Telling Stories with Words and Digital Photography
Everyone loves to take pictures! At Expo this year, all the fifth
and sixth graders participated in a project which combined work on
writing skills, understanding cultural differences, and digital
photography. In Room 209, we spent January, 2008 thinking about the
connection between photography and storytelling.
• We read picture book examples where photographs or paintings helped tell a story.
•
Speakers from the International Center of Minnesota presented aspects
of
their culture and family in a series of classroom visits to Expo.
Chelsea Wu visited our classroom and shared stories about her life in
Taiwan. Click here to read her piece about her piano lessons.
•
We interviewed professional photojournalist Kevin Rivoli at his home in
upstate New York, using Skype communication software. He is creating a
book and traveling exhibition which relates his photographs of everyday
life to the paintings of Norman Rockwell. He told us that good
photographers find their subjects through patience, by finding a good
setting and waiting to see what happens in it. Click here to see his photographs.
•
Room 209 students
used digital cameras to photograph their own routines and rituals, then
added the photos to their writer's notebooks. Students chose one of the
photos and
used the writing process to create a published story based on the
image. Click on student names in the sidebar to read their pieces.
•
Students used Scratch computer programming software to make a slideshow
of several of their photographs. This included learning how to program
transitions between slides and adding voice-over commentary. These
projects will be posted at http://scratch.mit.edu/users/room209 by
early March.
This project was supported by a grant from Ecolab's Vision for Learning program.
EXPO For Excellence Magnet Elementary School 540 Warwick Street South | Saint Paul, MN 55116 | 651-290-8384 | Fax 651-293-8639 Site is created and maintained by EXPO technology staff and students. We welcome comments and questions.