Writing and Illustrating a Digital Children's Picture Book

Lessons for Photoshop and Language Arts:

1. Descriptive writing
2. Picture Books
3. Creative Writing
4. Poetry
5. Sequential Writing
6. Travel Brochures
7. Inanimate Objects and the story behind them

OVERVIEW:
Students shall use digital cameras and scanned sketched drawings to write a creative story with pictures for a PowerPoint picture book . Students shall learn how to digitally enhance and manipulate their photos and
sketches in Photoshop. Students shall then choose the best from their Photoshop files and put these together in a sequential book (may be children's story book, using descriptive language).

Each page shall be
written and illustrated (Photos, sketches, Photoshop) by the students, including the cover.

Descriptive and creative writing shall be emphasized as well as sequencing of pictures and story.

The old cliché "A picture is worth a thousand words" is put to the test in this lesson. While students may not actually write exactly a thousand words, they will have the chance to think critically about their Photoshop interpretations of the events in an image and to write about those ideas. Students shall brainstorm descriptive words and ideas about their images before writing the story that brings the photos together by giving background or extending details on what
happens next. In this lesson students will become engaged in writing sequential, descriptive, and creative pieces about their photos. They will also describe line, shape, and mood of their photos when writing the preface of
their picture book and explaining why they chose these particular photos.

Art, technology, and Language arts all come together in this unit.

The project can be modified for time and age constraints.

This unit uses student photos enhanced and manipulated in Photoshop as inspiration for narrative, descriptive, and sequential writing.




STUDENT OBJECTIVES:
Students will:

Become knowledgeable in the use of digital cameras
Become knowledgeable in the use pf Photoshop and scanners
Become more advanced in sequential writing
Become more advanced at descriptive and creative writing.
Be able to choose a sequence of photos to engage their story
Be able to use Photoshop to enhance photos to truly engage their story
Be able to describe the elements and principles of design
Be able to create a written and photographic rendition of a
sequential, descriptive story.



MATERIALS:
Digital camera- (most students already have 1- otherwise, use disposal cameras and photos on cds)
Photoshop 2.0 elements or PHOTOSHOP EXPRESS (FREE ONLINE)
Thumbdrives
Scanner
PowerPoint or iMovie capability
Printer
Paper
Computer with burning capabilities.
Blank cd-r ‘s, 1 per student for final copy and 1 per student for saving photos to be used.