In this activity, students will answer questions to help them analyze a photograph of Walt Whitman. They will consider whether a formal portrait in the form of a photograph conveys a person's roles in life.
Suggested Teaching Instructions
This activity can be used as an introduction to primary sources and photograph analysis, when learning about poetry or Walt Whitman, or while discussing the Civil War. For grades 4-6. Approximate time needed is 30 minutes.
Introduce the activity and photograph of Walt Whitman to students. You can work as a full class to answer the questions provided, or assign students to complete the activity individually, in pairs, or in small groups.
Lead students through the photograph analysis questions and hold a discussion about the details they observe in this 1860s photo of Walt Whitman, taken by famous Civil War photographer Mathew Brady in Washington, DC.
As with any primary source analysis, ask students to go through the following progression as outlined in the activity:
- Meet the document.
- Observe its parts.
- Try to make sense of it.
- Use it as historical evidence.
When students have answered all of the analysis questions, they should respond to the questions under "When You're Done":
- Can you tell from the photo that Whitman was a poet, a Civil War nurse, and a government worker?
- In three sentences, answer the following question: What can you learn about Walt Whitman from the photograph?
Discuss with students whether the photograph conveys the many jobs Whitman had during his lifetime:
- Can they tell Whitman was a famous poet from the photograph?
- What can they learn about Whitman from the photograph? You many wish to draw attention to Whitman's pose with his hands in his pockets and that he is wearing a hat. Ask them to describe the way Whitman looks at the viewer.
- What are the benefits and limitations of portrait photography?
