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RE 5130 Marsha Warren Literacy Through Photography Project Slide 2 NCSCOS Objectives LANGUAGE ARTS 3.01 Elaborate on how information and events connect to life experiences. 4.01 Select and use new vocabulary and language structures in both speech and writing contexts (e.g., oral retelling, using exclamatory phrases to accent an idea or event). 4.02 Use words that describe, name characters and settings (who, where), and tell action and events (what happened, what did _____ do) in simple texts. 4.03 Use specific words to name and tell action in oral and written language (e.g., using words such as frog and toad when discussing a nonfiction text). 4.04 Extend skills in using oral and written language by: clarifying purposes for engaging in communication. using clear and precise language to paraphrase messages. engaging in more extended oral discussions. producing written products. completing graphic organizers. 4.06 Compose a variety of products (e.g., stories, journal entries, letters, response logs, simple poems, oral retellings) using a writing process. Slide 3 NCSCOS Objectives 5.01 Use phonic knowledge and basic patterns (e.g., an, ee, ake) to spell correctly three-and four-letter words. 5.02 Apply phonics to write independently, using temporary and/or conventional spelling. 5.03 Write all upper and lower case letters of the alphabet, using correct letter formation. 5.04 Use complete sentences to write simple texts. 5.05 Use basic capitalization and punctuation: first word in a sentence. proper names. period to end declarative sentence. question mark to end interrogative sentence. 5.07 Use legible manuscript handwriting. *Even though weather is not in our 1 st grade curriculum, I still teach it because I think its important for students to know about. Slide 4 Instructional Plan and Activities Day 1 I started this project by telling my students about how we are going to be talking about taking pictures and then we were going to actually be taking them. I also told them we were going to be doing a project where they were going to be able to plan what was going to be in their picture and how they wanted their picture taken. After telling them just this little bit about our project, they started getting excited. I then went into detail about the project. They were to choose their favorite type of weather (we have just completed a unit on this topic). They were then to bring items to school that they would either use or wear during that type of weather. They would then "plan" their picture- after we've learned how to take pictures and all the important parts this process. After I briefly told them about our project, I used the "paper camera" we discussed in class. I used paper rectangles with the insides cut out- like a frame. I had them hold them up as if it was a camera frame. We talked about how to "place" an object we wanted to photograph in the frame. We also talked about how to move the rectangle back and forth to "zoom in and out" on objects and how we need to be careful about what's around the object we want to photograph. Slide 5 Instructional Plan and Activities Day 2 We started this lesson out by thinking about the favorite type of weather we had chosen on Day 1 of this project. I then had them jot down a list of things they either like to do during that type of weather or clothing they could wear during this type of weather. This was written down in their Writer's Notebook. The second thing I had them do was to make a list of things they thought they may want to bring to school from home that they would like to include in their photograph. The third and final thing I had them do in their notebook was to "plan" their photograph. They had to either draw a plan or write down explicit instructions for their photo. The things I asked them to include were: location (around the school), were they going to pose or be photographed doing something, were they going to be sitting or standing, how would they include their "props" brought from home, did they want a close-up or not, did they want to be in the center of the picture and if not, then what would be in the center, would they look at the camera or at something else. They had A LOT to think about during this session. I was really excited by some of their plans. Slide 6 Instructional Plan and Activities Day 3 This was so much fun! I let everyone get the props they had brought to school, and change clothes if necessary. I then took the ones who wanted "outside" pictures out. We "partnered" up so that each student would have someone they could take a picture of and someone who could take their picture. I let each student choose the location they wanted their picture taken- soccer field, playground, under the dogwood tree, etc. We then took the pictures. After that, I took the ones who wanted "inside" pictures around the school to get their pictures taken. It was so funny to watch them "line" up the things they had brought with them. We had talked about how they could just be natural or they could pose in their picture, etc. Each student, except for two, decided to pose for the camera. Something else I thought was funny was the fact that when shown the picture that was taken of themselves, each student said the first one was OK. Heads were cut off, bodies were not centered, etc.- everything was fine. I only had one student who said he wanted his partner to take another one. They loved this and I loved watching them get so excited over this project. Slide 7 Instructional Plan and Activities Day 4 During this session, my students and I explored different types of weather forecasts in order to prepare for writing a weather forecast. On my document camera, I pulled up The Weather Channel's website. On this website, we found weather forecasts dealing with several different types of weather. I also showed them the weather section of WBTV's website and we looked at weather forecasts there. On both of these websites, we also listened to a couple of forecasts as well. I wanted them to hear the language used in weather forecasts. In addition to sharing these 2 websites with them, I also brought in the weather section of a couple of newspapers, too. Once we had explored these websites and newspapers, I had them look at their picture, remember their favorite type of weather, and write a weather forecast for that type of weather. They all did