Lesson MINI

LESSON MINI

Image Exploration

Grade:

6-12

Topic:

Visual Literacy

Unit:

Image Study

Overview

In this lesson mini, students explore and analyze significant images related to their class’s topic of study. Students complete partial images using context clues, analyze full images, and add perspectives through speech bubbles. They decipher and expand photo essays by reading related articles and curating additional images. Finally, students examine details to understand their contribution to an image’s overall meaning and significance.

Ideas for Implementation

Core subjects

Arts and humanities

Library and media studies

STEM and technology

Physical education and health

Vocational and career-oriented courses

Interdisciplinary applications

Key Vocabulary & Definitions

analysis (noun): a detailed examination of the elements or structure of a subject, a situation, or an object

detail (noun): a small, specific part or piece of information within a larger whole or context

photo essay (noun): a series of photographs that work together to tell a story or explore a theme

Authentic Learning Extensions

Authentic learning opportunities for image exploration involve real-world experiences and practical applications that help students understand these concepts meaningfully. Here are some examples:

Photo Collage: Separate students into pairs and invite each pair to pick a topic for a photo collage. Give students time to find and print pictures they feel fit the theme of their collage and then to glue the pictures to a piece of paper. Then regroup and have each pair present its photo collage to the class.

Photo Scavenger Hunt: Introduce a topic for a photo scavenger hunt, such as culinary arts or public works. Separate students into pairs and give each pair a camera. Give students a set amount of time to take pictures that they feel fit the theme of the hunt. Then regroup and have each pair present its photo essay to the class.

Visit an Art Museum: Take students to an art museum and separate them into pairs. Encourage each pair to choose a piece of artwork to analyze and discuss using the questions in the Analyzing Images strategy.

Choose Activity

LESSON MINI

Image Exploration

Activity

1:

Complete the Image

By the end of the activity, students will be able to use context clues to complete and write dialogue for the characters in an image.

20-30

Minutes

Materials and Resources

Materials

Printed image cut in half (one half per student)

Sticky notes (one note per student)

Whiteboard and display

Resources

Implementation

Tell students that during today’s activity they will explore a new concept by analyzing an image.

Separate students into two groups: Group A and Group B. Give each student in Group A half of an image from Britannica School, ImageQuest or another approved royalty-free source. Give each student in Group B the other half of the image. Invite students to spend five minutes drawing what they think the rest of the image might look like.

Pair each Group A student with a Group B student. Invite pairs to put the two halves of the original image and their two drawings together, respectively. Invite students to discuss the following questions:

How close is your drawing to the actual image?

What did you draw correctly? Why did you draw that?

What did you draw incorrectly? Why did you draw that?

Now that you see the entire image, what does it show? What did the artist or photographer want to communicate?

Display the full image and explain how it is connected to the topic of study. For example, you might say the following (adapted from the Britannica School article Salem Witch Trials):

This lithograph print depicts the Salem witch trials. The Salem witch trials were a series of investigations and persecutions between 1692 and 1693 that led to the execution of 19 convicted “witches” and the imprisonment of many others in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. This artwork was created almost 200 years later in 1876, but it accurately captures the essence of the trials: neighbors accusing neighbors of witchcraft and the sentencing of suspected “witches” to death or imprisonment.

Familiarize yourself with the K-W-L instructional strategy and graphic organizer. Then invite students to create a K-W-L graphic organizer about the topic of study. Encourage them to fill out the K column with what they already know about the topic and the W column with what they want to know.

Consider suggesting that students use an article from the Britannica School database as they research the topic of study. Invite students to read the article, and encourage them to reference the image and their K-W-L chart as they read.

Lead a discussion about what students learned ,and invite them to take notes in the L column of their K-W-L chart. You might ask questions such as these:

What were the causes of the Salem witch hunts?

What were the trials like? How did the accusers behave? How were the accused treated? How are these dynamics communicated in the image?

How did the people of Salem Village feel during the witch trials? What was the general mood of the town? How is this mood communicated in the image?

Assign each student an element in the image, such as a character or an object. You can also separate students into groups or pairs and assign each group a character or an object. Give each student a sticky note, and invite them to draw a thought or speech bubble that includes what their element in the picture might be thinking or saying. Then ask them to stick their thought or speech bubbles to the image on the display. Model the activity before inviting students to begin.

