Journal Entries for Photography Project



Journal Entries for Photography Project

I am borrowing a Kindergarten classroom for my Photography project. This will be a new experience for me since I have never taught in a Kindergarten classroom. My work schedule has me at this school two days a week. I choose the Kindergarten class based on DIBELS data. At the beginning of the year, all students had been assessed. The first sound fluency assessment indicated most of our Kindergarten students were deficit in this skill. Students will make real world connections by taking photographs of things in the environment around them that begin with the same initial sound of the letter they have randomly selected. These photographs will be used to create an initial sound picture sort.

Monday, October 4, 2010

I spoke with the Art teacher to see if she had a lesson to support teaching framing. My goal of this was to help build background knowledge prior to introducing a similar concept with the camera. She did a framing lesson in which the students are given a hand held view finder. Using a hand held view finder, the students were instructed to find an object in the classroom. Next, they drew only what they saw in the view finder.

Monday, October 11, 2010

SCOS S.S. objectives:

2.01 exhibit citizenship traits such as integrity, responsibility, and trustworthiness in the classroom, school and other social environments

2.03 describe the importance of rules and laws

TSW participate in lesson activities

TSW will review and follow classroom procedures

TSW describe safe camera practices

I began my project in the Kindergarten classroom after lunch. I introduced myself to the class in group time on the carpet. Since I am new to the room, I asked the student to share classroom rules with me. They explained “Give me five”, in which they raise their hands and look and listen to the teacher. I would adopt this same method while borrowing the class. I gave a brief overview of what activities we would be doing in order to build excitement. I had sentence strips, die cut cameras and a camera with me. I modeled making a name tag first, I wanted the students to make these to for me to reference throughout the project and facilitate my learning their names. I gave a brief overview of what activities we would be doing in order to build excitement. I had sentence strips, die cut cameras and a camera with me. I modeled selecting an alphabet letter and listing things that started with the same beginning sound. The students selected from a prepared deck for the letter they would be photographing. I sent the students back to their seats to make their nametags. They have nametags on their tables to use as a guide. It was interesting to see the different levels of ability reflected in students copying their names on the sentence strips. Lillian needed addition support so I provided dotted letters of her name for here to trace. I also asked them to copy their letter on their nametag so they could remember it. Fearl commented, “That letter isn’t in my name.” Some were confused that I wanted them to add a letter to the nametag that was not in their name. I showed Gavin’s nametag with his letter “j” circled to provide clarification. My original plan had been to do the activity based on the first letter of the students names, but so many of the children had names with the same beginning letter, I had to modify. The students also drew pictures of things they thought they might be able to take a picture of.

We returned to the carpet and discussed rules of how to be safe and responsible with the real camera. They came up with: Don’t drop it, Don’t break it, and Don’t get it in water. I showed them the die cut cameras and explained that we would use them to practice taking photographs of items in the room before using the real camera.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

SCOS S.S. objective:

7.01 Identify different types of media and forms of communication

SCOS ELA objective:

1.02 develop phonemic awareness and knowledge of alphabetic principle

*demonstrate understanding that spoke language is a sequence of identifiable speech sounds

4.04 maintain conversation and discussions:

*attending to oral presentations

*taking turns expressing ideas and asking questions

TSW respond to photograph book.

TSW identify beginning consonant sounds by pretending to photograph with die cut cameras items that beginning with a given sound.

TSW will participate in “I SPY” game based on beginning consonant sounds.

I had visited the public library to find photography books, but that was a big disappointment. What they had to offer was dated. It was not what I was expecting. I checked out two to share with the students to discuss elements of certain photographs. One was of was vivid nature scenes to spark discussions and the other of visual elements.

I began by asking the students to gather on the alphabet rug and to sit on their letter from yesterday. Most could remember, but if they didn’t, I referred to the nametags. After many ohhs and ahhs over the colorful nature scenes and students shouting out favorites and color words I explained that pictures help us communicate or tell someone our ideas. I asked how many liked looking at pictures in books while someone read and they all raised their hands.

Next I shared that they would get a die cut camera and use it to locate and practice taking pictures of objects in the classroom that began with their letter. I modeled this and had students repeat the directions. When I passed out the die cut cameras, the hum of excitement was barely containable. I allowed them several minutes of “play time” so they could explore. They pretended to take pictures of their classmates. Once I was able to rein them back in, the students were to look around the room and select something to take a pretend picture of that began with their letter. I called on students to stand in the middle of the group and we played “I Spy”. The students held up the paper camera and snapped a picture of an object in the room. The others raised their hands to guess what they were taking the photo of. The students liked being the center of attention, standing in front of their classmates and calling on classmates with their hands raised. Even though the students liked this, they were kinders and they were antsy while waiting for their turn. To promote engagement, I had classmates’ volunteer things that started with their classmates’ letter. These were added to the back of the nametag.

Rotenberg, N., & Lustbader, M. (1999). How to photograph close-ups in nature. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books.

