What Can You Tell About a Person from a Picture?

What Can You Tell About a Person from a Picture?
Edith Wilson: Education, Arts, Letters and Ideas

Skill: Elementary School
Time Required: Two to three class periods


Standards Compliance
NCSS Strand 3
People, Places, and Environments
NCSS Strand 5
Individuals, Groups, and Institutions
NCTE Standard 1
Students read fiction, nonfiction, classic, and contemporary works to acquire information for various purposes.
NCTE Standard 5
Students use a wide range of strategies and elements to write to communicate with different audiences and for purposes.
NCTE Standard 8
Students use a variety of technology and information resources to gather, synthesize, and communicate knowledge.
ISTE Standard 3
Technology productivity tools
ISTE Standard 4
Technology communications tools
ISTE Standard 5
Technology research tools

Introduction:

   First Lady Edith Wilson was one of the most controversial First Ladies in American history.  Her dress and actions both before her marriage to Woodrow Wilson and as First Lady caused much debate.  In this lesson, students will develop some ideas about the First Lady from photographs of her during her life.

Objectives:

Students who participate in this lesson will search out photographs of Edith Wilson, and then consider what the photographs "say" about her as a person. 
 

Materials Required:

Internet access Access to print materials about the Presidents and First Ladies  Computer(s)  

Procedures:

1.  Tell students that they have been hired by the Smithsonian Institution to write the captions on pictures of the First Lady, Mrs. Edith Wilson, which are soon going to be put on display.

2.  Print pictures of Edith Wilson from the websites listed below.  Distribute one picture to each of several small groups of students.

3.  In small groups, students should study the picture of the First Lady that they have been given, noting everything they see in the picture and what it tells them about her as a person.  The group should write a caption for their picture, encompassing what they think about her from the clues in the picture.

3.  In each small group, one student should be assigned to report the captions.

4.  The captions and pictures can be mounted in a display in the classroom.

5.  Students should then read several biographies of Edith Wilson, and see if what they "saw" in her pictures is really the case.

Extending the Lesson:

This lesson could be extended to other historical persons, as introductions to units in which they are important parts.

Sources & Resources:

Websites:

Credits:

This lesson was developed by Marian Maxfield, Kent State University

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