Literacy through Photography—A two in one!

Photography literally means writing with light, and as we developed our negatives into positives, sometimes we were also able to do the same in our

art and lives

Grades: 6th, 7th, 8th (can be adapted to upper elementary)Time Required: Four to eight class periodsNCSCOS Objectives:1.02 Explore expressive materials that are read, heard, and/or viewed by:

monitoring comprehension for understanding of what is read, heard and/or viewed. analyzing the characteristics of expressive works. determining the effect of literary devices and/or strategies on the reader/viewer/listener. making connections between works, self and related topics. comparing and/or contrasting information. drawing inferences and/or conclusions. determining the main idea and/or significance of events. generating a learning log or journal. creating an artistic interpretation that connects self to the work. discussing print and non-print expressive works formally and informally.

Learning Objectives: Students will:

understand the photographic process. view and discuss how artists use geometric shapes to create a picture and or pattern when

creating a picture and how these would be applied to their own artwork. use setting, character, and sensory details in a poem and literature. create a multimedia artwork using photographs, drawings, and poetry.

Materials: Five 35mm camera’s (or as many as you can find for your class) 35mm film Areas around the school (trees, playground, parking lot, etc) Scissors Glue stick White drawing paper Colored pencils Chart paper Markers Activeboard with internet access Poem worksheets Venn-Diagram Edmund Teske’s photographs

Procedure:

1. Begin by using the lesson called A Story in a Snapshot how “Photography Changes Our Life

Stories” that is found on the Smithsonian Photography Initiative. This lesson may take about 2

class periods.

2. Once the introductory lesson has been completed begin discussing the concept that “every

picture tells a story” with students. Explain to students that photographs also have the narrative

elements that a story book has, but that the character, setting, and sensory details are presented in

a different form than words.

3. Show students sample of Edmund Teske’s photographs that use montages and double

exposures. Have a discussion with the class about the artworks and how they were made. List

out common characteristics among the images.

Website about Edmund Teske as well as some images that can be viewed. May need to

download some ahead of time due to website being blocked in the school system.

http://www.stephendaitergallery.com/dynamic/artist.asp?ArtistID=16

Use the worksheet, Photography Terms, to identify and define the terms: photograph, negative,

double exposure, landscape, organic shapes, geometric shapes, and narrative art. Review the

concepts of: setting, character, and sensory details and have students look for them in the

photographs. Before having a class discussion have students view Edmund Teskes’s

photography’s and have them make inferences on their own before discussing with a partner

(Think-Pair-Share). Next focus on the Photography Terms Worksheet referring back to the

pictures as you go.

While viewing photography’s the following questions can be discussed:

-Look at the shapes in this work of art. What different shapes do you see?

-Where do you see texture? How would you describe it?

-Where do you see the shapes (organic/geometric) and lines repeated to create a pattern?

-What was the first thing you noticed about the photograph? Would you consider this to be the

focal point/emphasis of the photograph?

-What else caught your eye?

-What do you think is happening in this picture? Why?

-Which figure, shape, or object is the main character? What sensory details can you find in the

character?

4. Next explore samples of narrative writing through children’s literature books, as well as

students’ own writing samples. (Any book or writing can be chosen. As a class we read

Baseball Saved Us and Room 204, http://mgfx.com/kidlit/kids/artlit/stories/esmith.htm written

by a 5th grade student). My students completed a Venn-Diagram comparing and contrasting their

lives to main character’s life in the book Baseball Saved Us. Ask class to discuss how the

elements of setting, character, and sensory details are expressed differently in photography and

in narrative writing.

5. Once exploration between photography and narrative writing have been completed show

students how to load film into the camera. Explain how to create a double exposure. (Explain

this is all trial and error and results may vary. Kodak film seems to work better than Fuji.)

Break the class up into pairs. Each will first take pictures of a setting, such as trees or other

natural elements in around the school. They will need to be zoomed in on this so that it will be

their only background. Keep track of the order in which each student takes a picture.

6. When each student has taken one picture, rewind the film, but do not rewind it all the way.

You will need to use the same film again. To do this, you need to stop the film before it is

rewound back into the film cartridge. As you are rewinding, listen to hear the winding stop.

You’ll also feel the tension loosen as you turn the handheld winder. When you remove the film

from the camera, a small tab should stick out of the roll. Take the film out and show it to the

students. Explain that you are going to load the film again so that each student can take a picture

of a character on top of the setting photographs they have already taken. (This technique may

vary with each camera. Also, be careful not to expose the film to any light!)