Wrap up by reading or having students read the thought or speech bubbles aloud. Lead a discussion about students’ contributions and the benefits of image analysis. Consider using questions such as these:

What is your character’s role in the Salem witch trials? How do you know?

What does your character think about the accused? How do you know?

What information can you learn from reading an informational text about a historical event?

What kinds of information can you learn from an image of a historical event?

Differentiation and Variations

Begin with Reading: Instead of introducing the topic of study with the activity in which they complete the image, consider beginning with the Britannica School article and then inviting students to complete the image. This approach gives students some context surrounding the image, allowing them to form a more educated guess about how to complete it.

What’s Missing?: For a briefer and more targeted activity, consider providing each student with the whole image with one critical piece cut out. This works best when the topic of study is revealed by one element of the image, such as a crowd of people staring at an important object. Removing only one piece of the image can support students by giving them more context clues and helping them focus on the most essential elements.

One Group, Whole Image: For the activity in which students write thought or speech bubbles, consider separating them into groups. Provide each group with a large copy of the picture. Students can work together on all of the bubbles, or each can work on one. This allows students to consider the scene and discuss how characters’ observations and opinions might interplay.

Collaborative Teaching

Team Teaching: For collaborative teaching and learning environments, this learning activity is well suited to a Team Teaching strategy. In this model, both teachers deliver instruction together, often alternating or integrating their teaching styles seamlessly, sometimes referred to as “tag team teaching.” This collaborative approach provides students with multiple perspectives and teaching styles, enriching their learning experience. By modeling effective teamwork and communication, this approach demonstrates how different viewpoints can enhance understanding and create a dynamic and interactive classroom environment. Evidence indicates that team teaching can enhance student engagement and provide a richer, more diverse educational experience.

Pair Activity 1: Teacher A separates students into groups. Teacher B explains the activity. Both teachers visit in pairs as they work, answering questions and prompting discussion.

Pair Activity 2: Teacher B separates students into new groups. Teacher A explains the activity. Both teachers visit in pairs as they work, answering questions and prompting discussion.

Image Introduction and K-W-L: Teacher A displays the image. Teacher B introduces and describes the image. Teacher A adds details and context as needed and introduces the K-W-L activity. Both teachers visit and support students as they work.

Article: Teacher A introduces the chosen article. Teacher B introduces the discussion questions students should keep in mind while reading. Both teachers visit students as they work, encouraging students to stay on task and answer questions as needed.

Bubbles Activity: Teacher B assigns a character to each student and explains the bubbles activity. Teacher A models how to create a thought or speech bubble and adds it to an unassigned character. Teacher B answers any questions students have. Both teachers visit in pairs as they work, answering questions and prompting discussion.

Debrief and Wrap-Up: Teacher B reads the bubbles aloud while Teacher A prompts students to explain what they wrote. Both teachers contribute more context and information as needed.

Image Exploration

Activity

2:

Photo Essay

By the end of the activity, students will be able to create a photo essay about a specific topic.

>40

Minutes

Materials and Resources

Materials

Article from Britannica School, or another approved database, related to the topic of study

Devices (e.g., Chromebook, tablet) (one per student)

Photo essay example

Set of five images related to the topic of study with citations in APA format (one set per pair)

Whiteboard and display

Implementation

Prepare for the Activity:

Write the following citation format and example on the whiteboard.

Format: Last name, Initials. (Year). Image title [Format]. Site Name. or Museum, Location. URL

Example: van Gogh, V. (1889). The starry night [Painting]. Museum of Modern Art, New York City, NY, United States. https://www.moma.org/collection/works/7980

Prepare comprehension questions for students to consider as they read the Britannica School article, either on a handout or written on your whiteboard.

Tell students that today they will review images in a photo essay, or a collection of images that work together to tell a story, and then they will revise the photo essay by adding images to it.

Show students the example photo essay and discuss how the images work together to tell a story. Share the following definition:

photo essay (noun): a collection of images that work together to tell a story

Separate the class into pairs. Give each pair a set of images from Britannica School, ImageQuest or another approved royalty-free source.

Invite students to review the images and guess the topic of the photo essay. After five minutes, call on volunteers to share and explain their guesses. Ask follow-up questions such as the following:

Why do you think these images represent [topic]?

How does the picture of [subject] fit your guess?

What other guesses did your group discuss?

