PHOTOGRAPHY & FINAL DRAFTS:

A New Vi(er)sion of Literacy An Annotated Bibliography of Resources

for a 7th Grade Creative Writing Unit

Christy BatelkaSLM 5046.23.07

IINTRODUCTIONNTRODUCTION

With our world quickly becoming

more and more digitally-based,

children have to develop a new

kind of literacy--they must learn to

read, interpret, and evaluate images

just as they do with a written text.

The following is a collection of

resources to be used by both 7th

grade teachers and students. Its

objective is to teach literacy and

creative writing through the acts of

taking, interpreting, and reflecting

on photographs.

IINTRODUCTIONNTRODUCTION

TTAKING AKING PPICTURESICTURESBidner, Jenny. The Kids’ Guide to Digital Photography: How to Shoot, Save,Play with,

& Print Your Digital Photos. New York: Lark Books, 2004.

This is a kid-friendly guide to learning how to use and manipulate a digital camera. Because it’s geared toward kids ages 9-12, the text is understandable without being condescending. Similarly, its recent publication date makes it more appealing to modern kids than other more dated books of its kind. The early chapters in this source teach kids the basics of how to use a digital camera (motion shots, the flash, zoom functions, etc.), while the latter chapters include application kinds of ideas. Kids can learn how to create stationary or or CD covers using their digital photos. The Kids’ Guide to Digital Photography also discusses photo editing software andhow to use digital images in websites. It’s definitely an up-to-date source kids could use to learn more about how to take and use digital photographs.

Johnson, Neil L. National Geographic Photography Guide for Kids. Washington, D.C.:National Geographic Society, 2001.

Like The Kids’ Guide to Digital Photography, this source is written for upper elementaryand middle school children who are interested in photography. It reviews a much broader range of photography basics since it covers 35 mm cameras as well as digitalones. Kids can learn more about film, lighting, lenses, etc., and look at before and aftershots that demonstrate different techniques and emphasis. The National GeographicGuide encourages students to think about a variety of photograph subjects (animals,landscapes, portraits, etc.), and encourages experimentation to create different moodsand effects in their photographs. Kids can also visit the National Geographic websitededicated to photography for further tips and ideas. http://www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/

IINTERPRETING NTERPRETING PPICTURESICTURESThe Language of Photography. 2001. DVD (8-part series). Films For The

Humanities & Sciences.

In this 8-part DVD series on photography, students will gain insight on howto interpret photographic images. They will begin to see photographs as texts to be read and analyzed, and means of self-expression and communication. Each 27-minute segment covers a different aspect of the art of photography as a communication tool. With titles such as “Photographic Storytelling” and “Decoding Photographic Images,” this set of DVDs is sure to support a writing program that integrates photography.Preview a clip here:http://www.films.com/id/5170/The_Language_of_Photography.htm

American Photography: A Century of Images. KTCA/Twin Cities Public Television in association with Middlemarch Films, Inc.

21 June 2007

http://www.pbs.org/ktca/americanphotography/.

This PBS-sponsored website discusses the impact that photography has had on social change in America. Framed in this context, students can begin to understand the tremendous power that an image can have, the messages they convey, just as written texts and spoken words can have.The website has an interactive image lab where kids can practice croppingphotographs to create various moods and perspectives. They can explorethe “truths” or “untruths” of digital photographs by superimposing imagesinto pictures and altering a photograph's original subjects. Finally, teacherscan purchase the companion video to use for further classroom instruction.

PPICTURE ICTURE TTHIS:HIS:Writing with (and about) Photographs

Nye, Naomi Shihab. What Have You Lost? Photographs by Michael Nye. New York: Greenwillow Books, 1999.

In this collection of poems, authors deal with losses in their lives. Each poem captures the emotional impact people, places, objects, relationships, have on our lives. In her Introduction, Nye describes how the poems she’s included in this collection deal with subjects which, when lost, cause pain and suffering. She remarks that she has yet to findpoems celebrating unwanted losses (such as weight, fear, anger, etc.). Michael Nye’s haunting portraits are scattered throughout the poems, and they call to mind that question of truth in a photograph. Exactly how real and true to form is a portrait to its subject? Does a person’s essence somehow get lost in the photograph? This book would be a useful tool for students who are learning to make connections between creative writing and photography.

WritersCorps. Believe Me, I Know: Poetry and Photography By WritersCorps Youth. Ed. Valerie Chow Bush and

Jimmy Santiago Baca. San Francisco: WritersCorps Books, 2002.

