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2 Writing Through The Lens: Creating Camera Narratives
2.3 Lesson plan #1

Using The Camera To Tell A Story


The Single Photo Short Story

Lesson plan #1

Lesson Plan Title: Who? What? When? Where? Why?



Concept / Topic To Teach: Learning to “read” a photo

General Goal(s): Students will become familiar with how to look at a photo and analyze what information the photographer is giving the viewer.

Specific Objectives:

  • Students will be introduced to the vocabulary required to fulfill the tasks

  • Students will analyze photos for their story content and interpret what they are seeing based on discussion and personal judgment using the established vocabulary

  • Students will develop social skills and respect for the opinions of others through shared observations

  • Students will practice the concept of individual point of view as well as shared perspective

  • Students will record their conclusions through supported, organized observations

  • Students will provide written consolidation of skills

Required Materials:

  • Shared access to photo images – smartboard/ computer lab/ opaque projector

  • A series of photos (5) for analyzing (use a search engine such as Google images) http://www.google.ca/imghp?hl=en&tab=wi

http://photobucket.com/findstuff/

http://www.flickr.com/

http://picasa.google.com/mac/



to find families, sports, children, teenagers, tourists). These images should include enough information that consensus on most of the 5 W’s can be reached.

  • Notebooks


Anticipatory Set (Lead-In):

Students should be familiar with the words they will need to use in order to analyze and hypothesize effectively

  • Vocabulary – characters, setting. mood, theme, conflict, point of view shot, frame, subject foreground, middle ground, background


Step-By-Step Procedures:

  • Record the vocabulary on the board or chart paper and have students do the same in their notebooks

  • Discuss and define the terms using a common photo and their dictionaries as reference

  • Encourage group discussion, brainstorming why and when we take pictures (record all answers)

  • Using these responses, discuss how a picture tells a story (use the common photo again)

    • we see the subjects (characters)

    • we see the location (setting –time, place)

    • we see key objects and/or clothing details

    • we see the mood (happy, sad, excited, angry, shy)

    • we often see the occasion or the reason for the photo

    • we see the photographer’s relationship or point of view toward the subject (admiring, loving, curious, afraid)

  • In small groups, look at your first photo. Have students discuss and record together what story cues they can discern using the vocabulary established (point form)

  • As a full group, come back to share, defend and justify the small group responses and record the points upon which the class has reached consensus

  • In three to five sentences, collaboratively write the story of the picture

  • Treat the second photo the same way

  • For the final three pictures have the students work on their own points and simple story paragraphs

  • Have students choose one paragraph to self edit and submit for assessment

Plan For Independent Practice:

  • Discuss a family photo with family member(s) at home attempting to answer all 5 W’s and using the learned vocabulary

  • Students will bring the picture to class with a written paragraph that tells its story

Assessment Based On Objectives:

  • Does the student use the established vocabulary with a sense of understanding in relation to the photo?

  • Does the student see the correlation between photo and story?

  • Does the student share observations and encourage others in small and large group setting?

  • Is the student able to draw more subtle inferences (the why of the story) from cues and subtext in the photo?

  • Is the written paragraph a clear, concise, coherent telling of the photo content?


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