The "See, Think, Wonder" pedagogical approach, particularly when applied to primary sources like propaganda posters, effectively engages students in deeper historical analysis, critical thinking, and media literacy.
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Meredith Howard: What is something, if you were looking at this poster,
like it's not written outright,
but you can infer that, "Ah, I'm meant to look at this
and feel this way or think this thing"?
Because we do see, think, wonder in my class,
I see that students are able to engage more deeply
with primary sources and secondary sources
that we encounter in the course of a lesson.
What emotion is this propaganda poster making you feel?
Student: Patriotism.
Meredith Howard: Patriotism is a great answer, good.
I start my class with a see, think, wonder.
I want students to come in and immediately be engaged
by something they see on the screen
or immediately be like, "Whoa, what is this?"
And so it's an attention-grabber for sure.
I'm gonna give us about four minutes.
Three things you see,
two things you can infer from your observations,
and at least one question.
Warren: The first thing you wanna do is know what it actually is.
You gotta look at the captioning,
and then that's when you start looking
at what's actually in the photograph or picture.
It's helpful to me
because it just starts my brain up at the start of class.
Meredith Howard: In history, it's particularly well suited
because that is the time
where I really have my students engage
with primary sources that are related
to the content I'm teaching.
Some of them are funny.
Some of them are upsetting.
It always gives you some kind of reaction.
Gabby: I feel like it helps us get like a better understanding
of the topic by trying to get there ourselves
and figure it out ourselves.
I feel like we're learning more.
Meredith Howard: So this is a World War I propaganda poster.
Okay, now we know what it is.
What do you see?
There's a lot to unpack.
Gwen.
Gwen: The title is "If You Can't Enlist, Invest."
Meredith Howard: What I'm asking my students to do is to see
without any biases, just look deeply,
because a lot of times, we'll jump to our inferences,
but those will be wrong,
especially if we're not looking deeply.
What is he fighting?
I'm gonna write on the source now.
You should write on the source too.
Will. Will Devastation.
It's like in the bottom left.
Meredith Howard: A lot of times I will see things for the first time
(laughs) for sources that I have been very familiar with.
Suddenly, "Oh, you're right."
Blake found it.
I've looked at this for many years.
I know what it is now.
Student: Whoa. It's an old lady.
Meredith Howard: Yes.
That's her like hand, right?
So we've got a witch who is representing what?
Will: Devastation.
Meredith Howard: Devastation.
All right, inferences.
If you can't enlist, invest.
So who is the audience?
'Cause propaganda is never random.
Student: Maybe women.
Meredith Howard: Women, good.
If you start your sentence in your brain
with, "I think that," that's an inference
because you've already moved on from observing.
You are using your observations to now give yourself a truth
that you think is present in the source.
All right, now what the heck is a liberty bond?
Students: Aren't bonds like you give the government
or a corporation money, and then they pay you later?
Meredith Howard: Very good.
I want them to start making inferences
and see where their knowledge gaps are.
If they truly were a historian, they would engage in that.
And then the next step is to, "What do I not know?"
Questions?
Even if it's already been answered,
what do you wonder now about this source?
What would be something that would need additional research?
Ruby. Ruby: Who made it?
Meredith Howard: Who made this poster.
We need to know who the author is as often as possible.
Warren: This is like the whole reason why we do history,
just to help us like in our day-to-day life
like understand why things are and their trustworthiness.
Meredith Howard: Too often in our interactions with media,
we are quick to judge.
I'm preparing them for citizenship
and digital media literacy,
that skill of saying, "Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Is that backed up by the observations?
Is there something else here you might be missing
that could give you a fuller picture?"
How many of you, this would've persuaded you?
Student: Oh, oh yeah.
- Yeah? (students speaking faintly)
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