Picturing America for Public Libraries

The posters were used during 2 separate programs. The first I used 5 separate pictures to discuss with the participants the historical importance and artistic aspects of each. I had the teens try and hold absolutely still for 30 seconds to feel what Lincoln went through holding still for 3 minutes for a photograph. After studying different baskets and weaving methods the participants they tried to recreate one using folded magazine pages. Imagining they were a mother or her children during the Great Depression or one of the soldiers in the boat crossing the Delaware with George Washington the teens wrote a story from their perspective. These were just a few activities among lots of discussion. For adults, the librarian conducted a program using the March to Montgomery poster. She displayed it as a starting point for discussion then showed "The Secret Life of Bees" movie and had a honey tasting.

Submitted by Katie Mullins