I searched for the well-known image "Migrant Mother" from the Great Depression by using the Creative Commons search function in Firefox and Flickr.
Image reprinted: "Migrant Mother" by Dorothea Lange
http://www.flickr.com/photos/e-strategycom/1054179764/
By: David Erickson, http://www.flickr.com/people/e-strategycom/
Released under an Attribution License:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en
I selected this particular image because my American Literature class is currently reading The Grapes of Wrath; imagery, especially photography, from this time period helps students make more authentic connections to themes, motifs, and symbols in the text. Also, presenting this image to students prior to introducing the text provides an opportunity for students to reflect on what they do know, what they think they will learn, and what they want to know about the Great Depression throughout the unit. Additionally, this particular image has a unique story behind it in the fact that Dorothea Lange purposefully posed the woman (and her children) in order to "send a message." This is a wonderful opportunity for students to write (or discuss) why Lange would choose to make the positioning, lighting, etc. choices she did and whether or not they (the students) feel she was successful in sending that message (one that is present in the novel as well). Overall, images are great "conversation starters" in the classroom and also work well for visual learners.
Below is a photo I uploaded to my Flickr account of the lake where our family cottage is located; it was released with an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs license through Creative Commons. Here is my link to this image on my Flickr account and the link to my photostream.
Works Cited
Lange, Dorothea. Migrant Mother. 1936. Photograph. National
Archives. Flickr. David Erickson, 08 Aug. 2007. Web. 01 June 2011.
<http://www.flickr.com/photos/e-strategycom/1054179764/>.
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