Beach Scene (Children in Surf) Roland Schneider		Muscle Beach Max Yavno		Arbeit macht frei (Labor liberates) Jan van Leeuwen
Explore Art page (kid-friendly)		Explore Art page (kid-friendly)		Explore Art page (kid-friendly)
Georgia O' Keeffe, Ghost Ranch, New Mexico Arnold Newman		Highway Camp, Encinitas, California (Campamento en la Autopista) Don Bartletti
Explore Art page (kid-friendly)

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• Print the above images onto overhead transparencies.
• Study the images before you use them with your students. Try to see with your students’ eyes so that you can anticipate their responses.
• Memorize the questions and the questioning strategy.
• If possible, practice the strategy and paraphrasing with colleagues.
• Keep a journal to record your students’ progress and your reactions to the strategy.

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1. Introduce your students to the activity by explaining that they will be looking at and talking about pictures. You may wish to let them know that they will be examining photographs from different time periods and places.

2. Show one of the photographic images. Always give your students a moment to look in silence before you ask them anything and before they are allowed to speak. Stand near the projected image and study it along with your students. Do not read the title of the photograph to your students at this time. Let them make their own discoveries at this stage.

3. When ready ask, What’s going on in this picture? while pointing to the projected image. Ask your students to raise their hands so that they do not all speak at once.

4. As each student responds, point to the areas in the picture the student mentioned and paraphrase what is said: What I hear you saying is... or see below.

Example:
Susan (student): There’s a canyon and some houses.
You (while pointing): Susan says she sees a canyon and some buildings, which look like houses.

5. Confirm that what you paraphrase is what the student means by watching facial expressions and body language. If you are unsure of what a student means, ask the student, Do you mean...?

6. If a student makes an interpretive remark ask, What do you see that makes you say that?

Example:
Paul (student): The house is a happy place. (interpretive remark) You: What do you see that makes you say that?
Paul: It reminds me of my grandparents’ house where I used to spend my summers. I had a lot of fun there.
You: Paul sees a house in the picture, which reminds him of a place that holds happy memories.

7. To elicit responses from as many students as possible ask, What more can you find?

8. Let the discussion continue for about fifteen minutes or until your students seem to have run out of things to say. Then let them know that they did a good job looking at the first image and that they will look at another picture.

9. Project another photographic image and again, give your students a few moments to look in silence. When ready, use the same questioning strategy. Begin by asking, What’s going on in this picture? Ask, What do you see that makes you say that? to clarify interpretive remarks and finally, What more can you find? to encourage many different responses. Avoid asking other questions, especially those which are leading. Spend approximately fifteen minutes with each image.

Extensions
History-Social Studies: Choose a historical object and use the same VTS questioning technique to learn more about the object. Change the first VTS question to, What is this object?

Visual Arts and English-Language Arts: Students can choose one of the photographs and study the music and art of that time period. Students can use this research to create a multimedia presentation that reflects that time and culture.

Visual Arts and English-Language Arts: Students can use the CARE Web site or other Web sites displaying photographs to find images that show a variety of cultures. Students can then write a report or create a presentation that explains/demonstrates how these photographs reflect the various cultures and document history.

Visual Arts: Students can create a piece of artwork, using a variety of mediums, in response to one of the photographs.

Visual Arts: Students can research one of the photographers and write a report about this artist, incorporating other photographs and images. Students can also incorporate some of their own photographs and artwork into this report.

English-Language Arts: Students can write a paper comparing/contrasting two or more of the photographs. .

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• VTS can be used with any subject matter. Whether looking at a piece of artwork, an archaeological object, or a science object, the VTS questioning strategy can help your students look more critically at an object and make increasingly sophisticated observations.

• Don’t be surprised if you receive a variety of responses that do not seem logical to you. Beginner viewers see things idiosyncratically. Moreover, it is the nature of art to be somewhat open-ended. Students appreciate the fact that different interpretations are possible. Class discussions often develop a consensus about the meaning of a picture, which is usually quite accurate. Silly responses are eventually discarded as students are asked to ground their answers in what they see. Wildly off-base responses also fall by the wayside as students begin to figure out what makes sense.

