The Lens of Change

K–12 Resource: Watch a Video

Tag along with Ollie, Sid, and Alex as they investigate how students spark change in their communities, inspired by Mexican American photographer George Rodriguez

About

Learning Objectives

In this activity, you will:

  • learn about how a photographer used images to create visibility
  • reflect on how images and storytelling can bring about change

Time

  • Under 30 mins

Assignment

Watch the video The Lens of Change.

Questions

Write or discuss your responses.

  • Ollie writes in her notebook: “How can student action create change within their community?” What are examples of actions that Ollie, Sid, and Alex take in the video to create change within their school? What impact might these actions have on their community?
  • Ollie talks about how sometimes things have to be seen to be believed. How was George Rodriguez’s act of photographing the student protests in 1968 an example of this?
  • Describe whether you think that photographs have the same power today in the context of social media, the Internet, and smartphone cameras.
  • At the end of the video, Ollie says, “Maybe telling stories IS a kind of protest.” Explain why you agree or disagree with this statement and provide a supporting example.

Glossary

Chicano

A cultural and political identity that emerged from the Mexican American civil rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Some Mexican Americans use this term to describe themselves, but not all.

Community

A network or group of people, sometimes living in a particular place, who share interests, values, characteristics, responsibilities, or physical spaces.

Discrimination

Actions stemming from conscious or unconscious prejudice, which favor and empower one group over others based on differences of race, gender, economic class, sexual orientation, physical ability, religion, language, age, national identity, and other categories.

Related Materials

  1. Meet George Rodriguez

    Reading

    George Rodriguez leans against a light table in front of a gallery wall full of art, photography, and prints.

    Learn about a Mexican American photographer known for his powerful visual record of the Chicano Movement in Los Angeles, California

  2. Explore Student Walkout, Boyle Heights

    Close Looking

    Black and white photograph of figures walking in front of a fence, with some figures sitting on top of fence, and USA and California flags on a pole

    Look closely at a photograph documenting a youth movement protesting injustices affecting Mexican American students in 1968 Los Angeles

  3. About the East Los Angeles Walkouts

    Reading

    Black and white photograph of figures walking in front of a fence, with some figures sitting on top of fence, and USA and California flags on a pole

    Read about an important Mexican American student movement in 1968 Los Angeles

  4. Photography for Social Justice in Your Community

    Artmaking

    Black and white photograph of figures walking in front of a fence, with some figures sitting on top of fence, and USA and California flags on a pole

    Make a photograph that documents a social justice issue in your community

  5. Using Surveys as a Tool for Change

    Researching

    Black and white photograph of figures walking in front of a fence, with some figures sitting on top of fence, and USA and California flags on a pole

    Learn about surveys as a tool for change, and then create your own survey addressing an issue in your community that you care about

  6. Youth Movements that Created Real Change

    Researching

    Video Thumbnail for Community, Identity, and Resistance in Art

    Research a youth movement and explain how young people can be powerful in bringing about change in their communities

  7. Comparing News Coverage of the East LA Walkouts

    Presenting

    Black and white photograph of figures walking in front of a fence, with some figures sitting on top of fence, and USA and California flags on a pole

    Look at newspaper articles about the 1968 East Los Angeles Walkouts from two different publications and analyze the perspectives covered and excluded in portraying the Chicano Movement

Related Standards and Outcomes

Credits and Licensing

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