonder

Primary Source Analysis Tool 4th grade responses OBSERVE Girls have poofy sleeves. Teacher has long skirt. Everyone is paying attention. Teacher has good writing. Everyone is wearing weird shoes. Everyone has the same shoes. There are more girls than boys. Room looks very big. School looks old, like one my mom and dad went to. Room looks dirty, needs cleaning. The math on the board looks too easy. I see the flag hanging over the board. Teacher is going to write the word – has. Picture doesn’t have color. REFLECT QUESTION   Renee’s analysis tool

Primary Source Analysis Tool 4th grade responses OBSERVE REFLECT Must have taken a long time to get ready for school. Be hard to play in those cothes. The rest of the class must be at their desks. The room must be large to have a doorway that size. I wouldn’t take a picture where you can’t see the faces. Colored pictures make things look better. Boys are shorter than girls but maybe they are younger. Maybe the teacher said “take a picture of me teaching”. Maybe the teacher’s husband took the picture. I would want to be a tall person, so I could see. I would want to sit down and learn. I wonder if they say the Pledge of Allegiance. QUESTION   Renee’s analysis tool

Primary Source Analysis Tool 4th grade responses OBSERVE REFLECT QUESTION What were they learning –how to write or science? Is this a 2nd grade class? How long do they have to stand there? Were they learning poetry? Why did they get their picture taken? Is the girl in front because she doesn’t pay attention? Why doesn’t the teacher tell the short people to come to the front? Is this the whole class? Wonder if they wish they had smart boards? (big discussion followed) How long did school go? Was this school in Arizona? What else did they learn in school? Did they go home and change clothes right after school? What did they do after school ?   Renee’s analysis tool

Writing Prompts to follow – Pick one Student created prompts… What problems do you think the students had in the pictures below compared to students at schools now? What differences and similarities do you notice about schools long ago and schools today? Teacher created prompts … Research schools/communities/lifestyle in 1890s. Write a story about a day in the life of a student in the 1890s. Write about the lifestyle of the people in the 1890s.

Comments from teachers… Absolutely worthwhile ! Saw struggling students SHINE in this activity. Promoted the inferring skill in a fun, engaging way. This has lead to further discussions about history. We’re going to study an image every week and connect it to our Social Studies program. See pictures attached. All my students liked doing this. That doesn’t happen often! This is great for increasing thinking skills. I love history and yet had never experienced this website. Our class felt like detectives. When we went back to reading, we talked about using some of the same “detective” skills.