KODAK: Education - Poetry in Photography

Poetry in Photography

Geneva Ackman
Brookings Public Schools, Brookings, South Dakota

Subject: Language Arts/Creative Writing
Grade: 5 (Gifted )

"Photography really opened the children's eyes to things they had looked at but had never really 'seen' before."

Purpose and Description of Project

In this project, Geneva Ackman worked with 40 high-achieving fifth graders from three schools to help them learn how to operate a 35 mm camera and then use the resulting photographs as a stimulus for writing poetry.

With the assistance of a high school student, reports Ackman, the children not only learned to use the camera but became interested in how and why different adjustments are made, particularly those related to light settings. The teacher guided students' discussions about the photographs, with an emphasis on the emotions or feelings they evoked. At this point, Ackman introduced the children to various types of poetry, including samples of a rhyming story, haiku, formal cinquain, diamante, triolet, limerick, and clerihew.

The students chose one of the 12 photos each had taken for poetry writing purposes and arranged bulletin board displays of the others for their respective schools. Their final products-each student's chosen photo and poem mounted together-were displayed in the town's public library.

According to Ackman, the project succeeded even beyond her expectations. Every student produced high-quality photos. The photos produced lively discussion and sharing of ideas; and every student completed a poem. Ackman found that "photography really opened the children's eyes to things that they had looked at but had never really 'seen' before." She herself gained a new understanding of the students by observing their choice of photographic subjects and how they approached the process of picture -taking.

The teacher also reports that the project drew substantial interest from students who did not actively participate and was seen as so valuable by the principals of the three schools that they are using federal grant monies to buy a 35 mm camera for each elementary school.

Activities

Project activities were carried out at the three schools on a rotating basis, using lunch hours over a two-month period. Students also worked on their own time. The high school student who taught the youngsters about photography was taking a class in tutoring and received credit for working with elementary students. Day-to-day activities, repeated with students from each school, included the following:

The high school student demonstrated two different 35 mm cameras, explaining various elements of the cameras and their functions, different types of lighting, backgrounds, how to determine distance from the subject, and how to hold the camera steady. He then walked them through the picture-taking process. Several days were then devoted to actual picture-taking both indoors and outdoors and under varying conditions, including sunny, cloudy and even snowy. Each student took six indoor and six outdoor shots. Their subjects, says the teacher, ranged "from a live tarantula in one classroom to children making a snowman on the playground. And a white rat in one school must surely be the most photographed animal in Brookings."

Once the pictures were developed, each child received his or her own set and shared them with the others, informally discussing which might be the best poetic subjects and which would go on the bulletin boards. When selections had been made, the children arranged the displays and worked together to come up with lists of words suggested by their chosen photos.

The teacher provided the students with samples of various types of poetry, which they discussed before deciding on their personal choices. From here on, the children were on their own. They completed their poems, printed them on poster board, and mounted the pictures.

The final display at the Brookings Public Library, adds Ackman, drew a very positive community response.

Materials, Resources, and Expenses

Human resources included the high school student who assisted the fifth-graders with their photography, school and public librarians, and various school personnel.

Outcomes and Adaptability

Ackman reports that "everyone involved in the project developed and maintained a high degree of enthusiasm." The quality of the students' photographs, she believes, shows that they became quite proficient photographers, and their responses to a follow-up questionnaire indicated that many of the students will continue to work at their new skill. Further, many of the students felt they were seeing their surroundings "in a new way" and demonstrated a sense of pride and personal satisfaction in the culminating library display. And, since this was an enrichment activity for which the children received no grade, the simple fact that they all completed the work was an indication of the fascination of tying together photography and creative writing.

While her project was carried out with gifted students, Ackman believes that it would draw interest among students of virtually any achievement level. In fact, the children's choice of photo subjects provided her with so much insight into their thoughts and motivations that she suggests that a similar activity "would be excellent for working with learning disabled or emotionally disturbed children." She also thinks that the project would lend itself to a regular classroom setting in which the teacher had more time flexibility and could delve into the history of photography, the scientific principles demonstrated in the operation of a camera, and the selection of musical backgrounds to reflect the moods of the photos.

Poetry in Photography

Purpose and Description of Project

Activities

Materials, Resources, and Expenses

Outcomes and Adaptability

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