“Through the Eyes of a Child- Student Photography” Elementary Level – Visual Arts

Classroom Yearly Lesson Plan

As part of the county reading curriculum, my second grade students will use cameras and video equipment to enhance their reading skills. Student will perform and record "readers theater" presentations inspired from curriculum based stories which they have read in class. They will work with our school media specialist to air these theater productions on the school's media outlet / television for the student population to view. Every student in my classroom will have the opportunity to be a part of these productions. Some will become actors /actresses with others becoming set designers or video producers. And with multiple productions, every child will have the opportunity to perform all jobs dealing with the production of these theater presentations.

Third through fifth grade students will have the opportunity to be a part of an after school photography club where they will be responsible in creating, designing, and producing an informative school brochure to be put in our school front office for new students and their parents. This brochure will be written in English as well as additional languages as needed. Students will be taught the correct procedures and steps of how to photograph different subject matter. They will view tutorial videos on photography and then use cameras to complete teacher guided activities which will give them the hands on experience of using camera equipment.

The students will also learn the edit, revise, and finalize their work (Photos and writing)
before sending to local printer to complete their informative school brochure.

The Florida state standards that will be covered for both the 2nd grade and photography club will be as follows:

LA.A.2.2.2 Identifies the author’s purpose in a simple text.

LA.A.2.2.3 Recognizes when a text is primarily intended to persuade.

Look at story illustrations; discuss how the artist has relayed the message. What is the artist’s purpose? How has the artist related his message?
Discuss color theory - How do color’s, like words, convey feelings, temperature, mood, etc.?

LA.A.2.2.8 Selects and uses a variety of appropriate reference materials, including multiple representations of information such as maps, charts, and photos, to gather information for research projects.

LA.A.2.2.5 Reads and organizes information for a variety of purposes, including making a report, conducting interviews, taking a test, and performing an authentic task.

When approaching a new assignment, have students look for supporting materials to assist them with the assignment. (ex. You are drawing underwater pictures. Have books, internet etc. for students to look at examples of underwater photography.)
Have reference materials available for students to research a specific artist.

LA.E.1.2.3 Knows the similarities and differences among the characters, settings, and events presented in various texts.

Look at several examples of one artist work. (ex. Monet’s garden pictures) How are they similar and how do they differ?
What feelings, effects, etc. do different types of media evoke? (oil vs. watercolor, 2D vs. 3D) How is the choice of media important to an artist way of conveying his message?

There will also be math standards incorporated into this project as well:

MA.A.3.2.2: Selects the appropriate operation to solve specific problems involving addition, subtraction, and multiplication of whole numbers, decimals, and fractions, and division of whole numbers. Using for sizing of photography to be displayed

Ask students to explain how to find the center of a piece of paper without folding.
Ask student how to make a 3” square out of a 3” x 5” index card.

MA.A.4.2.1 uses and justifies different estimation strategies in a real-world problem situation and determines the reasonableness of results of calculations in a given problem situation.

Review 2 examples of art work. One needs to be very old (ex. Cave art) the other modern. Announce the dates each was create and ask which is older.

The donations made to this project will not only help in improving literacy skills such as reading comprehension, writing, do better and vocabulary but will also enhance the creative side in the visual arts. Students will have the opportunity to learn about careers in photography such as National Geographic, Movie Production, and media/newspapers. This project could inspire students to want to do better in school so that they could pursue a career in the many different jobs in photography.