• Create a comfortable setting for discussion. The questions are non-confrontational, they do not imply that students should know something or demand that they respond in any particular way. You may find this same questioning strategy useful with other art objects and other subject areas.

• Stick to the three basic questions, avoid asking leading questions. At this stage it is important to let the students make their own discoveries.

• Practice how you paraphrase your students’ comments. Paraphrasing helps students feel comfortable and confident about what they have to say, but it is not easy to do. Practice with colleagues or on your own in different situations.

• Point to the details your students mention, or ask them to do so if you do not see what they see. Let them get up from their seats to do this.

• Encourage all students to speak and allow them to finish their thoughts completely. You may have to encourage the quieter students. Much of the learning at this stage comes through the process of verbal expression. Speaking enables growth; the silent viewer may not grow commensurate with others.

• Let all students speak as much as they want to, even if they repeat what others have said, ramble a bit, or miss the point. This will stop after a few lessons. Also, make sure that each student feels that you value his/her contribution to the discussion, regardless of the originality, complexity, or accuracy of the remark.

• Don’t be surprised if there are answers with which you disagree. As long as students explain themselves in terms of what they see, it is better to let a “wrong” answer stand than to undermine students’ confidence by speaking out. Resist the temptation to make corrections, students are learning critical thinking skills in these lessons, not right answers. The method itself often leads to self-correction while students maintain some control of their learning.

• A summation or review is seldom essential. The experience itself is what is important. Generally, the lack of closure ensures that students will continue to seek out new insights from the images. If you feel that some closure is necessary, ask the students what they might like to remember and share with their families.

• All questions included are general. They are based on the kinds of questions, concerns, interests, and skills, which emerge in the initial stages of a beginner’s viewing history. The questions are designed to allow students to understand that the answers are within him or her. General questions help learners sort out and express what they already know. This questioning strategy is essential for developing sound reasoning, good judgment, and critical and creative thinking.

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CA Content Standards
Kindergarten Visual Arts
3.2 Identify and describe works of art that show people doing things together.

3.3 Look at and discuss works of art from a variety of times and places.

4.2 Describe what is seen (including both literal and expressive content) in selected works of art.

First Grade Visual Arts
3.2 Identify and describe various subject matter in art (e.g., landscapes, seascapes, portraits, still life).

3.3 View and then describe art from various cultures.

Second Grade Visual Arts
4.2 Compare different responses to the same work of art.

Third Grade Visual Arts
3.3 Distinguish and describe representational, abstract, and nonrepresentational works of art.

Fourth Grade Visual Arts
3.1 Describe how art plays a role in reflecting life (e.g., in photography, quilts, architecture).

4.3 Discuss how the subject and selection of media relate to the meaning or purpose of a work of art.

Fifth Grade Visual Arts
3.2 Identify and describe various fine, traditional, and folk arts from historical periods worldwide.

3.3 Identify and compare works of art from various regions of the United States.

Sixth Grade Visual Arts
3.3 Compare, in oral or written form, representative images or designs from at least two selected cultures.

Seventh Grade Visual Arts
3.2 Compare and contrast works of art from various periods, styles, and cultures and explain how those works reflect the society in which they were made.

4.3 Take an active part in a small-group discussion about the artistic value of specific works of art, with a wide range of the viewpoints of peers being considered.

Eighth Grade Visual Arts
3.1 Examine and describe or report on the role of a work of art created to make a social comment or protest social conditions.

3.2 Compare, contrast, and analyze styles of art from a variety of times and places in Western and non-Western cultures.

4.3 Construct an interpretation of a work of art based on the form and content of the work.

4.5 Present a reasoned argument about the artistic value of a work of art and respond to the arguments put forward by others within a classroom setting.

Ninth - Twelfth Grade Visual Arts
4.1 Articulate how personal beliefs, cultural traditions, and current social, economic, and political contexts influence the interpretation of the meaning or message in a work of art.

4.3 Formulate and support a position regarding the aesthetic value of a specific work of art and change or defend that position after considering the views of others.

Kindergarten English-Language Arts
1.2 Share information and ideas, speaking audibly in complete, coherent sentences.

2.1 Describe people, places, things (e.g., size, color, shape), locations, and actions.

First Grade English-Language Arts
1.5 Use descriptive words when speaking about people, places, things, and events.

