Farm and Rural Life: 1939-1945
Grade Levels: 3 - 5
Overview
Students use an online resource to view photographs depicting rural and factory life in the United States during the years 1939 – 1945. Then they describe one photograph and what it reveals and obscures about a particular time and place.Objective
Students will practice using information provided to make inferences.Materials
Procedure
- Tell students they are going to use the World Wide Web to take a look at
America's past specifically, rural and factory life in the 1930s and 1940s.
Review with them the information they have learned about earlier Americans.
- Direct students to Color Photographs from
the FSI and OWI, 1939 – 1945. Have them click on "Subjects Index" to find alphabetical
subject listings. Subjects of special interest
might be "Children" or photographs taken in either your state or a neighboring
one.
- When students find a subject of interest, they can click on it to see a
small version of the photograph, and then click on that to see it in a larger
format. If there is more than one photograph on the subject, the titles
of all the relevant photographs will appear.
- After students find a photograph that appeals to them, discuss the role of
photographs as historical records.
- Help students analyze what the photo
shows about the past and what the photographer is trying to say. Encourage
them to think both about what is in the photo and what might have been left
out.
- In the classroom, distribute the "Farm and Rural Life – 1939 – 1945" worksheet. Tell students
that they are going to closely observe and then tell the story of a photograph.
Remind them that part of their task will be to use the information in the
photograph to infer what is missing.
- Allow time for students individually or in small groups to browse through the subjects and select a photograph to describe. Encourage students to share their completed descriptions and discuss differing interpretations.
Extension
Students might enjoy going to the American Memory website to browse through the list of all the American Memory Collections.
Provided by Scott Foresman, an imprint of Pearson, the world's leading elementary educational publisher. Its line of educational resources supports teachers and helps schools and districts meet demands for adequate yearly progress and reporting.
