WHITE BEAR LAKE AREA Pictorial History Activity
Objective: Through the use of photographs from the White Bear area, students will analyze historical images.
Materials: Several historic photographs of White Bear. Links to Historic Photos for Teachers. Links to Historic Photos for Students
Preparation: Print or project photos and related questions. If desired as a small group activity, divide the students into groups of no more than five and give each group an old photograph (there are 10 photographs total, so you have flexibility in the size of the groups). Ask them to analyze the photo and complete the questions on the backside; if desired, they could present their findings to the class.
Introduction: Tell the students that the class will be focusing on local history and developing new historical skills: We tend to think of history as being about people from long ago and far away, but that’s not necessarily true. History is all around us, even in our own backyard! You can look at the big picture of world history, or national, state, city, or even family history. For the next few days [or hours or weeks, however you spread out the local history lesson] we’ll be learning about White Bear Lake history. Learning about our own town’s history can be very exciting, but there are also some challenges. Local history often is not as well preserved as national and world history, and historians use many different types of sources to find out what happened. For example, think about the last family vacation you took. You might have brought back photos or told stories to your friends about your adventures, but you probably didn’t write a book about your trip. Similarly, a lot of local history comes from oral and pictorial sources.