2.4 Provide descriptions with careful attention to sensory detail.

Second Grade English-Language Arts
1.3 Paraphrase information that has been shared orally by others.

1.9 Report on a topic with supportive facts and details.

Third Grade English-Language Arts
1.1 Retell, paraphrase, and explain what has been said by a speaker.

1.2 Connect and relate prior experiences, insights, and ideas to those of a speaker.

Fourth Grade English-Language Arts
1.1 Ask thoughtful questions and respond to relevant questions with appropriate elaboration in oral settings.

1.2 Summarize major ideas and supporting evidence presented in spoken messages and formal presentations.

1.8 Use details, examples, anecdotes, or experiences to explain or clarify information.

Fifth Grade English-Language Arts
1.5 Clarify and support spoken ideas with evidence and examples.

Sixth Grade English-Language Arts
1.5 Emphasize salient points to assist the listener in following the main ideas and concepts.

1.6 Support opinions with detailed evidence and with visual or media displays that use appropriate technology.

Seventh Grade English-Language Arts
1.3 Respond to persuasive messages with questions, challenges, or affirmations.

Eighth Grade English-Language Arts
1.7 Use audience feedback (e.g., verbal and nonverbal cues)

1.9 Interpret and evaluate the various ways in which visual image makers (e.g., graphic artists, illustrators, news photographers) communicate information and affect impressions and opinions.

Ninth – Tenth Grade English-Language Arts
1.1 Formulate judgments about the ideas under discussion and support those judgments with convincing evidence.

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Teachers
History
Hopkinson, Amanda. 150 Years of Photojournalism. Volume II. Koln: Konemann; London: Hulton Deutsch Collection Ltd., 1995.

Sandler, Martin A. Photography, An Illustrated History, (Oxford Illustrated History). New York: Oxford University Press, Inc, 2002.

Stolley, Richard B. LIFE – Our Century in Pictures. New York: Little, Brown & Co., 1999.

A History of Photography: From its beginnings till the 1920’s
Essays on how photography began and information on some of the most significant processes used during the early days of photography. Includes an alphabetical list of significant people and their contribution to photography.

History of Photography Timeline
Timeline of photography from ancient times to 1997. Scroll down to see link on antique and classic cameras.

Museum of Photographic Arts
Permanent collections and current exhibits at the Museum of Photographic Arts, Balboa Park, San Diego, CA.

Technique
James, Christopher. Book of Alternative Photographic Processes. Albany, N.Y.: Delmar Thomson Learning, 2002.

Jones, Frederic H. Digital Photography Just the Steps for Dummies. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley, 2005.

Oelbaum, Zeva. Blue Prints: the Natural World in Cyanotype Photographs. New York: Rizzoli, 2002.

The Visual Classroom: Integrating Photography into the School Curriculum. Education Department: Museum of Photographic Arts, 2000. To order, call 619-238-7559x236 or E-mail edudept@mopa.org to order. It is $25. Additional shipping charges may apply.

Photographer’s Tool Kit: Alternative Photographic Process, Part II
Detailed explanation of the process of creating a cyanotype.

Photography for Kids: Photography Projects, Ideas, and Resources
A list of good Web sites for helping kids learn photography techniques, projects, cameras and optics, and history of photography. Includes book and software reviews.

Visual Thinking Strategies
Visual Understanding in Education (VUE) conducts educational research focused on aesthetic and cognitive development that results from interaction with art. Based on its findings, VUE develops programs for schools and museums, principally Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS).

Students
Arnold, Caroline. Sun Fun. New York: Watts, 1981.

Bidner, Jenni. The Kids’ Guide to Digital Photography: How to Shoot, Save, Play With & Print Your Digital Photos. New York: Lark Books, 2004.

Buckingham, Alan. Photography, DK Eyewitness Books. New York: Dorling Kindersley, 2004.

Friedman, Debra. Picture This, Fun Photography and Craft (Kids Can Do It). Toronto; Tonawanda, NY: Kids Can Press. 2003.

BetterPhoto for Kids and Teens
A site dedicated to kids and young adults interested in the art of taking pictures. Includes sections on pets, friends and family, vacations and more.

Hands of History of Photography
Entries on the history of sunprints, pinhole photography and camera obscura.

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