Lesson 4: Interviewing and/or Preparing Humans of Your School Portraits
30-40 minutes
Introduce the lesson (1 minute)
Tell students: “During the next lesson we will present our portraits of people in our school community. We will spend today getting ready for those presentations.”
In-class interviews (15 minutes)
If you decided to allot class time to conducting interviews, that will most likely take up the majority of your time. Students should come prepared with the questions they wrote in the previous lesson. Circulate to ensure students are taking detailed notes on their interviewee’s responses as these will be key in the caption-writing activity that follows.
MCC Tip: If this lesson feels too jam-packed, or if time allows, consider breaking it up into two lessons. Alternatively, ask students to write their caption and assemble their final projects for homework.
If you are conducting interviews in class but some students’ partners are not present, they may pair up with another student and practice their interview questions. If they have already completed their interview outside of class, they may move on to the caption writing activity.
Reviewing interview notes (5 minutes)
After interviewing is complete, give students time to silently and independently review their notes. Encourage them to keep an eye out for anything surprising, thought-provoking, or especially poignant. If it would be beneficial, they may have a minute or so to talk with a partner about the caption they would like to include in their portrait.
Putting it all together (10-20 minutes)
Finally, students should put together their picture with their caption to create their Humans of New York-style portrait. Gather the necessary supplies such as poster paper, tape, glue, and scissors for students in advance.
Ensure there is a process for partners to review the narrative caption their interviewer writes before the portrait is published.
Wrap up (1 minute)
Let students know when the final lesson and project presentations will take place.
MCC Tip: Consider the following when organizing this activity: Notify other adults in the school that this project is happening, so they will be prepared if students approach them for interviews; create a spreadsheet or list for yourself to track pairs of interviewers/interviewees; assign students someone to interview if they don’t have anyone; remind students that the portrait must be approved by their partner; allow students to compile their notes and create their interviewee portrait in class.
Content developed by Making Caring Common, a project of the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
