Photographs of immigrants from the early 1900s offer important insights into their communities. At the same time, photographs from the era required long exposure times, were taken in black and white, and did not always provide a complete or unbiased view of reality. In this inquiry, students explore images of Chinese immigrant communities in the United States. The photographs in the source set were intentionally selected to highlight this duality: they capture key details but also prompt the viewer to ask questions.
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About the inquiry
Compelling Question
How well do photographs reveal a community? (Immigration)
Standards
D2.His.8.9-12. Analyze how current interpretations of the past are limited by the extent to which available historical sources represent perspectives of people at the time.
Instructional Snapshot
Class begins with a whole-class brainstorm around the question “What defines a community?” If needed, the teacher may encourage students to consider how they would define the communities they are a part of to help generate ideas. The teacher may emphasize that asking questions is central to the work of historians—even if not all questions can be answered.
Next, the teacher distributes copies of immigrant community photographs in the featured source set to each small group. Working together, students carefully analyze the photographs, generating questions about each photograph. They may record their questions directly on the images, on sticky notes, or on the graphic organizer.
The teacher then brings the class back together to introduce the compelling question—How well do photographs reveal a community? In their groups, students select one photograph from the set and discuss what they would need to know to answer the compelling question. Again, students should record their questions on the image, on sticky notes, or on the graphic organizer. Students can share their questions with the class. As an extension, students could conduct research to answer the questions they generated.
Summative Performance Task
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Taking Informed Action
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