Activities

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Follow the clues and help solve a make-believe mystery! Using a special spyglass tool, you’ll uncover hidden layers of the painting and learn fascinating facts about the portrait along the way. Let the sleuthing begin! ======

[|Image Detective] Just like historians, students will pose questions to themselves as they look at the photos. Next, students will scan the picture, looking for details that intrigue them. Then encourage them to **speculate** about what the detail might mean -- to make intelligent guesses just like historians do.

[|Is Seeing Believing?] " Throughout history the photograph has been manipulated for various purposes. It is important for students to understand those purposes and to learn how to question images they find in media and on the Internet. Here you will find a number of contemporary examples of the "digital manipulation of images" as well as links to articles about the ethics and the issue." Make sure you explore the table of contents along the left menu, my two favorite being 'Magazine Covers' and 'The Spaghetti Harvest'.

[|'M' is for Metro - Variations of the Letter M] Images of Metro signs around the world. Most metros have logos or symbols to mark their station entrances.Since most metros around the world are indeed called 'metros' (only few are called subway, underground, U-Bahn, T-bana or something else), many metro logos are more or less fancy variations of the letter M. There are different kinds of metro logos. In some cities a logo stands for the metro system itself, while in other cities only logos are found which represent the companies that are operating one or more metro lines. Country-wide use of logos is found in Germany, Italy, Spain and, to a limited extent, Russia. All German metros use a blue U logo and all German S-Bahn-type suburban railways bear a green S logo. Most Italian cities use a red M logo for metros. All Spanish suburban railways have the same red C logo. Many Russian metro cities are using derived versions of the same sloped red letter M of the Moscow metro. Possible activity: What other universal signs/symbols are there and how do they differ?

Example from a pattern photo set on Flickr. Students can create their own.
[|Spell with Flickr] Type in a name or phrase, result is the word spelled with Flickr images. Activity: Guess the whole of the part shown.

[|FUN TO LOOK AT - 10 Most Confusing Traffic Signs]

[|FUN TO LOOK AT - Don't Drink & Drive Ads] How much more effective is one of these visuals than hand-outs or lectures? Activity: Have your students create a similar ad for a 'no-no' topic.

YouTube Video - Dove Evolution media type="youtube" key="hibyAJOSW8U" height="344" width="425"