Reading Photographs to Write With Meaning and Purpose, Grades 4–12

Leigh Van Horn

“Photographs hold moments for us—moments we have lived, and moments lived by others. Photographs draw us in and take us back. They make small moments memorable, they tell us stories, and they let us tell stories. As such, photographs can also serve as a powerful inspiration for writing and literacy.”
—Leigh Van Horn (from the Introduction)

Are you looking for ways to get your students to write with meaning, voice, purpose, and passion—and to enjoy doing so? In this practical, activity-filled resource, you will learn how to use photographs in your classroom as a tool to inspire your students and motivate them to produce writing that is organized, creative, and effective.

Author Leigh Van Horn demonstrates how to “read” photographs—to critically approach, analyze, and think about photographs in innovative ways. Through reading photographs, your students will discover new things about themselves and the world around them, and you can use their discoveries to develop authentic and creating writing experiences that focus on

Memoir

Personal writing and identity exploration

Biography

Writing about social issues in the community

Narrative

All of the writing activities can be easily incorporated into your existing curriculum and used with learners of any ability level. And because these original, inventive, and skill-building activities are centered on individual students—their lives, their thoughts, their interpretations, and their perceptions—the questions “How long does it have to be?“ and “What do you want me to write?“ will disappear from your classroom.

An IRA Book Club selection, April 2008

© 2008 | 184 pp.
ISBN 13: 978-0-87207-612-9

Also of interest:

Finding the Artist Within: Creating and Reading Visual Texts in the English Language Arts Classroom

Teaching and Learning Multiliteracies: Changing Times, Changing Literacies