Primary Source Learning in Action

In honor of Columbus Day, second grade students in Ms. Wilhelm’s and Ms. Hass’s classes became “investigators” by participating in a primary source analysis activity. The Understanding Goal for this Learning Experience was, “Information comes from a variety of places.”  The Investigative Question that guided their inquiry was, “What information can we learn when we read a picture?”  Ms. Wilhelm and Ms. Haas conducted the investigation over two days.  

On the first day of the Learning Experience, the teachers accessed the students’ prior knowledge of Christopher Columbus and brainstormed sources that would provide information about the European explorer, such as biographies, the Internet, encyclopedias, etc.  The teachers then read aloud A Picture Book of Christopher Columbus and students shared any new knowledge gained about Columbus.

On the second day, students used their visual literacy skills to read an historical image of Christopher Columbus presented in a PowerPoint presentation. By visually reading the image, they were able to make observations and develop a hypothesis as to what the painter wanted them to know about Christopher Columbus. 

Following this group activity, each student was given their own copy of an image of Christopher Columbus landing in the New World.  Students used magnifying glasses to facilitate their reading of the image and to help them investigate their image for clues. They all reported enjoying this aspect of the activity because they had fun using the magnifying glass and could take their time to look for clues.

After each student analyzed his or her image, the whole class convened to create a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast the different images they read.  Students realized that while their images had similarities, there were numerous differences among the depictions of Christopher Columbus landing in the New World. The teachers led a whole group discussion on the reasons for these differences. Students learned that the image was the painter’s interpretation of what happened when Christopher Columbus landed in the New World, not a direct representation. The Learning Experience concluded with the class revisiting the Understanding Goal and having a rich discussion about sources of information.