Publishing With Photos!

Publishing With Photos!

With this grant, I will motivate my students to create their own books using photographs for illustrations. These photos may actually prompt the writing, or may be used to illustrate written materials. All content areas will be addressed.

During math activities, photos could be made of students working with manipulatives and explanations written. Photos of students or objects could be used to make addition, subtraction, or other problem solving books. Author studies of published authors who use photos in this manner...such as Tana Hoban, could be conducted simultaneously. The students could create their own Math Journals documenting their first grade math experiences.

In science, photos of projects such as plant growth experiments could be used as the students make a step-by-step book showing the growing cycle. Students could document the changing of the seasons. Other life cycle studies and various experiments using the scientific process would be applicable as well. We have a new science lab in our building and many thematic units prepared and waiting. Being able to photograph the students in action or at different stages of activities would greatly enrich these experiences.

For Social Studies, we do units on time lines, community workers, historical figures, different cultures, and holiday customs. I can just imagine what wonderful books the students would create as they use photos of the community volunteers who visit our school. They would have books about the policemen, firemen, teachers, etc. that they actually know!

The precious art work that children produce is often large and cumbersome. The students could make books using photographs of their art. The art might be used to illustrate poetry or stories the students have written. We study different artists during the year and create pieces of art in the artists' styles. These could be photographed and books about different artists, styles, or media developed to provide information.

We have a newly formed performing arts group. The performers could be photographed during their shows and stories written about these. In our related arts classes, the activities the students are involved in would become much more meaningful and long-lasting if their learning was documented. All of our field trips could be recorded not just in our minds, but as shared written memories.

This grant will open not one, but hundreds of doors to learning for my students. Publishing with photographs...the possibilities are endless!