Photography+and+the+Curriculum

Photography & the curriculum. . . more focus on learning.Full Text Available By: McKenzie, Barbara K.; Davidson, Tom; Hurt, Jim. School Library Monthly, October 1996, Vol. 13, p32

AUTHOR:	Barbara K. McKenzie, Tom J. Davidson, and Jim Hurt TITLE:	PHOTOGRAPHY & THE CURRICULUM... MORE FOCUS ON LEARNING SOURCE:	School Library Media Activities Monthly 13 32-3+ O 1996 COPYRIGHT:	The magazine publisher is the copyright holder of this article and it is reproduced with permission. Further reproduction of this article in violation of the copyright is prohibited. Photography is a creative art form that can easily be used to enhance the learning environment in a multitude of ways. It has been used by a number of library media specialists, instructional technologists, and instructors to enrich and expand the school's visual and audiovisual collection, to present problem-solving and critical thinking activities to students, to promote the school and its personnel, and to introduce students to basic photography skills. Unfortunately, in spite of its versatility, photography is still one of the most underutilized instructional media in the schools. This generally stems from the fact that many of today's educators have limited exposure to cameras and the diverse and exciting ways that they can be used to enrich the curriculum. This article presents a variety of innovative, inexpensive, and effective uses for photography observed in K-12 classrooms. These include activities in four areas: (1) curriculum enhancement; (2) problem solving, critical thinking, and creativity; (3) school public relations; and (4) film development and darkroom activities. CURRICULUM ENHANCEMENT ACTIVITIES Photography in the form of prints and/or slides has been widely used in schools to enhance curriculum activities, especially in the areas of literature, writing, science, social studies, and art. Teachers have designed and developed their own materials for classes using a variety of photography techniques and forms. Some of the more popular instruction-based uses of photography are: LITERATURE ENRICHMENT ACTIVITIES (Note: It may be necessary to obtain copyright clearance for some of the activities.) * Take slides of the pictures in a picture storybook and show the slides while reading the book to the class. * Photograph selected scenes or characters from favorite books students have read and ask them to identify and describe the characters/scenes and explain why they were important. * Have students dress as book characters, make props for a book setting, and take pictures of different scenes from the book as they act them out. Students can use photographs to put scenes in correct sequence. * Have students, after reading an informational book, use the camera to photograph corresponding elements in real life. * Use books about other countries and locations in the world to take slides of significant places, people, cultures, and/or other special features. Use the slides to introduce students to these types of informational books (may be integrated with a social studies unit). * Have students choose a famous/significant person and read a biography of that person's life. Students can use the camera to take slides of pictures found in the biography and then use the slides to present a report about the person to the class. WRITING ACTIVITIES * Take slides of interesting sites and/or people in fascinating or curious situations and ask students to write their interpretations, write a story to match the slide(s), and/or create a poem that expresses the feelings stimulated by the slide(s). * During a study trip, take slides and have students write, using descriptive language, something (related to the slides) they learned on the study trip. * Use slides of places, people, and/or cultures and ask students to select one or more and write about the likenesses/differences observed between themselves and those shown on the slides (can be integrated with a social studies unit). * Prepare slides of different kinds of animals. Ask students to choose an animal they would like to have as a pet and write a short piece explaining, after doing research about the animal of their choice, why they would like to have the animal as a pet (could be integrated with a language arts unit on how to do research). * Have students take pictures of family members and create a collage called "My Family" Ask students to write a brief paragraph telling about each family member. SCIENCE ACTIVITIES * Have students take slides of science fair projects. You can use the slides to share with students in coming school years to illustrate what science projects might look like. * Take slides of different kinds of insects and use them to demonstrate the various characteristics of insects during a related unit (could be used for a variety of science unit topics, such as animals, simple machines, types of weather, etc.). * Conduct a unit of instruction on photography Include the history of photography, how cameras work, different kinds of cameras, and/or important figures in the development of cameras and photography * Have students conduct experiments on what plants require in order to live. Students then take photographs of the condition of their plants at different observation times and describe what they think has happened to their plants (integrated with writing activities). * Take slides of the various components of our solar system (using reference books) and ask students to identify each and name their characteristics (type of body, size, temperature, distance from the sun and/or earth, etc.). SOCIAL STUDIES ACTIVITIES * Make prints or slides of the maps of different states and ask students to identify each state and provide selected information about each (capital, state bird, state tree/flower, flag, main industry, etc.). The same activity could be done with countries. (Students can write a selected state or country requesting information.) * Use reference books to make slides of different geographical features of a state/country Ask students to identify each of the features