A WAY OF SEEING PHOTOGRAPHY PROJECT (writing to learn) Jarek Michalonek Project Rationale (part I): This is a highly effective expository writing assignment (which can work very well in all ESL and non-esl composition contexts, including basic writing and freshman composition.) The project combines: critical thinking, visual literacy, as well as expressivist/reflective writing and digital technology. This project focuses on linking student s lives, experiences, and interests, not always academic, with a somewhat creative approach to academic writing through which students develop a sense of authorship. STAGE I: Introduction to the project 1. Class discussion of W. Ewald s I Wanna Take Me a Picture (Ch. 3 Literacy through Photography ) 2. Students bring their favorite personal photographs to class and share/discuss them together. 3. Students examine/interpret the works of various photographers (on-line research) and how they influence their own personal lives.
4. Students write reflective journals on the above experiences STAGE II: Hands-on technology workshop 1. Students become familiar with digital technology and digital cameras 2. Students practice using digital cameras, taking their own photographs, saving them in folders and uploading them in electronic spaces (i.e. Blackboard) STAGE III: Deciding on the theme of the photography/writing project 1. Students write up a brief narrative indicating the preferred theme (i.e. love; cultural diversity; poverty; relationships, etc.) they would like to explore and explain why this particular theme interests them. 2. Students have a peer review session to address the project rationale. 3. Students receive specific written directions for the project, its staging, as well as opportunities for revision and evaluation. STAGE IV: Field-work 1. Students go out in the field (my definition of field*: locations, relations, and positions to develop agency) and start taking photographs with the ideas in their minds that they will capture the theme they are to embark on. 2. Students take field notes and annotate their images as they proceed with the project.
Directions for annotating: Filed notes are your personal explanation about what you see, what strikes you about the events or images that you witness; you are documenting your experience with a camera in your hand and the world around you. What do you want to remember the most or share with others about these special moments? Put that in your field notes. Your filed notes have a historical value - they are the living memories of the things you, as the artist, capture. Do not write more than one paragraph per image/situation. Be specific. You will have more time to write later. In short: Your field notes are informal, but they are different from free-writing because they are focused on the real events right in front of you. STAGE V: Depositing the work in virtual environments 1. Students upload their images along with field notes on class Blackboard. 2. Students get the opportunity to share their work with their peers and receive feedback regarding the design of the project, its theme and the ideas behind it. STAGE VI: Connecting the visual with writing 1. Students get a choice to reflect on their creative process by either writing an expository essay exploring their overall reaction to the project or by writing a creative piece - a short story inspired by the events 2. Students begin writing up their projects and reflect on their experiences as writers by engaging in on-line class discussion. 3. Students post the first draft of the project on-line and peer critique them.
4. Students attend teacher-writer conferences to refine their project before depositing them on-line. STAGE VII: Authoring in electronic contexts 1. Students deposit their revised projects on-line and receive feedback regarding the originality of their themes and their creative explorations both through visual and verbal means. 2. Students select three best projects based on the guidelines collectively created and agreed upon. STAGE VIII: More technology (optional) 1. Students will explore the photograph editing possibilities available through the Adobe Photoshop software and practice experimenting with it using their own work. 2. Students will have the opportunity to discuss their experiences with the above experimentation by exploring it in informal, formal, or creative assignments. (JM/Spring 2011)
A Way of Seeing: Part II The Photography/Writing Project (writing to learn) Introduction to the Project * (All activities to be followed after the students had read/discussed W. Ewald s Literacy through Photography chapter and looked for their favorite photographs taken by themselves or someone else.) 1. Students (in pairs) will share their special photographs and briefly explain why they made their particular choices. 2. After the students had the opportunity to introduce their photographs, they will then exchange them and free-write (i.e. a writing-to-learn task) following these directions: Try to read this image look at the entire scene, its objects or characters. What goes on there? What is its mood like? Do you think this image reveals some kind of a story? Speculate! 3. Students report their findings and give clues to some potential stories these photographs embody. 4. Small group work: students will be directed to specific websites to do some basic research on famous photographers to collect some data on their work and different approaches/styles. 5. Groups report their findings to the entire class. 6. Whole class activity: generating a list of significant photographers and their styles for further individual research. 7. Writing extension: students write a reflective journal on the following topic: Does Photography Actually Matter? (*This is a computer lab lesson)
WRITING WITH PHOTOGRAPHY PROJECT D I R E C T I O N S: Part III This project, as we have discussed before, is intended to help you pursue your interests in photography and explore them through personal writing. These are the steps you will need to complete the project. I will guide you through every single one of them so this is just basic information for now. 1. Decide on the theme of the project a concept/idea or perhaps a physical object that you would like to explore with your camera. For example: places of worship; architecture; cultural diversity; or environment in NYC. You get extra credit for being creative! We will have a brainstorming session that will help you come up with some choices. 2. Go out in the field (try more than one place) to photograph different images or scenes that portray your theme well. Take many photographs they do not have to be perfect. Write short ethnographic notes/observations each time you go out to document anything interesting or peculiar that happened on the scene. Finally, when out in the field, the most important thing is focusing on your objects, not rushing, and having fun!
3. Choose several photographs that best represent your theme (about 5 or so) and seem to reveal some story you will creatively develop in your writing. In other words, these favorite shots will establish a basis for your writing. 4. Analyze what you see (and perhaps what you do not) in those photographs. Pay attention to the background and all its detail (i.e. people; behavior; mood; etc.). What happens there? Do these photographs hide some kind of a story? Can you discover the key to it? 5. Annotate the photographs as you look at them over and over again to capture their essence or make sense of what they may represent. 6. Begin writing a narrative essay reflecting on the project. Your essay will have an introduction, two to three well-developed body paragraphs, and a conclusion, just like in your other narrative work. 7. First, introduce us to the project and explain why you have selected a specific theme for your project. Your main idea should have a hook that will say something about your connection to this theme, the special meaning it has for you, or perhaps the creative power of photography. 8. In your body paragraphs, reflect on this creative journey. These should be the fun parts of the essay where you tell what it was like to accomplish this task. So you are going to be writing your own story captured on camera! Describe what places you went to, what objects or images you have photographed. Comment on the process - was it a smooth
endeavor or perhaps you encountered some difficulties? Most importantly, read your photographs and try to discover the story they communicate to you. Tell what it is about. 9. In your conclusion, state how you feel about completing this project and its outcome. Has it had any impact on you? What have you learned from it? 10. Be ready to present briefly the outcomes of this project (guidelines to follow). We will set a date for it. It will have to be before Spring Break so we can have a little pre-holiday celebration together! (JM/Spring 11)