Monday, October 18, 2010

SCOS S.S. objectives:

2.03 describe the importance of rules and laws

7.01 identify different types of media and forms of communication

TSW review camera rules

TSW discuss framing using photography book and art lesson

TSW take photographs of items in their environment related to their letter

We returned to the carpet and reviewed the real camera rules they had developed on our first day. As I brought out the school cameras, the kids were eager to begin taking photos. First, I showed the second photography book from the public library on visual elements. On page 26, the same picture of a father and child taken 3 times but each time was closer focused on the people instead of the surroundings. I pointed this out to the students so they could try to do the same with their photo, focus on something specific and make sure not much other was in the frame. I also reminded them about the framing lesson they had done with the art teacher. Luckily, the cameras had a large viewing screen so the students could easily see what they were trying to take a picture of. The largest challenge was how the students held the camera. Most students tended to put their fingers over the small viewing screen in the front; they did not see it so they did not know. They were careful not to put their fingers on the large viewing screen on the back of the camera, the one they could see. The students did not hesitate to take the camera. Not a one. They were confident and wanted to carry it around as were exploring for possible pictures. Each one reached, if not grabbed for the camera in my hand. “Let me do it myself,” this coming from LiDice, an ESL student. These students are definitely growing up in a digital world and can be called “digital natives”. I would stand behind the students so I could view what they were seeing and help with framing suggestions such as moving fingers, getting closer and raising or lowering the camera. I have to say I was very surprised at how good their shots were.

I had to explain that not everyone would get to take the pictures the first day. I had arranged with the teacher that I would be pulling students individually while she continued with lessons.

Stone, A. (1990). How to take great photos with 35mm autofocus point & shoot cameras. Los Angeles, CA: HPBooks.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Continued to pull students for individual photographs

Monday, November 8, 2010

SCOS ELA objectives:

1.02 develop phonemic awareness and knowledge of alphabetic principle

*demonstrate understanding that spoke language is a sequence of identifiable speech sounds

*demonstrate understanding that the sequence of letters in the written word represents the sequence of sounds in the spoken word

TSW identify photographs and stretch beginning consonant sound

TSW label photographs

I am no longer a stranger in this classroom. When the students see me come, they know we are going to be doing something. This project has made me realize how much I miss having my own classroom. It has brought me joy, smiles and hugs from little ones.

I printed the photographs on a colored printer and pulled students to label them. I scaffolded this by writing the words on a separate sheet of paper for the students to copy. Before they began, I would show them their photo and ask what it was of. Then I would repeat it and emphasize the beginning sound. Labeling went smoothly. The students understood the task and could copy the words correctly on the back of their pictures. The goal of the labeling is to use it for a letter sort later on. Amber, an ESL student, made her “c” backwards every time, so I worked on this with her. Lillian needed additional support with this task so I provided dotted letters of the words for her to trace. Tristen, a non-talker in the class, verbally identified each of his photographs for me before labeling. I was so excited. When I shared this with the classroom teacher, she said I should consider myself lucky because he rarely communicates with anyone.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

SCOS ELA objectives:

1.02 develop phonemic awareness and knowledge of alphabetic principle

*demonstrate understanding that spoke language is a sequence of identifiable speech sounds

*demonstrate understanding that the sequence of letters in the written word represents the sequence of sounds in the spoken word

TSW participate in a word sort with partners

TSW review alphabet recognition and production with Letterland Living ABC’s, an interactive online program

Finally, the picture sort day! I brought in the label photographs that I had laminated to distribute to the students. I modeled how they would be partnered up and would combine their photos then sort based on beginning sound. As I sorted the photos into stacks on a table, the students were craning in their seats to see the photos. As I called tables up, the students would point and laugh while looking at the photographs. I would ask their letter and they knew it with out hesitation. They could also identify their own stack of photos. Deanna knows her letter sound, but when I point to her picture of Peter Puppy on top of her stack, you can sense her uncertainty and hesitation. She calls it “Bouncy Ben”. She is confused between “p” and “b”. There is no hesitation with the other picture cards. Since this is an initial sound sort, I wanted to stay away from letters until the letter/word sort, but the students are studying the Letterland characters to help learn the alphabet and I felt these photos would be a good opportunity to reinforce learning. The students were so excited to get their stack of photos and share them with their classmates. I allowed for tables to engage in share time before beginning sorting activity. They were practical crawling across the tables to show and share. Lots of talking but at least it was engaged and purposeful. All students were focused on the photos. We finally reorganized to get directions for the sorting activity. I placed students in pairs; they shuffled their cards together and sorted into two columns based on the pictures. When they finished, I would rotate the pairs. As I walked around, it was neat to see how different students modified the instructions. Elizabeth wanted to hold the entire stack and let her partner pull a card. Ashley wanted to spread them all out face down first before picking one to sort. There was noise, but the students were engaged in the activity. As I monitored, I reminded them to say the name of each picture as they sorted it. Even Tristen, the non-talker, was active in his group and communicating with his partner!

