FAVORITE ONLINE RESOURCES || NEW YORK TIMES WHAT IS GOING ON IN THIS PICTURE?

via The New York Times

A picture is worth a thousand words. 

And, we have all heard that quote a thousand times!   But, there is no denying the power of a picture in a classroom.   The New York Times provides a growing resource of engaging and sometimes mysterious photos that are stripped of captions, allowing students to share in the conversation regarding what they are viewing.

When I stumbled across this resource, my teacher brain started going into overdrive.  Here are just a few ideas that came to mind.

INFERENCING

This was, of course, the first to come to mind.  Being that inferencing in text is a skill students tend to struggle with, using a photo could serve as a springboard to developing and refining their inferencing skills.   To determine what is happening, students will have to start by putting together their background knowledge alongside the clues that the photo provides to begin a narrative about what they are seeing. 

DIALOGUE

Regardless of the age and stage of your students, anything that provokes discussion is a win in the classroom.  Using a strategy such as Talking Chips, which you can read more about here, your students could engage in meaningful conversation about what they are seeing.  This can be exceptionally powerful for English Language Learners.   To make it even more fun, join in the conversation on the New York Times site about the photo.

WRITING

Using a photo for a springboard for writing often inspires imagination and motivation to begin the writing process.  What happened prior to this photo?  What do you think happened afterwards?   What is the back story of who are what is in the photo?  What would your thoughts and feelings be if you were there?   I would encourage you to combine this with a dialogue strategy to ensure that students are getting time to think through their ideas prior to starting to write. 

RETURN ON THURSDAY

Every Thursday the New York Times posts the background story of the photo along with why it was chosen.  This would provide some rich discussion as students determine how well their musings aligned with the actual story.  Students can also consider how knowing the background in the beginning would have impacted their perspective of the photo.

via The New York Times

To help you get started, check out the New York Times information page here.   I hope one of these ideas resonated with you and provides some possibilities for your students.  Or, better yet, you have come up with some ideas of your own.  Be sure to share with us in the comments section!