Circle of Viewpoints

Overview

The Circle of Viewpoints is a visible thinking routine developed by Harvard's Project Zero Project. When used with primary sources, it becomes a scaffold that supports students in their inquiry journey.

A Circle of Viewpoints poster by Marisa B, a Louisiana school librarian and Library of Congress Summer Teacher Institute alum.

A Baxter Street Alley. Image from newspaper article, Flashes From the Slum by Jacob Riis. The sun. (New York [N.Y.]), 12 Feb. 1888.

Example

One of the Library of Congress 2016 Summer Workshops focused on the Jacob Riis Exhibit which at that time was displayed in the Jefferson Building. Participants saw and touched primary sources related to Jacob Riis's life and times. During the class discussion time, a newspaper article, Flashes From The Slum written by Jacob Riis, was analyzed using the Circle of Viewpoints routine.

The participants brainstormed a list of different perspectives described in this report and the names of the groups of people who would have voiced these perspectives were listed in a circle around the document. immigrants, women, policemen, businessmen, and landlords were among those listed. Participants were then asked to assume the role of one of these perspectives and imagine how they would have felt reading the the article.

It was an emotional learning activity and at first some participants were not comfortable taking on the role of a person that they found despicable. Gradually, and with gentle prodding from the facilitators, participants stretched their thinking and began to see the world of Jacob Riis through different lenses.

The Jacob Riis Exhibit is available now online for students anywhere to experience "How The Other Half Lived " in the Manhattan Tenements in the early 1900s.

READ ABOUT IT

Visible Thinking Core Routines- An overview from Project Zero
Circle of Viewpoints - An explanation of one of the Core routines.
Selecting and Using Primary Sources with Difficult Topics: Using Circle of Viewpoints with Library of Congress Primary Sources, April 5, 2016.

WATCH IT

This 10 min video is a reproduction of a magic lantern or slide show once given by Jacob Riis. The images are taken from his collection. The narration is by a contemporary actor but the script was taken directly from Jacob Riis's notes. As you watch the video imagine the different types of people who would have been sitting in the audience when Jacob Riis gave the lecture. (Closed captions available)

The Other Half and How They Live. A Story in Pictures by Jacob Riis

Write About It

Record your responses on this document.

Brainstorm a list of different categories of people or perspectives that would have read the article, Flashes From The Slums, on February 12, 1888 or have gone to the Jacob Riis lecture. Use the script skeleton below to explore one of those perspectives.

I am thinking of ... the topic... From the point of view of ... the viewpoint you've chosen

I think ... describe the topic from your viewpoint. Be an actor - take on the character of your viewpoint

A question I have from this viewpoint is ... ask a question from this viewpoint

2. Wrap up: What new ideas do you have about the topic that you didn't have before? What new questions do you have? With what other controversial topics do you think the Circle of Viewpoints routine would work?

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