John Thomson's China – Lesson 01

Handout 01-A | Printer-friendly PDF file


The Five C’s

Context – When was this made? What is the subject matter? What clues are given for a time frame? Consider clothing, implements – tools, weapons, architecture, etc.

Characters – Who or what is portrayed here? Is it a person? Animal? Symbol? What clues are given about who/what they are?

Color - What colors (if any) are used here? Do you think they were used just for visual appeal? What is the mood or tone established by these colors?

Composition – Look at the use of space. Is one image bigger than another? Is that to suggest a relationship and what kind of relationship? Is the entire space used? Why or why not? What is in the foreground? The background? Do either suggest importance?

Construction – Someone consciously constructed this image for a purpose. Who do you think made this? Why? For what audience? Who would connect with this image? Who would not?

• Table of Contents | Lessons:

• 01
  • Teacher Instructions for part one
  • Teacher Instructions for part two
  • Image 01-Sample
  • Image 01
  • Handout 01-A: “The Five C’s”
  • Handout 01-B
  • “How to Read a Photograph” PDF
  •  
• 02
  • Teacher Instructions
  • Image 02-Sample
  • Image 02-A
  • Image 02-B
  • Image 02-C
  • Handout 02-A
  • Handout 02-B
  • Lesson 02 Mini-database
  •  
• 03
  • Teacher Instructions
  • Lesson 03 Mini-database
  •  

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