Reveal the topic of the photo essay. Describe how the different images work together to tell a story about the topic.

Invite students to use a computer to read the Britannica School article related to the photo essay topic. Provide comprehension questions for students to consider as they read. As an example, the following questions could accompany an article on Communication:

What methods of communication are described in the article?

What are some examples of nonverbal communication? Verbal communication?

What is negative entropy? Does it help or hinder communication?

What are the benefits of mass communication? What are the drawbacks?

Tell students that now they will add to the photo essay. Briefly model each of the following steps, then invite students to complete the activity in their pairs.

Skim the article again, and write down the most important information you want to represent in the photo essay.

Search Britannica School, ImageQuest or another royalty-free source for relevant images.

Collect at least three images to add to the essay. Add them to a new presentation or word-processing document.

Under each image, provide a citation and explain how the image adds to the photo essay. Direct students to the APA citation format or preferred citation style, and provide related examples on the whiteboard.

When each pair has collected, cited, and described at least three images, invite volunteers to display the chosen images and explain their reasoning. Note how each pair’s photo essay tells a slightly different story about the topic. Consider printing and displaying the finished photo essays.

Differentiation and Variations

Interconnected Visual Narratives: Assign related topics to students, encouraging them to explore connections between concepts, cause-and-effect relationships, or interrelated ideas through photo essays. Conclude with a discussion on essay relationships and potential integration. This activity enhances critical thinking, visual literacy, and collaboration while promoting creative expression and deep engagement with complex topics.

Personal Visual Narrative: Invite groups to create photo essays on personally significant topics, expressing themselves through carefully curated images that support a larger message. This self-directed approach fosters creative expression and critical thinking as students develop meaningful narratives and communicate ideas visually.

Collaborative Teaching

Alternative Teaching: For collaborative teaching and learning environments, this learning activity is well-suited to an Alternative Teaching strategy. In this model, one teacher instructs most of the class while the other works with a small group of students who need specialized attention or remediation. This provides targeted instruction for students who need extra help, ensuring they can keep up with their peers. It also allows for enrichment activities for advanced students, addressing diverse learning needs and ensuring that all students receive the appropriate level of challenge and support. Studies have shown that differentiated instruction significantly benefits students who have varied learning needs, leading to more equitable educational outcomes.

Introduction and Guess-the-Topic Activity: Teacher A introduces photo essays and explains the activity to the class. Teacher A separates most of the class into groups of three to five students while Teacher B gathers the remediation group. As most of the class completes the activity in their small groups, Teacher B leads a discussion with the remediation group and encourages them to guess the photo essay topic.

Topic Reveal: When the class reconvenes, the remediation group guesses the topic alongside other groups. Teacher A reveals the topic and explains how the different images in the photo essay work together to tell the story.

Article Reading: Teacher A invites students to read the article in their groups. Teacher B facilitates a read-aloud with the remediation group, offering scaffolds and context as needed and prompting students to consider the comprehension questions.

Photo Essay Curation Activity: Teacher A introduces the activity to the class and releases groups to begin work. Teacher B then leads the remediation group in a discussion, offering scaffolds and context as needed.

Presentations: Teacher A invites groups to present their photo essays. The remediation group presents their additions alongside other groups.

Image Exploration

Activity

3:

Zoom In, Zoom Out

By the end of the activity, students will be able to describe how details contribute to the larger message of an image.

30-40

Minutes

Materials and Resources

Materials

Image related to the topic of study with multiple significant details (one per student)

Tape

Whiteboard and display

Resources

Implementation

Prepare for the Activity:

Print one zoomed-in detail from the image for each group. Images can be found on Britannica School, ImageQuest or another approved royalty-free source. For example, you might crop the image of The Death of Socrates by Jacques-Louis David into four zoomed-in images: Socrates, draped in white, on the bed; Plato, wearing gray, at the end of the bed; Xanthippe, in the background, looking back as she walks up the stairs; and Crito wearing orange, sitting next to the bed.

Copy the discussion questions from step 3 of the Analyzing Images instructional strategy onto your whiteboard or display.

Tell students that today they will analyze an image from two different perspectives. Analyzing the image will help them consider the topic the class is studying in depth.

Separate the class into groups of three to five students, and give each group a zoomed-in detail of the image. Invite them to use the questions from the Analyzing Images instructional strategy written on the board to examine and describe what they see.

