Story & Image

STORY & IMAGE

A lesson by Marc Engel for MAT@USC 506, Professor Ezzeldine

SETTING

A media arts or English classroom, and accompanying computer lab.

Ideally would be done in a secondary setting

Possible in a primary setting

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

SWBAT take a picture that captures an emotion or action

SWBAT to write imagined events based on a picture

SWBAT to write a narrative based on a series of pictures

SWBAT give constructive feedback to fellow students through blog comments

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

What is the relationship between images and meaning?

How can writers create cohesive stories from several unconnected pieces?

How can blogs allow us to constructively critique our peers?

LEARNING MATERIALS

At least 1 Flip cam or digital camera. Budget and teacher choice will dictate whether you want to have 1 camera per student or just pass around 1 camera. Accompanying cables for transferring pictures

Computer with basic picture software. Computer lab with internet.

Projector

Storytelling and Feedback Rubrics

CONTENT BASED LITERACY SKILLS

Common Core Writing Standard 11.3: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences. NY State English Standard 2: Students will read, write, listen, and speak for literary response and expression.

NEW MEDIA SKILLS

Students will capture images to communicate a specific meaning, idea or action.

Students will produce writing based on a series of images, repurposing those images into a creative work.

Students will use the electronic forum of a blog to critique the work of their peers.

MOTIVATION ACTIVITY

Take a look at the faces on the screen. Write down what emotion each face represents to you. Don’t worry about getting the “right” answer

Teacher calls on students

For responses

INPUT

Teacher will display a series of 5 images

Teacher will pass out copies of a story written to match the 5 separate images

Students will take turns reading the story out loud

Teacher will ask: How did the story match or relate to the images?

Class will discuss.

OUTPUT

Each student will take 1 picture with the selected camera

The picture should be of a person doing an action, of a face with an emotion, or of a set of objects that communicate a scene

Only requirement is that images have a subject that can be communicated

Teacher collects images and uploads them to an online gallery

OUTPUT CONTINUED

Students sign on to online picture gallery

Students write a creative, narrative story based on the pictures, in order, in the gallery.

The story can be anything the students want but it must contain text that relates to each image, and the story must be continuous and cohesive.

No 1 random idea per image stories

When finished, students post stories to blog

CULMINATION

Teacher will ask one volunteer to read their story out loud and take audience reactions

EXTENSIONS

For homework, At home or at a public computer, students will read and comment on two other stories on the blog.

LEARNER ACCOMMODATIONS

ELL students may write stories in Spanish

Teacher will work individually with IEP students to keep on track

ASSESSMENT PRODUCTS

Reactions to the Do Now

Oral responses to reading of demo story

Captured Pictures

Final story written product

Comments on peer stories HW

LEARNING THEORY APPLICATIONS

Distributed Cognition—students interact with content created by all students

Constructivism—story is literally constructed by interaction of students’ pictures and individual creation

Social Cognitive Theory—blogosphere offers environment for praise of student work and concrete successes

STRENGTHS

Students as media makers

Students sharing media to collaboratively create

Involves speaking, listening, reading, writing

Incorporates multiple modalities; gets kids moving

Involves peer work

WEAKNESSES

Can be seen as not rigorous

Does not instruct in core content

Requires a lot of setup/transition

Is dependent on the creativity of students

Could be easily derailed

INPUT PICTURES

INPUT STORY

Five years ago a horrible thing happened. I want to spare you the experience of having to live through the traumatic telling of this terrible tale, but attention to the safety of our commonwealth urges me to the telling. 5 dastardly events caused a tragedy of epic proportions. First, a new experimental chemical created by the Pink-0 corporation leaked into the water supply of Ohio, Oklahoma. This happened to by the city where where the MacDonwald corporation made its famous chicken nuggets. And so, secondly, the water made it into the chicken nugget mixture. As children love chicken nuggets, the tainted chemical water made it to the children, turning them into nefarious zombies, thirdly. Fourth, the rabid zombie children spread to over 3 continents, completely erasing from the earth the 2 beloved cities of Paris and New York, all in 1 day. Finally, the chemical mutated into a bacteria, became airborne, and spread all over the world. I would tell you how complete catastrophe was avoided but this information has been censored by the department of national security as sensitive to US national interests.