Activity 6A – Elementary

i.  Put students into groups of 3 to 5 and have each group select a photograph that interests

them.  Have each group discuss the 5 Ws: who?, what?, where?, when?, why? in relation to

the picture.  

  WHO is in this picture?  What kind of person / people do you think they were? 

  WHAT are they doing? 

  WHERE are they?  What might be around them?

  WHY are they there? 

  WHEN did this event take place?  Does the photograph give you clues to answer this

                 question?

ii. Have students relate what is happening in their selected photograph to something in

their own lives.  Did they ever dress like this, or see someone who did?  Did they ever

engage in an activity like one presented in the photograph?  Have they ever been in a 

place like the one in the photograph?

Activities 6B – Intermediate and Senior

i.   Look at photograph Alpine Club of Canada climbers on Yoho Glacier, British

Columbia, ca.1910. 

  • Read the title aloud and discuss the 5 Ws (outlined below) in relation to this picture. 

         Some of the answers will be evident from the title. 

  • Spark interest in individual themes by asking further questions to get students

         thinking.  Students won't know the answers to the 5 W questions at this point.  

         Have them find the answers through research.

  • Record answers on a blackboard or flipchart. 

    WHO is in this picture?  What kind of people do you think they were?  What was      

                   Harmon's relationship to them?

    WHAT are they doing?  How was mountain climbing different then from today?
                     Why did people do it?  Was it safe?  Why was it so popular?

    WHERE are they?  What is a glacier?  Where is this glacier?  What is the nearest

                       town?  How long would it take them to get there?

    WHY were they there?  Why was Byron Harmon there?  What kind of camera did

                   Harmon use?  How was his process of photography similar to or different

                   from today's?  What did he use his photographs for?

    WHEN did this event take place? What was life like in 1914? What was Banff like

                     then?  What did people do for fun when they weren't climbing mountains? 

                     What was going on in the world at that time?

ii.  Working individually or in groups, students investigate the photograph's context

further by choosing one of the topics below and researching it. They make use of 

information sheets, printed or on-line, for each topic. They also conduct research in

the school or public library.  (See the Resource list for more information sources.)

     Research topics:

  • Alpine Club of Canada

  • Glaciers

  • Mountain climbing

  • Photography

iii. Students present their findings to the rest of the class so that everyone can learn

about the various historical, scientific, and geographical aspects of the photograph.

iv. Questions for discussion: 

  • In what way does the selected topic relate to this photograph. 

  • Which one, or more, of the 5W’s does the topic answer for the photograph?

  • Does knowing the context of the image change how you see it?

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