Historic American Buildings Survey, and Serra. Mission San Carlos Borromeo, Rio Road & Lausen Drive, Carmel-by-the-Sea, Monterey County, CA. 1933. Photograph. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. https://www.loc.gov/item/ca0361/.
Students will begin this lesson by analyzing a historical drawing of Mission San Carlos Borromeo to establish its original appearance. They’ll then be introduced to a photograph showing the mission in ruins, prompting them to infer how and why its condition changed. Finally, a photo of the restored mission will be shown, leading them to question the motivations behind its preservation. In small groups, students will discuss the images, noting changes and causes and effects. The class will then build a “Notice and Wonder” chart. By the end, students will use this photographic evidence to discuss a complex question: Why restore a building with a painful past?
Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo (Mission Carmel) is a former Spanish mission that fell into disrepair after the closure of the mission system in the 1830s. When California became part of the United States, the US government returned the mission land to the Roman Catholic Church in 1848. Later, in 1961, the pope declared Mission Carmel’s church a minor basilica, which recognized its historical and cultural significance.
Source: https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/San-Carlos-Borromeo-de-Carmelo/630994
- How does this group of photos tell the story of the rise, fall, and revitalization of a California mission?
- What do the photos tell us about society’s values and priorities at the time they were created and/or taken? How (if at all) do you think those priorities have changed over time?
- How do these photos “preserve” history, and how can we honor the history of California mission’s past when it includes both beauty and pain?
ELA Standard
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.4.1. Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 4 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
Social Studies Standard
HSS Standard 4.2. Students describe the social, political, cultural, and economic life and interactions among people of California from the pre-Columbian societies to the Spanish mission and Mexican rancho periods.
Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
- Begin the lesson by asking students to jot down a list of what they remember about the California missions, including what they were for, who lived there, how those people were treated, and how they were built.
- Display this drawing of Mission San Carlos Borromeo and then ask students to make observations out loud (I see men on horses. I see a mission building, etc.).
- Next, show the photographs of that same mission in ruins (photo 1 photo 2). Ask questions like: What happened to the mission? What do you notice is different from the first picture? Guide the students’ discussion toward the state of disrepair and, if necessary, remind them that after Mexico won their independence from Spain, 12 years later Mexico passed a law to change the ownership of the missions from the Catholic Church to the government. This change of ownership meant that the missions were no longer controlled by the priests in the area, and the local Indigenous people were no longer forced to work there anymore.
- Show the 2012 photo of the restored mission. Ask students to describe what they see now. Follow up questions may include: How is this mission different from the ruined one? Why do you think someone might have wanted to fix it up?
- Divide the class into small groups of 3–4 students and hand out copies of the three photos to each group.
- Instruct students to discuss their observations from the three photos and write them in the margins of the photos, noting that this is an annotation skill. Encourage them to think about the causes and effects of the closing of the missions.
- As a whole class, make a T-chart on the board that has two-columns titled: “Notice” and “Wonder.” The Notice side is for things they notice about the mission’s history, and the Wonder side is for things they wonder about the mission.
- As students share their ideas, then write them on the board in the corresponding column.
- Students may notice that the photos show how much the buildings were decayed, how many details may have been fixed, and/or what happened to the people who lived there.
- Bring the class back together for a final, teacher-led discussion, and then ask: The mission’s history is very sad and painful for the Indigenous people who were forced to work there and give up their culture and identity. Knowing this, why do you think people still wanted to restore the mission to the beautiful building that it is today?
- Extension:
- Encourage students to learn more about Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo by researching its history via the National Park Service website and presenting their knowledge to the class in an oral presentation.
- Visit a California mission on a field trip.
Highsmith, Carol M. Carmel Mission Basilica, Carmel, California. Between 1980 and 2006. Photograph. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. https://www.loc.gov/item/2011634276/.
Historic American Buildings Survey, and Serra. Mission San Carlos Borromeo, Rio Road & Lausen Drive, Carmel-by-the-Sea, Monterey County, CA. 1933. Photograph. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. https://www.loc.gov/item/ca0361/.