Blog Topic #5 Image 2

Weligama, Sri Lanka, Steve McCurry

• McCurry's photograph of fishermen in Sri Lanka was a very appropriate choice for my students. The photograph was interesting to them because it presented a familiar activity, fishing, in an abstract and foreign way. This really intrigued my students. In addition, the image is so rich in the unfamiliar yet interesting that it was really perfect for my students. 
• This photograph provided for a very rigorous and engaging discussion. It was successful for many reasons. As I stated above, the image presents a familiar activity, fishing, but in a very foreign and abstract way. So I think that most of the students immediately looked at he image and registered that the men were fishing and then looked closer and probably thought "Wait, that's not a fishing pole like mine. Where's the reel?" or "Why are they sitting up on poles?" I say this because these are the directions that the discussion went in. 
• This photograph could deepen and expand the students understanding of the Big Idea of Identity because it captures not only the cultural identity of Sri Lanka but also the identity of the individual men as fishermen. 
• Yes, I had several students inquire about the photographer and the location of the photograph after the discussion. I provided the students with the photographers information and website and asked them to put their findings in their journal.
• Yes, we were already working on the Big Idea of Identity on and trying to capture Identity through an action so this image provided another example for them.
• Yes I would absolutely, hands down, use this image again to deepen student understanding of the Big Idea of Identity. It was a great fit and made for a great discussion.