Powerful Images, Powerful Words

An exploration into: Powerful Images, Powerful Words

What does power sound, look and feel like? The students drew pictures to share their thinking. 

What is an image?

The students shared their thinking. We recorded our ideas, questions and connections on large chart paper. 

Then, the students worked with their ‘Learning Buddies’ to find ‘IMAGES‘ that show ‘POWER‘.

Their task was to:

  • Find images that are powerful.
  • Find images that show power.

They looked for images in books and magazines. As they looked through the different material, they shared their ideas and thinking.

A group of students had chosen an image of deer fighting. They shared their assumptions and made connections with what they already know about deer.

“Fighting shows ‘power’, they exclaimed.

The deer could be fighting to protect their territory, it was the way they show their power. We gathered as a group to think about the word ‘fighting’.

 Teacher “How is fighting powerful?”

The students were encouraged to connect with the image using their own lives. They talked about how they feel when they see fighting. People fight with their hands and legs, hitting and kicking each other. “Fighting can also be with words”, they explained. They shared some examples of these powerful words.

Teacher “When you hear these words or see these actions, what does it make YOU feel like doing?”

“It makes me feel angry”, “It makes me feel sad”. They talked about the effect these ugly words had on them. The discussed the strategies they might use if they were in such situations.  

The students began to create different sentence starters to help them develop deeper understandings about the concepts power, connection, and perspective.

In the coming week we will continue to explore:

  • the power of words and how we use them
  • how we can respond to words and images

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