<p>With this collection, students will use a version of the Zoom In thinking routine to analyze several flags with an eye toward creating their own flag at the end of the lesson.</p> <p>The Guiding Questions used in this lesson are:</p> <p>-How did the United States flag change over time?</p> <p>-Why do countries feel that it's important to have a single flag?</p> <p>The Big Idea for this lesson is:</p> <p>Simple symbols, like the those presented on flags, can represent a lot about a country's past and what makes that country unique.  </p> <p>In this lesson, students will begin by exploring the collection and answering, using the quiz tool,  the questions embedded about the two early versions of the American flag.  The questions push students to analyze each flag, consider how versions of the American flag changed, and think critically about how symbolism can be used in a flag to represent unique and/or historical aspects of a country. </p> <p>Once students have completed the quiz questions, the teacher will call them together to discuss  the evolution of the American flag and what the elements of the flag's current and former designs represent.  The teacher will then turn the class's attention to the Washington DC flag and reiterate that its design was taken from George Washington's English ancestry.  Using this as another example of a flag drawing upon elements of history, the teacher will  make the point that the DC flag hasn't changed in appearance in over 80 years.  </p> <p>The class will brainstorm what they feel are the most important and/or interesting aspects of DC history based on what they have studied.  They will then brainstorm symbols that could be used to abstractly represent elements of DC's unique past, status, and culture.  </p> <p>Once a number of good ideas have been generated, each student will have the chance to create their own version of the DC flag, either modifying the exiting version of creating a completely new design.  On the draft sheets will be a checklist that focus's students attention on the  most important aspects of any flag, namely its symbolism and its connection to the history of the place it represents.  </p> <p>If the teacher wishes to make this a longer activity featuring multiple drafts, he or she can consider looping in the art teacher to discuss concepts of sketching and design.  </p> <p>#LearnwithTR</p> <p><br /></p> <p><br /></p> <p></p>

<p>This is a collection of mostly portraits attributed to Scurlock Studios in the early and mid 20th century.  The collection can be used as the basis for a one day lesson that touches on both famous African Africans in the 20th century and an interesting aspect of local, Washington DC  history.  </p> <p>The Guiding Questions for the lesson are:</p> <p>- Why was photography such an important medium in the 20th century?</p> <p>- How did Scurlock Studios benefit not only the African American community in DC, but also African Americans throughout the country?</p> <p>The Big Idea of the lesson is:<br /></p> <p>The way people and events are depicted in media can have a powerful impact on how those people and events are understood by the country at large. <br /></p> <p>The lesson will require each student to have a computer with which they can view the seven pictures in the collection from Scurlock Studios.  Using the hot spot function, students will spent 15-20 minutes exploring the collection and the information embedded within.  They will then fill out the front side of the worksheet titled Scurlock Studios. </p> <p>Once all students have completed this portion of the worksheet, the teacher will pause the class to read the brief summary paragraph from the Portraits of a City website that gives background on Scurlock Studios.  The teacher will then have the students listen to the short interview with Scurlock's son describing his father (the teacher may also want to print the text of that interview contained on the website so that students can follow along).  </p> <p>Following the interview, the teacher will  lead a discussion about the photos, asking questions such as, but not limited to:</p> <p>What was your favorite photo?  Why?</p> <p>What did you notice about these photos?  (They are mostly pictures of famous African Americans)</p> <p>How are the people in the photo presented?  (In a proud, favorable light)</p> <p>The teacher will then refer to the back side of the worksheet and lead a discussion around the two questions relating to the treatment of African Americans in the 20th century, and the limited availability of technology at the time.  </p> <p>Once the teacher feels that most students have a general understanding of how Scurlock Studios helped disseminate positive portrayals of African Americans, he/she will give students 5-10 to write out an answer to the last question on the back of the worksheet: </p> <p><u>Why do you think Scurlock Studios was so important to African Americans in both Washington DC and across the country?</u> </p> <p><br /></p> <p><br /></p> <p>#LearnWithTR</p>

<p>These six images give a glimpse of the damage done during the 1968 riots on U street following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King.  The images are all attributed to Scurlock Studios, which students will study more in depth in a separate collection.  </p> <p>The two day lesson centered around this collection begins with a gallery walk.  The Guiding Question for this lesson are:</p> <p>-What can primary source photographs tell us about an event in history?</p> <p>-How did the 1968 riots change Washington DC?</p> <p><br /></p> <p>The Big Idea for this lesson is:</p> <p>One event can have lasting effects on the history of a place.</p> <p> Each student will have a packet featuring  six 'See, Think, Wonder' pages, and a final page titled 'Gallery Walk Debrief.'  On Day 1, computers will be set up at six tables throughout the classroom, with all computers on a given table showing one of the six images in the collection.  At the teacher's direction, student partnerships will have 3-5 minutes to stop at each station and fill out one of the 'See, Think, Wonder' pages.  <br /></p> <p>At the conclusion of the gallery walk, student will meet with their partner for approximately 3 minutes to discuss the important question on the last page of their packet: 'Based on the images you viewed, how do you think the riots on U Street changed Washington DC?'  Once students have discussed, they will have approximately 5 minutes to write at least two sentences in response to this question.</p> <p>On Day 2 of the lesson, the teacher will use a projectable screen in the class room  to walk through the interactive Washington Post article about the 1968 riots, allowing time to pause and watch each embedded video and answer any pressing questions.  </p> <p>At the conclusion of the article, students will spend approximately 5 minutes at their tables discussing how their understanding of the 1968 riots has changed or expanded based on the Washington Post piece.  The teacher will then lead a discussion that should convey, at the very least, the following points:</p> <p>-The U Street riots were widespread and caused major damage to areas of the city including but not limited to the U Street Corridor.  </p> <p>-Many business' in DC were forever wiped out because of the riots and entire neighborhoods took, in some cases, decades to fully recover.</p> <p>- Martin Luther King's death served as the final straw for many African Americans both in DC and around the country who had long been suffering under the crippling effects of segregation, discrimination, and racism.  </p> <p>- Following the 1968 riots, most white people left the city.  </p> <p>Following the teacher discussion, students will have approximately 5 minutes to write down an answer to the single question on the worksheet titled Washington Post Article Debrief:  After viewing the Washington Post article about the 1968 riots, what new information did you learn about how the 1968 riots changed Washington DC?</p> <p>#LearnWithTR</p> <p><br /></p> <p><br /></p> <p><br /></p>