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[Detail] Young man wearing T-shirt...

Lesson Procedure

Activity One - Discuss and define transportation

Activity Two - View photographs and a film clip depicting farm markets at the turn of the centuries

Activity Three - Analyze the photographs

Activity Four - Formulate questions for project work

Activity One

Discuss and Define Transportation.

1. On 3x5 cards write what you think transportation means.
2. Research what types of transportation were available around the turn of the twentieth century (1900).
3. Research what types of transportation are available today.

Activity Two

View the photographs and film clip depicting farm markets at the turn of the twentieth century.

Look at the photographs and film clip below. Make a list of interesting details. Think about the people in the picture, the action taking place, and anything you find unusual. Click on the image to make it larger.

New Orleans, La., a corner of the French Market (detail)	Italian neighborhood with street market, Mulberry Street, New York (detail)
New York City "ghetto" fish market / Thomas A. Edison, Inc. Life of a City: Early Films of New York City 1898-1906

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View the two photographs depicting farm markets at the turn of the twenty-first century.

Look at the two photographs below. Make a list of interesting details. Think about the people in the picture, the action taking place, and anything you find unusual. Click on the image to make it larger.

Young man wearing T-shirt Working in Paterson: Occupational Heritage in an Urban Setting

Sign, in Spanish, above fruit stand

Activity Three

Analyze the photographs

Students analyze the photograph, recording their thoughts on the Primary Source Analysis Tool. Before the students begin, select questions from the teacher's guide Analyzing Photographs and Prints to focus and prompt analysis and discussion.

Activity Four

Formulate questions for further investigation

1. Review the definition of transportation the class wrote at the start of this lesson.
2. Write three questions these photos raise in your mind. Consider what else you would need to know to have a more complete understanding of the subject matter in the picture.
3. Invite students to explain to the group why these questions rose from the pictures.
4. Choose a question and begin to research it further.

Extension

• Field trip to a local historical society or museum
• Interviews with local historians or people involved in the transportation industry

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