Time Detective Teacher Notes

 

 

Introduction

The purpose of this lesson is to provide students with strategies for examining and analyzing images. They will discover that the process of viewing a photograph is similar to the process of reading and comprehending written text. Once students understand that documents can be read for implicit as well as explicit information, they will begin to appreciate that a good reader can read between the lines. In fact, a good reader can read a document and see what is not there.

Objectives


Time Required

3-5 class periods. Recommended as an introductory activity to using primary sources from this CD.

Recommended Grade Level

Grades 4 - 8

Curriculum Fit

United States History

California Content Standards: History/Social Studies

Grade 3: Continuity and Change
Students in grade three learn more about our connections to the past and the ways in which particularly local, but also regional and national, government and traditions have developed and left their marks on current society, providing common memories.

Grade 4: California: A Changing State
Students learn the story of their home state, unique in American history in terms of its vast and varied geography, its many waves of immigration beginning with pre-Columbian societies, its continuous diversity, economic energy, and rapid growth.

Grade 5: United States History and Geography: Making a New Nation
Students in grade five study the development of the nation up to 1850 with an emphasis on the population: who was already here, when and from where others arrived, and why people came.

Grades 6-8
In addition to the standards for grades 6-8, students demonstrate the following intellectual reasoning, reflection, and research skills:

Chronological and Spatial Thinking

1. Students explain how major events are related to each other in time

2. Students construct various timelines of key events, people, and periods of the historical era being studied

3. Students use a variety of maps and documents to identify physical and cultural features of neighborhoods, city, states, and countries and to explain the historical migration of people, expansion and disintegration of empires, and the growth of economic systems

Research, Evidence and Point of View

4. Students assess the credibility of primary and secondary sources and draw sound conclusions from them

5. Students detect the different historical points of view on historical events and determine the context in which the historical statements were made

Historical Interpretation

1. Students explain the central issues and problems of the past, placing people and events in a matrix of time and place

Materials

No additional materials or resources are required other than copies of the Time Detectives Lesson and the People of Sacramento CD-ROM.

Instructional Procedure

  1. Assist students in defining what a primary source is and how it differs from a secondary source.
  2. Have students brainstorm different types of primary sources (visual images as well as text).
  3. Hand out copies of the Time Detectives Lesson.
  4. Use student responses and background information to guide discussion.

Background Information for Photo Gallery

Evaluation and Extension

Ask for student input to develop a class rubric for evaluating performance or use the People of Sacramento holistic or analytical rubrics. As an extension, students could use the People of Sacramento collection to create their own Time Detective Adventure.

Return to Lesson

Lesson developed by Gail Desler, Elk Grove Unified School District, and Heidi Dettwiller, San Juan Unified School District