Call on a volunteer from each group to display their zoomed-in detail. Use the questions from the Analyzing Images instructional strategy to prompt students to share what they discussed.

When all students have presented their details, display the full image. Invite students to tape their details to the matching spot on the full image.

Give a brief, factual overview of the full image, avoiding interpretation as much as possible. Point to relevant parts of the image as needed. For example, you might say the following:

This painting, The Death of Socrates, shows the moments before Socrates’ execution in 399 BCE. Socrates was arrested for heresy and corruption of youth, but he chose to die by poison rather than renounce his beliefs. A French artist named Jacques-Louis David painted this scene just before the French Revolution. The zoomed-in parts show key people present at the execution: Socrates; Plato, Socrates’ pupil; Crito, Socrates’ friend; and Xanthippe, Socrates’ wife.

Invite groups to revisit the questions using the Analyzing Images instructional strategy, focusing on the whole image. Additionally, ask them to consider how their zoomed-in detail contributes to the entirety of the image.

Lead a whole-class discussion about the entire image using the questions from the Analyzing Images instructional strategy. Consider adding more complex and specific questions to the whiteboard at this point. For example, if you’re discussing The Death of Socrates, you might ask the following:

What is the artist’s opinion of Socrates? How do you know?

What is the significance of the cup that is being handed to Socrates? What is Socrates’ attitude toward the cup?

Why do you think Jacques-Louis David chose to paint this scene? How might it relate to the French Revolution?

Ask each group to connect its detail to the whole image. For example, you might ask the following questions:

How does your zoomed-in detail fit into the whole image?

How does seeing the whole image change or enrich your understanding of your detail?

How does your detail contribute to the message of the image?

Conclude the activity by summarizing students’ analyses of the image and reviewing how the image contributes to understanding the study topic.

Differentiation and Variations

One Object: Consider providing groups with images of the same object but zoomed in to showcase different levels of detail. For example, have students analyze photographs of a plant cell, a group of plant cells, a zoomed-in picture of a leaf, a whole leaf, and a full plant. Lead a discussion about what is revealed by each image. This approach enhances learning by helping students understand the relationships between different scales and levels of organization within a system, promoting a more holistic understanding of the subject.

As a Group: Consider having students engage in whole-class analysis of one zoomed-in detail and then the full image. This approach gives students who are new to image analysis a scaffolded introduction to the practice and allows you to guide students’ observations and discussions to support their understanding better. This support helps students develop critical thinking skills and learn how to approach complex visual information systematically, a skill that can be applied to various subjects and real-world situations.

Collaborative Teaching

Alternative Teaching: For collaborative teaching and learning environments, this learning activity is well-suited to an Alternative Teaching strategy. In this model, one teacher instructs most of the class while the other works with a small group of students who need specialized attention or remediation. This provides targeted instruction for students who need extra help, ensuring they can keep up with their peers. It also allows for enrichment activities for advanced students to address diverse learning needs and ensure that all students receive the appropriate level of challenge and support. Studies have shown that differentiated instruction significantly benefits students who have varied learning needs, leading to more equitable educational outcomes.

Introduction and Detail Activity: Teacher A introduces the activity to the whole class and explains the activity. Teacher A separates most of the class into groups of three to five students while Teacher B gathers the remediation group. As most of the class works in small groups, Teacher B facilitates a discussion with the remediation group about their assigned detail using the questions written on the board.

Detail Presentations: When the class reconvenes, the remediation group presents its detail alongside other groups. Teacher B prompts and supports students in the remediation group as needed.

Image Reveal: Teacher A reveals, explains, and contextualizes the image for the class.

Full Image Activity: Teacher A explains the activity. As most of the class works in small groups, Teacher B facilitates a discussion with the remediation group about the entire image and how their detail contributes to it, using the questions written on the board.

Discussion: Teacher A facilitates a whole-class discussion about the questions on the board and invites each group to discuss its detail in the context of the whole image. The remediation group contextualizes its detail alongside other groups with support from Teacher B as needed.

Image Exploration

Activity

4:

Minutes

Materials and Resources

Materials

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Resources

Implementation

Prepare for the Activity:

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Differentiation and Variations

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Collaborative Teaching

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Image Exploration

Activity

5:

Minutes

Materials and Resources

Materials

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Resources

Implementation

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Differentiation and Variations

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Collaborative Teaching

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