presented on the slides. * Make slides of different kinds of shelters (houses) people live in throughout the world. Have students describe how these shelters are different and why their builders make them as they do. * During a unit on the medieval period have students build models of several different types of castles. Students then take photographs of the models from the perspective of flying over in an airplane. Students write a description of how the castles look in the finished prints (could be integrated with writing and language arts, including conducting research on the different types of castles). * As part of a unit on early America, have students dress in period clothing and, using pictures from textbooks and resource books, depict different significant events (Continental Congress, signing of the Declaration of Independence, inauguration of George Washington, etc.). Take photographs of each of the depictions. ARTISTIC ACTIVITIES * Have students experiment with different kinds of lighting while taking photographs of the same scene or still life. * Have students take photos of interesting, curious, and/or unusual scenes, people, events, and/or visual effects and set up a display of their efforts. * Take slides to accompany a song, piece of music, or the reading of a poem. * Have students choose an artist or sculptor from a selected list and prepare a slidetape program about their choice. (Background information about the artists and examples of their work should be available.) * Produce a slidetape program on selected artistic concepts (lighting, composition, rule of thirds, etc.). PROBLEM-SOLVING AND CRITICAL THINKING ACTIVITIES Teachers in K-12 have successfully used photography to teach problem-solving and critical thinking skills in the curriculum. Some of the more popular activities that have been observed by the authors include the following. * Produce slides of various problem situations involving safety concerns and procedures such as: what to do if a tornado/hurricane/ fire warning occurs; safety procedures for using electric/electronic equipment. After viewing a slide or slides about a concern, have students identify the problem and brainstorm possible solutions/procedures. * Show close-up slides of various kinds of rocks and minerals and ask students to identify them and explain what clues they used from the pictures to aid them in identifying them. * Produce close-up slides of various kinds of textures and ask students to suggest what each is and what ideas they used to assist them in identification of the object corresponding to each texture. * Take close-up slides or photos anatomical parts of a variety of animals and ask students to brainstorm the types of animals depicted. Students then explain the reasoning behind their choices. * Show slides of persons in a variety of confrontational situations and ask students to propose nonviolent ways for the people to resolve their problems. SCHOOL PUBLIC RELATIONS ACTIVITIES Administrators and teachers have used photography in a variety of ways to promote the overall image of the school with the public and incoming personnel. Some of the most commonly observed uses have included the following applications. * Develop a slidetape of the school, its personnel, and important yearly events to share with students when they return to school in the fall; to orient new students; and/or to show at open house or PTO meetings. * Develop a slidetape of the library media center and use it to orient students, teachers, and others to how the center works and what services it provides. * Take photos of school personnel and prepare collages of different groups (teacher teams; office personnel; lunchroom workers; janitorial staff; etc.) and display at appropriate locations around the school. * Produce photos of different personnel to be featured each month and send photos to local newspapers. * Feature a special activity in the school each month and send a photo report on the activity to the local newspaper. FILM DEVELOPMENT AND DARKROOM ACTIVITIES As more and more schools are beginning to start darkrooms, instructors are creating more of their own photographic instructional materials and are involving their students in photography-based learning activities. Some of the commonly used instructor-based activities are: * Prepare an instructional unit on special photography techniques (i.e., photosketching, photograms, blackand-white prints, photo cropping, enlarging/reducing photos, etc.). * Develop slides that illustrate the various professions that involve photography and discuss each with students. * Have students experiment with time-lapsed photography as part of a unit on plants. (Students can use this form of photography to show how a plant's leaves open up over a period of time.) * As part of a science unit on photography, have students become familiar with darkroom equipment, how it works, and how to use it. Students then can develop their own photos. * Have students build their own pinhole cameras. Ask them to be able to explain how this camera works, what happens when light hits the film, and then take photos with the camera and develop them. FINAL TAKE The high-speed, high-tech world in which learners live today places a greater demand on schools and teachers continuously to find new and innovative ways to challenge students and keep them actively engaged in learning. Photography is a (low-tech) tool that has been around for a long time (and is often forgotten), but it can be used effectively in a variety of ways to enhance the curriculum, enrich learning, and revitalize the image schools project of themselves to learners and the community in general. So break out those cameras and get started! ADDED MATERIAL Barbara K. McKenzie, Ph.D., is Chair of the Department of Research, Media, and Technology and an associate professor at West Georgia College in Carrollton, GA. Tom J. Davidson, Ph.D., is a professor in the Department of Middle Grades and Secondary Education at West Georgia College. Jim Hurt is a professional photographer and Director of the TV Studio at West Georgia College.