THE ACTIVITIES
THE BIG PICTURE

Description: Create a photo history of urban and suburban growth in towns and cities of student's choice.

GO DIRECTLY TO:

• Goals and Objectives
• Procedure and Teaching Suggestions
• Student Activity
• Extension
• Additional Internet Resources

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

	Materials and Equipment To perform this activity students may contact their local or state museum for referrals of people to speak with concerning history and development of their chosen city. Research historical documents Photo journals or albums

The activity will involve students and their chosen community in a project that will use old photographs to illustrate the historical development of a town or city from original settlement or era to present time.

To create within the students an awareness and understanding of the social, political and environmental impact of residential and commercial development on original resources of a city and surrounding communities.

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PROCEDURE AND TEACHING SUGGESTIONS

Present helpful approaches for this project. Guide students in current research procedures and resource accessibility. The National Portrait Gallery, The Smithsonian Institution and American Memory are organizations from which photographs for almost any period in American History may be ordered. Instruct students on digital imaging, which allows many photographs to be scanned or downloaded and copied to disks for viewing on personal computers. Students are able to search, find and download images from the Internet for their own presentation.

Introduce students to a graphic organizer or chart as follows which is often helpful in delivering a clear presentation:

• Identify Place
• Time Period of Photo/Postcard
• Changes noted and related community needs
• How do these changes and needs contribute to SPRAWL?

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STUDENT ACTIVITY

1. Research given time period to locate photos, post cards and related articles in order to create a progressive time line of the development of a city or town. (Research, Web Quest, Technology).
2. In addition to documenting progressive, historical growth, explain how the changes in the photos and postcards reflect a response to community needs and contribute (d) to resulting contemporary sprawl problems.
3. Exchange photo albums with other students to compare and contrast various cities' growth and growth problems and solutions. Students discuss their research and conclusions.

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Instead of debating whether growth will occur, our communities should be discussing the patterns of development: where we put it, how we arrange it, and what it looks like. If they start from this premise, today's builders can take several steps to alleviate public opposition to development. —Edward T. McMahon director, American Greenways Program, the Conservation Fund Smart Growth: Myth and Fact, Washington, DC: ULI-Urban Land Institute, 1999

EXTENSION

Plan an exhibit for the school, public library, courthouse or other location in town.

Students may take their own photographs to create a wall calendar, poster collage, power point presentation, or documentary film which extends their learning to various and other formats. This is excellent or Senior Project extension.

Conduct interviews with local politicians and government officials regarding the development of the city or town and related issues to sprawl. Use interview segments as captions for photos.

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ADDITIONAL INTERNET RESOURCES

Helpful Publications and Links

• http://www.mtsu.edu/%7ethen/Photo/page13.html

Publications

Davies, Thomas L.
Shoots: A Guide to Your Family's Photographic Heritage
Danbury, New Hampshire: Addison House, 1977.

Eakle, Arlene
Photographic Analysis
Salt Lake City, Utah: Family History World, 1976.

Kyvig, David E. and Myron A. Marty
Nearby History
Nashville, Tennessee: American Association for State and Local History, 1982.

Morris, Susan
Using Portraits
London, England: English Heritage.

Weinstein, Robert A. and Larry Booth
Collection, Use and Care of Historical Photographs
Nashville, Tennessee: American Association for State and Local History, 1977.

Links

These sites are hotlinked on http://www.mtsu.edu/%7ethen/Photo/page13.html.

• The United States Civil War Center
• American Memory
• The National Portrait Gallery
• American Institute for Conservator of Historic and Artistic Work (AIC)
• Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC)
• Library of Congress (Frequently asked preservation questions)
• The Unwritten: Saving your Photo Stories for the Future
  

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