Believe Me, I Know is a compilation of student poetry and photographs. It is a fittingresource for a unit incorporating writing and photography because its contentsare raw and personal. Poems reveal their writers’ true selves--their fears, desires,joys, anger--as do the photographs. In the introduction, Jimmy Baca states that the poems in Believe Me, I Know, “…allow readers to become vulnerable--open to hurt, open to love, open to experiencing the world in ways that permit us to grow.” The poems,combined with the expressive photography, surely will inspire and motivate students touse these mediums to explore and acknowledge who they are and what they value.

PPICTURE ICTURE TTHIS:HIS:Writing with (and about) Photographs

Ingold, Jeanette. Pictures, 1918. San Diego: Harcourt Brace, 1998.

15 year-old Asia is growing up in a small, rural Texas town during World War I. As she struggles to make sense of the chaotic world around her, there is one thing that helps Asia to see more clearly--the camera. Fascinated with learning photography, Asia works hard to become the apprentice to the town’s photographer. As her role as a woman in a war-torn, critical society becomes murky, and as her grandmother’s growing dementia begins to cloud Asia’s emotions, Asia’s photography begins to take on a new role in her life. Taking pictures allows Asia to see the world and the people in it in a different, clearer way. Pictures, 1918 would be an appropriate, well-reviewedwork of fiction to recommend to 7th graders learning about photography as a language, as a means to communicate.

PPhotographs:hotographs: FFood for the ood for the SStarving tarving

WWriterriter ~ Resources for Teachers ~

Literacy Through Photography. 2005. FotoFest. 21 June 2007 <http://literacythroughphotography.fotofest.org/index.htm>.

Literacy Through Photography is an initiative designed to help students to improve their written and oral communication skills through photography. Although schools need to pay for the official program curriculum and training, Literacy Through Photography’s website has many creative ideas (including a sample lesson plan) about how to incorporate photography into a writing classroom. Listen to an NPR report about the Literacy Through Photography program at http://www.fotofest.org/nprfinal.wav

Adobe Digital Kids Club. 2007. Adobe Systems Incorporated. 21 June 2007 <http://www.adobe.com/education/digkids/index.html>.

Adobe is one of the leading software companies that focuses on content delivery and graphic presentation. Whether or not your school has Adobe Photoshop or any kind ofphoto or video-editing software, this website is an outstanding resource for teachers whowant to enhance classroom instruction with photography and film. It has numerous lessonideas (such as creating multimedia interpretations of well-known poems), online tutorialson various topics (such as using photographs to tell stories), tips for taking better digitalphotos, and more. This is a must-use resource!

Ewald, Wendy, and Alexandra Lightfoot. I Wanna Take Me a Picture: Teaching Photography and Writing to Children. 2001. Boston: Center for Documentary Studies in association with Beacon Press, 2004.

Wendy Ewald is one of the innovators behind the Literacy Through Photography project, and thus her book I Wanna Take Me a Picture speaks to using photographs in conjunction with teaching reading and writing. This resource includes lesson ideas and activities for teachershoping to inspire students with fresh ways of looking at writing. Sheincludes some of her own photographs, some of her students’, alongwith stories and testimonials of self-expression relating to photographicimages. The neat thing about this book is that it inspires and promotes oral literacy just as much as written. Getting kids to talk about their experiences and to participate in rich, meaningful discussions can oftenbe a challenge for middle school teachers. Ewald recognizes this challenge and offers the use of photographs as the key to unlocking this adolescent timidity. Teachers can modify lesson ideas to fit curriculum content and maturity of the students.

PPhotographs:hotographs: FFood for the ood for the SStarving tarving

WWriterriter ~ Resources for Teachers ~

PPiecing iecing IIt t AAll ll TTogetherogether

Sometimes children need a push to write. Photographs could be the answer. By teaching children to think about writing as a form of self-expression, of style, of art, educators can help children to view literacy from a fresh and personal perspective. Poetry, prose, autobiographical sketches--most forms of writing really are simply snapshots of ourselves, documentation of what we see and value in life. By using photography as a motivator and prop, teachers will help students to generate personal, insightful, and genuine writings that, much like a photo album, can enkindle nostalgia for years to come.

Bibliography of Sources Used for the Literature Integration Project: Photography & Final Drafts

Christy Batelka Barr, Catherine, and John Thomas Gillespie. Best Books for High School Readers: Grades 9-12. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited, 2004. Barr, Catherine, and John Thomas Gillespie. Best Books for Middle School and Junior High Readers: Grades 6-9. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited, 2004. Howard County Library. 2004. 22 June 2007 <http://hclibrary.org/>. Manley, Kathryn (Media specialist at Ellicott Mills Middle School) NoveList K-8. EBSCO. Howard County Public Lib., Columbia, MD . 19 June 2007 <http://search.ebscohost.com/>.