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2 Writing Through The Lens: Creating Camera Narratives
2.5 Lesson plan #3

The Single Photo Short Story

Lesson plan #3

Lesson Plan Title: Getting To Know Me In My Pictures -Who? What? When? Where? Why?

Concept / Topic To Teach: establishing the writer/photographer’s personal point-of-view through response photos

General Goal(s): Students will respond in photos to a series of 5W questions

Specific Objectives:

  • Choose appropriate images to communicate meaning accurately and engage the

interest of their audience


  • Write brief text to explain a picture or photograph


  • Communicate ideas, opinions and information in a clear, coherent manner using

simple but appropriate organizational patterns for photos and text

  • Communicate ideas about personal experiences and/or familiar stories and experiment

with personal voice in their finished work by responding to questions posed in an

individual and unique way


Required Materials:

  • list of questions

  • cameras

  • computers

Anticipatory Set (Lead-In):

This lesson would work well as an introductory exercise at the start of the school year. It assumes the cameras have been distributed and that the preliminary concepts and vocabulary are familiar. The lesson provides for skill building in written, oral and visual communication with the student and his/her interests and ideas as the focus. It is a non-threatening exercise academically as there is no right or wrong answer for any of the questions.

Step-By-Step Procedures:

(all steps refer to the list of 5W questions on page 3 of this lesson)

  • Distribute questions and reflect on the idea of point-of-view, reminding students that a photo is created through the photographer’s eye but read by the viewer as well. It is important to make the photo say clearly and simply what you want to tell/show the viewer.

  • Discuss each question briefly without imposing a solution but clarifying language and discussing some general ideas or directions students might take.

  • Assign or have students choose a partner to assist in #1 the self-portrait. Remind them that any of the questions can be answered by including other people in the composition as long as they keep themselves as the focus.

  • Download photos to their files on computer and attach a brief written explanation for each photo which helps to clarify their ideas. You may choose to spread this activity over a number of days and include an oral sharing/discussion period after 3-5 questions. This will re-direct and focus students as well as reinforcing the concept of individual point-of-view as they share their photos.

  • Compose the good copy with explanations and print for display in the classroom or hallway.

Assessment Based On Objectives:

  • Do the images answer the questions posed with personalized response?

  • Has the student made an attempt to engage his/her audience by expressing personal opinion in a creative way?

  • Do the written explanations help to clarify and extend?

  • Is the final presentation edited and free of grammar errors?

  • Is the final presentation planned and organized using a simple coherent pattern?

5W Questions


  1. Who do people see when they look at me? (have a partner take this picture for you and try to show your personality)


  1. Who are the important people in my life? (this could be a group picture or a number of individuals)


  1. What are 3 activities I love to do? (action shots/ even other photos of you in action or objects which represent the activity)


  1. What was an important event in my life? (think of a creative way to show this day or time)


  1. When am I most afraid? (try to show why as part of the composition)


  1. When do I feel happiest? (there is no right or wrong way to express this. It could a photo of you with your friends, of you fishing at a favorite spot, of you listening to music – just try to be in the moment!)


  1. Where are 2 of my favorite places? (these could be places you have been to or places you think are special. They can be very tiny like a secret hide-out or medium-size like a hockey rink or pretty big like a city or a province or even a country)


  1. Where is someplace I hope to visit one day? (this one might be related to #8 or completely unrelated like outer-space or deep in the ocean or the top of Mt. Everest)


  1. Why do people fight? (you can import images for this one or have classmates act out actions for you or think of symbols to represent what you are thinking)


  1. Why do people drink or do drugs? (this will be kind of tricky to show in a photo but write down your answers and then talk to your teacher, parents or friends about how you might show that in a photo if you are having a hard time on your own-remember there is not only one right answer!)

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