Photos of Playgrounds - Inference / Research / Critical Thinking Activities

These and more stunning photos of school playgrounds from around the world can be found here: Jamesmollison.com. Additional background on the project by photographer James Mollison and his book, Playgrounds can found found in this post by Slate.com  photo blogger Jordan G. Teicher: Slate Photo Blog interview.

Affiliated Primary School of South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China

Aida Boys School, Bethlehem, West Bank

The images are a great opportunity for students to apply their inference, research or critical thinking skills.  A few ideas:

1. Inference: examine the details of one of the images closely. What could you infer from specific elements in the photograph about the school and home lives of the students pictured?  Here's an assignment page for this activity: A Day in the Life.
2. Research: choose one of the images to focus on and research the daily life of the life of a student in the community presented in the photo. Here's an assignment page for this activity.
3. Critical Thinking: imagine a character from one of the texts we've studied in class emigrated to one of the communities pictured in the collection of school playgrounds. Making specific references to details in the photograph and details in the text determine how challenging or comforting the character might find his/her new community? Here's an assignment page for this activity.