The class has schedule computer lab time today. I went with the class and the classroom teacher and I logged everyone one to Letterland Living ABC’s. This is an interactive computer program that allows the student to click on any letter and a colorful page with lots of photos of things that begin with that letter will appear. If the student clicks on an object on the page, it will say it name. They have the option to play the alphabet song for the individual letter or the handwriting song which displays the character and the plain letter while a color arrow shows the direction to write the letter. As with technology, there were a few troubleshooting needs. Some headphones didn’t work and kids had to move, but once everyone was settled, they would click away and sing. Since they had on headphones, they could not hear themselves and it was so cute to hear them sing along out loud with the computer. Matthew E. was really into it and would yell at his neighbor to check something out. I couldn’t help but smile and give a little giggle.

Monday, November 15, 2010

SCOS ELA objectives:

4.06 Write and/or participate in writing behaviors by using authors’ models of language

5.01 Develop spelling strategies and skills by

*Representing spoken language with temporary and/or conventional spelling

I went to the school library last week to collect every ABC book I could get my hands on. I also scourged the bookshelves at my house for favorite children’s books I have held on to. I wanted to read ABC books to the children and let them explore these model books to get an idea of what our class book could look like. As the students gathered on the rug, I carried over my bag full of books. They were eager to see what I had today and sitting on their letter was not happening. They were crowded in the middle barely leaving room for me. I shared the ABC’s of Alaska. On the r page is said, “Reindeer in the rain.” Most students yelled out deer based on the picture, but Razjae realized it was reindeer. M said, “Moose in mukluks.” I encouraged them to look for the letter on the page. I split the students into pairs and passed out the books for free exploration. They got comfortable and pointed at pictures and letters. As they finished one book, they would scramble over to trade for another in the stack. They continued to explore and trade books.

Today I also wanted the students to write a sentence about their photos. My expectations with kindergarten were to get a bunch of random letters under a picture than the kids would tell me what they wanted it to say. What I had envisioned was not what I got. I demonstrated with a letter no one was assigned (w), drew the letter and a picture then wrote a sentence. They were able to draw the letter, they were able to draw a picture, but when it came to writing a sentence, the diversity of skills was much more evident than when they created nametags. I had everything from scribbles, a single letter, inventive spelling, to some trying to sound words out. The scribbles are what took me by surprise. My lack of experience in Kindergarten showing, but this experience all the more powerful. I will try again with a dictation sentence to go into the class book.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

SCOC ELA objectives:

1.04 Read or begin to read:

*read or attempt to read own dictated story.

5.03 Use legible manuscript handwriting

I decided that my model sentence yesterday was where I went wrong. I modeled with a word that no one had been assigned, with the thought that they would not be able to copy the sample word for word. The problem was I was modeling with drawings only without the support of an actual photograph. My students were trying to do the same thing.

Today I started by sorting the photos into stacks on the back table. When the students finish up a group math lesson, they return to their seats by way of the table to glance at their photographs. I let them know that we will be writing sentences again while they are finish independent seat work. I call them back to the table two at a time and they grab their stack of pictures. I ask them to spread them out and to pick their favorite picture out of the ones they took. Once they pick their favorite, I say “What can you tell me about your picture?”

Almost every child answered by first telling me the beginning sound of their picture!!!! Yeah. I consider this a huge success considering the whole idea of this project is an initial sound sort. Homerun! I would then ask them to tell me something else about their picture in a sentence. I would write what they said on lined paper so they could copy underneath. Auston used gestures to help tell his sentence. Tristen whispered his sentence to me. Matthew B. offered ideas to Elizabeth for her sentence. Dallas has been absent frequently. He struggles mightily with handwriting. He came up with a sentence but needed some prompting and support. I provided dotted letters for him to trace but he had no idea how to trace the letters. His teacher said he had never used crayons or pencils before the first day of school. Lillian requested dotted letters.

Monday, November 22, 2010

SCOS ELA objectives:

1.03 demonstrate decoding and word recognition strategies and skills:

*recognize and name upper and lower case letters of the alphabet

*recognize some words by sight including a frew common words, own name, and environmental print such as signs, labels, and trademarks

*recognize most beginning consonant letter-sound associations in one syllable words

1.04 Read or begin to read:

*read or attempt to read own dictated story

TSW participate in echo reading of class book

TSW participate in beginning consonant sound activities

I have reprinted the children’s chosen favorite pictures larger for our class book and laminated sentences. Today I am sharing the class created book of “Our Favorite Letters.” The cover is a class picture and as I shared it during group time, students were up on their knees asking, “Where is me?” As we read the book, I engage the students in several strategies to emphasize beginning consonant sounds. We start by echo reading each page. I tell the kids; My turn, your turn. Then we either sky write the letter with two fingers while saying its sound three times, trace the letter on the carpet with two fingers while saying its sound three times or rubber band stretch the beginning sound of the picture word. On our second time through, I call up student to repeat and track the sentence for the class. I was pleased that all students enjoyed the book and participated enthusiastically with the echo reading and tracing activities. They were very eager to volunteer to come up and read the sentence and track. Ashley, Thomas and Gavin could track correctly as they read the sentence; Dallas, Amber and Matthew B. needed assistance. Tristen the non-talker, was quick to volunteer but he would only track and point to the words today, I could not get him to read aloud or even whisper the words.

I will be leaving the picture sorts with the class. I hope they will be able to use them in small group settings and move into using the labels for sorting. The class book will be added to the class library.

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