The first half of the year PS 7's middle school students studied digital photography and poetry in relation to themselves. Artists start with what they know, right? After really (and I mean, really) getting to know ourselves, the second half of the year is focused outward, using the "My Message" curriculum. The students have some special projects in store for you, but first we'll show you a bit of our process.
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Behold! Our warm up exercise in photo essays, in steps:
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1) STUDY
The students were shown a variety of photo essays through each session. Most notably, perhaps, "What the World Eats," from the book Hungry Planet, which brilliantly illustrates consumption, culture and other huge concepts through the simple vehicle of food and family around the globe. (Find it here for your use!)
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Making our study a game, students were asked to make a silent guess on a piece of paper as to how much each family spent as we flipped through the photos. After discussing each photo's cultural significance, as well as it's photographic properties, we shared our guesses and learned the real answers to each family's spending habits. Below pictures the biggest disparity: Germany at $500.07 per week and Chad at $1.23 per week. Imagine the student's shocked responses! This opened up a broader dialogue about the importance of art, specifically in this case, photo essays, and their ability to create change, conversation and make a deep impact on their audience.
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2) PLAN
Time to plan our own photo essays! Using the school as their backdrop, students are asked to create a short story in just four photos. You know what this means... story boarding, galore! The kids got silly, as middle schoolers often do, but for a small exercise in creating a photo essay before they begin their serious, message-driven work, I let 'em go hog wild!
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Click the photos below for the larger versions of each:
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3) CREATE
And finally, the finished versions! After critiquing the work, I let the groups pick one extra photo to add to the batch. I was so impressed by their integrity and skills that I wanted to see more of their work showcased! Next came the captions. Please take note how Ms. Caitlin subtly appears in not one, but TWO of the essays. What? Can't a teacher feel cool, too? Kidding, kidding, I'm just terribly proud. You can catch the work live displayed on Ms. Cassidy's bulletin board!
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School Alone On a Saturday
by Esther Gonzalez and Quetzy Escobar
Caitlin enters the quiet school.
She sees the hallways empty and soundless.
As she walks in the hallway, all she can hear is her footsteps.
She enters the classroom of her first period. What a strange day of school, she thought.
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Stay tuned for our next project! We're taking all the skills, dropping the silliness and working towards meaningful work that communicates messages that are important to us (from love to world peace to homeless issues and lots in between!)
'Till next time...