7. After reloading the film, go outside and have students photograph each other as the characters.

Make sure the pairs take pictures in the same order they did in Step 4. It is sometimes best for

students to photograph each other against a white wall. If you don’t, photos may get too busy

visually. Rewind the film and take it to a store to get the negatives developed into positives

(prints) and get a CD (optional) made of the images.

8. After film is printed, have students cut each print in half, by cutting through the middle of the

face in the image. Glue the cut prints onto white drawing paper. Using colored pencils, have

students draw the other half of their faces and bodies with polygons and organic shapes, applying

their knowledge of shapes to create patterns and texture. They may also render some of the

patterns and textures found in the photograph.

9. When finished with their artwork, have students share their masterpieces with class. Each

student should explain their use of shape, color, pattern, and texture, as well as the setting,

character, and sensory details in their own artworks. Have students reflect on their work by

asking the following questions:

- What does the image you created have in common with Teske’s photos?

- How are they different?

- What is the setting? Identify and locate some sensory details in the setting.

- Is there a story in this work of art?

- What polygons are in your masterpiece?

- Where did you use organic shapes?

10. Explain to the students that they will create “diamonte poems” that explore the character and

setting in the multimedia artwork they created. Define a diamonte poem: A seven-line poem that

compares two things that are different from each other. Remind students to use sensory words in

their poetry. Discuss the use of poetic imagery as it pertains to setting, character, and sensory

details in writing and in photography.

11. Pass out “Poetry Diamonte” worksheet. Review the template on the worksheet and have

students create their poem. After students write their diamonte poem, remind them that their own

ear is the best detective and have them edit their poem by reading it aloud. They can then decide

which words don’t sound right or resonate well. They can then creatively transform a negative to

a positive by changing the words.

12. Pass out the second worksheet: “Poetry Gem Diamonte.” Share the following statement by

Edmund Teske: “A word polished to brilliance can make the most precious gem.” Encourage

students to polish their words into gems by using a thesaurus to find synonyms. Once they have

found the word that they like best (the gem), they can use the second worksheet to replace the

old word in their poems with the gem to create a new poem.

13. Mount the artwork and poetry together. Have students present their artwork and poems

orally to class and celebrate their accomplishments!

Photography Terms:“Photography changes the life we live”

Teacher Copy

Photograph: is an image created by light falling on a light-sensitive surface, such as the camera film Montage: a collage

Photomontage: is the process and result of making a composite photograph by cutting and joining a number of other photographs. The composite picture was sometimes photographed so that the final image is converted back into a seamless photographic print. Double Exposure: a photographic technique when two or more individual exposures are made to create a single photograph

Negative: film for 35 mm camera that comes in long strips of chemical coated plastic where basically the color is reversed.

Landscape: background of the picture

Narrative Art: art that tells a story

Organic shapes are shapes with a natural look and flowing and curving appearance. For this reason, they are often also, referred to as curvilinear shapes. Examples of organic shapes include the shapes of leaves, plants, and animals. Organic shapes are not the same as rectilinear shapes, which are also called geometric shapes. Unlike organic shapes most geometric shapes are angular. The only exceptions are oval and circular shapes. Most geometric shapes are manmade, though honeycombs and crystals are also considered to be geometric despite the fact they are made in nature

Review of Story Element Terms

Setting: where the story takes place

Characters: people or things in a story

Sensory Details: the picture that can be painted with words. As you read you can see the story playing

Name: __________________

Date: __________________

Photography Terms:“Photography changes the life we live”

1). Photograph:

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

2). Montage:

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Photomontage:

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Double Exposure:

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Negative:

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Landscape:______________________________________________________________________________

Narrative Art: ______________________________________________________________________________

Organic shapes:______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Geometric Shapes:

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Story Element Terms

Setting:_________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Characters:______________________________________________________________

Sensory

Details:_________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Name Date

Poetry Diamonte

A diamonte poem is a seven-line poem that compares two things that are different from each other. The format is as following:Line 1: noun

Line 2: two adjectives that describe the noun in line 1

Line 3: three adverbs (words that end in –ly) that relate to line 1

Line 4: four nouns (two related to line 1, and two related to the noun in line 7

Line 5: three adverbs (words that end in –ly) that relate to line 7

Line 6: two adjectives that describe the noun in line 7

Line 7: a noun (opposite or different from the noun in line 1)

Choose two contrasting items from your artwork or two contrasting photographs from the Getty Museum’s collection. Write a poem about those two items using this format.

Title

Line 1__________________________________________________________________

Line 2__________________________________________________________________

Line 3__________________________________________________________________

Line 4__________________________________________________________________

Line 5__________________________________________________________________

Line 6__________________________________________________________________

Line 7__________________________________________________________________