Photos of the Month: When Blurry’s Better

by Roy Winkelman | Apr 25, 2021 | Photo of the Month

Both of the photos for this month show movement. Give your students a few moments to list what is the same and what is different about the two photos. After they have shared their ideas, ask which part of each photo is in focus and which part is blurred. Also ask...

Photo of the Month: Controlled Burn

by Roy Winkelman | Mar 30, 2021 | Using Digital Content, Photo of the Month

A photo of a burned forest may seem an odd choice as photo of the month since we are also celebrating Arbor Day in April. I remember how disturbed my fourth-graders were when we went on a field trip to a park that had recently conducted a controlled burn. At first, it...

Photo of the Month: Asking Why?

by Roy Winkelman | Mar 1, 2021 | Using Digital Content, Photo of the Month

Nature photos can be great jumping-off points for exploration. I enjoy being outdoors. I always find the patterns in nature intriguing and often ask myself, “Why?” as I’m walking along. Why are those clouds shaped as they are? Why do these leaves...

Photo of the Month: Guess Who?

by Roy Winkelman | Feb 1, 2021 | Using Digital Content, Photo of the Month

Here is an interesting photo to show your students to see if they can guess who the sculpture represents. Don’t be surprised if they guess an ancient Roman emperor or perhaps even Zeus. Those really aren’t bad guesses, especially if they’ve noticed...

Photos of the Month: Two Libraries

by Roy Winkelman | Dec 30, 2020 | Using Digital Content, Photo of the Month

International Holocaust Remembrance Day falls on January 27. Over the past several decades, I’ve taken thousands of photos of Holocaust-related monuments across Europe for one of our projects. Most such monuments, of course, are intended to memorialize the...

Photo of the Month: A Tree in Winter

by Roy Winkelman | Nov 27, 2020 | Using Digital Content, Photo of the Month

This is a photo of a tree in winter in Western Pennsylvania. Depending on the age level and background knowledge of your students, this photo can be a springboard into understanding something that at first seems pretty mysterious. How does a tree survive a cold...

Photo of the Month: Council House at Mission San Luis de Apalachee

by Roy Winkelman | Oct 25, 2020 | Using Digital Content, Photo of the Month

I took this photo about 20 years ago at Mission San Luis de Apalachee in Tallahassee, Florida. The structure on the left is a reconstruction of the Council House. The one on the right is a reconstruction of the Chief’s House. The Council House was the center of...

NASA Mobile Quarantine Facility

by Roy Winkelman | Sep 22, 2020 | Using Digital Content, Photo of the Month

This mobile quarantine facility (MQF) was one of four built by NASA for astronauts returning from the Moon. A converted Airstream trailer, the MQF contained living and sleeping quarters, a kitchen, and a bathroom. Quarantine was assured by keeping the air pressure...

Photo of the Month: Espada Aqueduct

by Roy Winkelman | Aug 23, 2020 | Using Digital Content, Photo of the Month

The Espada Aqueduct is a part of the irrigation system that supplied water to the Spanish Mission Espada in San Antonio, Texas. The aqueduct was built in the mid-1700s to carry water over Piedras Creek. The Espada acequia fell into disuse in the 1880s, but was...

Photo of the Month: Sunflowers

by Roy Winkelman | Jul 20, 2020 | Using Digital Content, Photo of the Month

Sunflowers always fascinated me as a child. I’d try to trace a spiral of florets (or seeds if later in the summer) outward from the center, but then suddenly the spirals would all seem to go in the other direction. And then, for a moment, I could see both...

Photo of the Month: Skew Arch Bridge

by Roy Winkelman | Jun 29, 2020 | Using Digital Content, Photo of the Month

This bridge is less than 200 years old, but it isn’t substantially different from bridges built 2,000 years ago. The arch bridge is one of the earliest forms of bridges. I am fascinated by bridges because they often combine both engineering and aesthetics. The...

Photos of the Month: The Great Outdoors

by Roy Winkelman | Apr 25, 2020 | Using Digital Content, Photo of the Month

With many people sheltering inside and many great national parks closed to visitors this month, instead of a single photo of the month, I selected 20 photos of the great outdoors just to enjoy. Sit back, relax, and imagine the call of birds or the thundering of a...

Photo of the Month: All Eggs in One Basket

by Roy Winkelman | Mar 28, 2020 | Using Digital Content, Photo of the Month

I took this photo nearly ten years ago for the ClipPix ETC website. At the time, I had intentions to create a whole series of photos illustrating various proverbs, aphorisms, and idioms.Well, the series never happened, but the first image is still a good one for class...

Photo of the Month: Jefferson Memorial

by Roy Winkelman | Feb 22, 2020 | Using Digital Content, Photo of the Month

For the many new subscribers in the past month, this post is one in a series that each feature a photo from FCIT’s ClipPix ETC website. Each month I select one photo and provide various classroom connections, discussion questions, or related content. I took this...

Photo of the Month: Boats on a Train?

by Roy Winkelman | Jan 27, 2020 | Using Digital Content, Photo of the Month

This is a model of something that existed in Pennsylvania between 1834 and 1854. So that you can better see the details, here are several additional views. Click on any photo to enlarge it. This is a great photo for a class discussion. What is a boat doing on a train?...

Photo of the Month: Icicles

by Roy Winkelman | Dec 31, 2019 | Using Digital Content, Photo of the Month

This is the eighth in the Photo of the Month series. Each month, I select one photo from the ClipPix ETC website and give a few examples of how teachers can make connections to various subject areas or use the photo a springboard for class discussion or individual...

Photo of the Month: Fresnel Lens

by Roy Winkelman | Dec 1, 2019 | Using Digital Content, Photo of the Month

This beautiful glass object from the National Museum of American History in Washington, DC, is an example of an important optical invention that saved countless lives in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. From its first use in a lighthouse in 1823 until it was...

Photo of the Month: Chupadero Black-on-White Jar

by Roy Winkelman | Oct 25, 2019 | Using Digital Content, Photo of the Month

This is the fifth in the Photo of the Month series. Each month, I select one photo from the ClipPix ETC website and give a few examples of how teachers can make connections to various subject areas or use the photo a springboard for class discussion or individual...

Photo of the Month: Reichstag Dome

by Roy Winkelman | Sep 12, 2019 | Using Digital Content, Photo of the Month

This is the fourth in the Photo of the Month series. Each month, I select one photo from the ClipPix ETC website and give a few examples of how teachers can make connections to various subject areas or use the photo a springboard for class discussion or individual...

Photo of the Month: Everglades Shark Valley

by Roy Winkelman | Aug 16, 2019 | Using Digital Content, Photo of the Month

The third post in the Photo of the Month series is from the Shark Valley Loop Road in the Florida Everglades. Each month, I select one photo from the ClipPix ETC website and suggest discussion questions and connections to other FCIT resources. Nate Wolkenhauer took...