an awesome job! I made a sheet of paper with lines and a box to the side for them to "publish" their forecast. They were able to draw one small picture in the box and then write their forecast on the lines. Slide 8 Instructional Plan and Activities Day 5 The second genre I had my students write for this project was a friendly letter. They were asked to write a letter to someone and, in that letter, describe the weather of where they were- this weather had to be their favorite type of weather they had chosen for their picture. We have been writing friendly letters since February and I honestly thought this would not be a tough assignment for my students. I was wrong. I'm not sure if it was because they had to "pretend" to be writing about the weather, when it wasn't actually that type of weather outside, or if this was just a tough assignment for them. I modeled writing a sample letter before they began writing. I wrote to one of my friends who does not live around here. In the letter, I described the weather outside as being snowy because that's my favorite type of weather. We also reviewed the parts of a friendly letter and I labeled those parts on my sample letter. Slide 9 Student #1 Weston was one of my two students who chose not to look directly into the camera. His favorite weather was stormy and he likes to read books, with light from his flashlight, during storms. By this picture, I can tell he has somewhat of a good idea of framing. He is in the middle of the picture, however, the top of his head is cut off. He, like the rest of my students, did not mind if parts of their body was cut off in pictures. The things in the background bothered me, but he didnt mind them. I think he felt that because what he likes to do during his favorite type of weather was shown, then his picture was great. Slide 10 Friendly Letter Weston is one of my higher level writers. This is a published piece of writing, which means Weston went through the entire writing process. I only helped him edit spelling and punctuation because I wanted to see if he would be able to write a friendly letter in the correct format. As you can see, I feel as if he did an awesome job correctly wiring this letter. In the draft before he published his letter on this paper, he had the closing and signature each down one line. He didnt want to squeeze his name under the last line and so he put the closing on the same line as the end of his letter. Slide 11 Weather Forecast Just as with the Friendly letter, this was a published piece of writing. I helped Weston edit only spelling and punctuation. I thought Weston did an excellent job of using the language of forecasting correctly. His forecast almost sounds as if it could be used on TV by a meteorologist, except for the shock out your lights part of the forecast. I also looked to see if the picture drawn matches the forecast and if the forecast matches the favorite type of weather chosen by the student. Weston did a great job on both of these aspects. Slide 12 Student #2 Dawson was my other student who did not look directly at the camera. Dawson wanted to be shooting his basketball ball while his partner took the picture. I really like the way the sky is showing in the picture. I feel it portrays Dawsons favorite type of weather (hot, sunny) perfectly. I think his partner did a pretty good job of getting Dawson shooting the basketball and the sky into the picture. Dawson was OK with the things in the background and with part of the asphalt at the bottom. He was just pleased that he was in the picture shooting his basketball. He didnt even mind the fact his feet were cut off. Slide 13 Friendly Letter Again, this is a published piece of writing. I only helped Dawson edit his spelling and punctuation. I think Dawson did a great job following the format of a friendly letter. A couple of his sentences seem out of place with the rest of his letter. He was able to incorporate his favorite type of weather into the letter, which was part of the assignment. On the draft before this final copy, he had his signature below his closing, but on this copy, he ran out of room. Slide 14 Weather Forecast This was a published piece of writing. I only helped Dawson edit spelling and punctuation. Dawsons temperature for a hot, sunny day was just a little off- 20+ degrees. He wanted to write the forecast like he was writing it for a TV meteorologist and the meteorologist was finished with his segment and was sending it back to the news anchor. I thought that was pretty creative. His picture matched the type of weather he likes best. Slide 15 Student #3 Sams favorite weather is cold and snowy. He chose to have his picture taken in the Four Seasons hallway at our school. He brought to school a scarf, gloves, toboggan, and big coat to wear in his photo. I thought he did a great job of directing his partner to center him in the picture, as well as between the two trees, which shows he has a good sense of framing. It did not bother him that the picture was a little slanted and that the bottom of the wall is showing in the photo. The only thing that mattered to him was the fact he was in the center of the picture and that he was smiling. Slide 16 Friendly Letter This is a published piece of writing. Sam did a super job of writing this letter. I did not have to help him correct anything. I was very proud of him for his hard work. He is not one of my students who writes neat most of the time. As a matter of fact, he doesnt write neat hardly any of the time. I think on this project, because he was invested and interested in it, he did his absolute best. Slide 17 Weather Forecast Again, I was pleasantly surprised by Sams writing. He wrote extremely neat for him. His content made sense and was relative to his favorite type of weather- cold and snowy. I loved the way he added the times that the snow would start. His picture also matched his writing. Slide 18 This is the rubric we use in First Grade with our students writing. I did not use this rubric with these two assignments because, with the two genres I incorporated in this project, I was more interested in the content and format. Slide 19 More Pictures Slide 20 and more Slide 21 Publishing Work As for publishing these pieces, I always post any pictures we take in class on my classrooms website for parents, grandparents, etc. to view and enjoy. We also hung the letters in the hallway outside our classroom.