Family Photographs as Primary Source

Project one anonymized family arrival photo (sample provided, 1920s ship deck arrival). Children silently notice for 30 seconds.

• Set norm: notice silently first, then share
• Affirm one specific noticing

A family photograph is a PRIMARY source - made by a real family at a real time and place. When we look at a family photo, we can ask 4 questions: WHAT do I NOTICE? WHAT do I WONDER? WHEN was it made? WHO made it (the SOURCE)? Today's photo shows a family arriving in 1920. Let's apply the routine. Then we'll hear Pat Mora's story about Tomás, who came from a farmworker family.

• Noticings are facts. Wonderings are questions.

  model I notice big trunks, formal clothes, a ship railing. I wonder where they were coming from.

  prompt Notice 3 things about this photo. Wonder 1 thing.

• What does PRIMARY mean?
• Name one thing you noticed.

M-2-S-CUL-02-A Photograph

5-photo collage 11x17 with 5 anonymized historical family photographs: (1) 1920s ship-deck arrival NY harbor, formal clothes and trunks; (2) 1950s arrival Angel Island Asian family with small suitcases; (3) 1980s Vietnamese refugee family at Minneapolis airport with sponsor; (4) 1990s family at El Paso border crossing in everyday clothes; (5) 2010s family arrival JFK with backpacks and a young child holding a stuffed animal. Each photo has a discreet date label and source line ('photo source: family permission via Tenement Museum / Angel Island Foundation / refugee resettlement organization'). Style: warm-toned reproduction, not overdramatic. Provenance: all images permission-cleared for classroom use.

• In pairs, examine 2 more sample photos and fill in the 4-section card for each.

  scaffold Sentence frames on card
• Share one notice and one wonder with the whole class.

M-2-S-CUL-02-B Illustration

Card template 8.5x11 portrait, 4 boxes: (1) WHAT I NOTICE (3 lines, fact-based); (2) WHAT I WONDER (2 lines, question-based); (3) WHEN (1 line, year or era); (4) SOURCE (1 line, who made and shared this). Header: 'Family Photograph: Primary Source.' Footer: 'A family photo tells stories that words alone cannot.' Style: clean, child-readable, sentence-frame compatible.

• Write one noticing and one wondering for the photo on the board.

• Add 'primary source', 'photograph' to Word Wall
• Preview: tomorrow we ask WHY families move

• With a family member's permission, look at one family photo together. Bring back the year (if known) and one detail you noticed.