Since the mid 1980s, history teaching in Italian schools has focused on building historical knowledge and on the methodological procedures of historical research through the use of historical sources. The authors discuss how the use of visual sources causes the interpretation of the images to become more complex as they are embedded in a literative practice. The authors’ study seeks to clarify the nature of this complexity with both the images themselves and their use as historical sources. They describe the differences between visual and textual sources and the difficulties with using visual sources, since they are often ‘authored’ as a way to view the past. They describe their discursive perspective towards their research as well as the subjects and methods and hypothesis and aims of the study which focused on the analysis of a visual source in small group discussions. Their aim was to observe the interaction between the visual object and the discourse that happened around it. They continue the chapter by using excerpts from the children’s discussions to discuss themes, understand intentionality, identify ambiguous items, discover the objects, and build scenarios. The authors also discuss the limits of photos of historical documents and the mutual construction of identities (going beyond the information given, a place in time, two worlds). The authors conclude by stating that the discussions in the groups centered on decision-making and problem solving. The richness of the historical and methodological reasoning of the children in the small discussion groups confirms the usefulness of self-directed learning mediated by cultural tools and practices.