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The TimeLinks Image Archive is the largest online repository of visual archival materials depicting Manitoba History. In addition to complementing the textual portions of the TimeLinks site, the images stand on their own as a valuable resource for understanding turn-of-the-century Manitoba; how it functioned and how it imagined itself.
As we view photographs and other images, we must think of them as documents that were created at a certain place at a certain time, and with a specific purpose. We have to remember that photographs are made, not simply taken. They reflect a conscious purpose on the part of the photographer, and sometimes the subject. Sometimes we have direct information about the purpose of an image, such as those that we find on immigration brochures. At other times, we have to infer the purpose by examining the content and context of the image. Sometimes, the strongest message that we get from a photograph is the one that the original photographer or subject intended. At other times, we gain insights that were not intended or imagined at the time that the image was created.
The intention of these exercises is to encourage students to begin to think of the images in the TimeLinks collection not just as pictures or accurate representations of life in early twentieth century Manitoba but as documents with their own imbedded value statements. In many senses, interpreting a photograph is no different than interpreting a textual document like a letter or a newspaper editorial.
Several different approaches can be imagined to using the TimeLinks Image Archive in the classroom. Students can be assigned to work on individual or group projects where they examine either one image or a series of images. They can be asked to describe the image and it content and to try to decode the intention of the photographer or subject in creating the image. Students in the senior years could be asked to do further research into the subject depicted and to integrate their interpretation into a more detailed analysis of a broader historical context.
If you have the resources, specifically the capacity to project the images, photo interpretation can make an interesting group exercise as a whole classroom might get together and attempt to understand an image. With this in mind, we have created a page featuring a small selection of images that might serve as an introductory exercise in document interpretation. We would encourage teachers to create their own pages.
Photo interpretation can make an interesting group exercise as a whole classroom might get together and attempt to understand an image. With this in mind, we have created a page featuring a small selection of images that might serve as an introductory exercise in document interpretation. We encourage teachers to create their own pages.
Classroom Exercise - Exercise #1
Grade Levels:
Senior Years (can be adapted for younger students)
Description:
An oral image interpretation exercise for Senior III classrooms
Requirements:
A classroom equipped with an LCD projector and an Internet connection
or
A classroom equipped with an overhead projector and prepared transparencies of the image selectionTime Required:
75 minutes
Resources:
Download classroom exercise (PDF format)
Worksheet #1
Grade Levels:
Senior Years (see exercise #2 below for younger students)
Description:
A template for interpreting an historic photographic image. Can be used as a the basis for an individual or group project that requires students to use their research skills to develop an analysis of one or more images of their own choosing from the TimeLinks Image Archive. This activity can take the form of a written exercise, an oral presentation, or the creation of an HTML document incorporating images and text.
Requirements:
Internet access to the TimeLinks Image Archive for each student or working group
Time Required:
One classroom period plus assignment completion time
Resources:
Download worksheet #1 (PDF format)
Worksheet #2
Grade Levels:
Grade 6 through Middle Years (see exercise #1 above for older students)
Description:
A template for interpreting an historic photographic image. Can be used as a the basis for an individual or group project that requires students to develop an analysis of one or more images of their own choosing from the TimeLinks Image Archive. This activity can take the form of a written exercise, an oral presentation, or the creation of an HTML document incorporating images and text.
Requirements:
Internet access to the TimeLinks Image Archive for each student or working group
Time Required:
One classroom period plus assignment completion time
Resources:
Download worksheet #2 (PDF format)
Page revised: 29 August 2009
