A Scavenger Hunt for Writing Poetry



Ms. Gulitti Name____________________________

AP Lang/Comp Period___________________________

A Scavenger Hunt for Writing Poetry

Using the IPad

In keeping with Anne Lamott’s suggestions to write “short assignments” and to use an “index card” to keep note of observations and writing ideas, the following assignment has been designed to help you practice on being a writer who observes and pays attention to detail. Use the list below and search for all of the items during the next class sessions. Find multiple examples of every item and photograph them using the camera app on the iPad that you will be provided with:

- numbers found anywhere in the building (then consider their rationale)

- three examples or variations of a color

- the price of one item of food in the building

- a printed message on the walls or bulletin boards (appropriate)

- a mirror (be sure to have a reason why you like it)

- two different textures that interest you

- one window that has a view

- a curious-looking room

- four isolated words

In addition, go throughout the school and on the grounds to find and photograph one or two of the objects listed. If it’s feasible, bring the item back to class as well.

- a pebble or stone

- a coin, bottle cap, or tab from a soda can

- a bit of rusty metal

- a blade of grass

- a dead twig

- an item that everyone sees every day, but doesn’t notice

***Once you have completed photographing these items, return to the classroom, where you will create an album for the camera roll, called “Scavenger Poetry, per #, Last Name” so you can distinguish your photographs from other ones that have been taken on this iPad. Later you will be assigned a partner and given a checklist to begin work on your photographs.

Ms. Gulitti Name__________________________

AP Lang/Comp Period__________________________

Steps to Creating a Poem from your Observations using Flipagram

Directions: I have designed the following steps to help provide structure and direction in the creation of your visual poems. Remember, good writers not only observe the ordinary, they are able to use their words (or in this case, capture an image through photography) effectively to help a reader see what they have noticed. After the completion of each step, be sure to check off each item. I am looking forward to seeing your visual poetry.

_________ Step one: Sit with an assigned partner and share all of the photographs that you collected during the scavenger hunt and put into your album. Share photographs to your camera roll using “AirDrop,” choosing your partner as the contact on your iPad. Then you will transfer the images to your “Scavenger Poetry” folder. At this point, your partner and you can work off of one iPad to simplify things. While you are in the photo album, you have an opportunity to edit the photographs. This will allow you to rotate, enhance, or most importantly crop your photographs, so you can enlarge an aspect of the photograph, especially if you are focusing on the words, the time, or price of the item that you found. You can even play with the quality of photo by experimenting with the “filter” options. Don’t worry, if you don’t like the new look, you can always hit “revert to original” or “cancel” on the top left corner of the iPad. If you do make changes that you like, be sure to hit “save” in the upper right corner of the iPad.

_________ Step two: On the large index card that I will provide you, answer the following questions to help you organize your material:

Which items were the most interesting to you? Why?

How might they connect to the other items?

What would be a good order to organize such photographs? (Consider juxtaposing similar or contrasting ideas; try to create parallelism and balance in the way you organize these images.)

Once you have answered these questions, you should begin to complete the Visual Poetry Storyboard that I will provide for you. This will help you craft your “idea” of the final argument or story behind the visual poem you want to create about your observations. Once you have completed this, it is time to open the Flipagram app on your iPad.

_________ Step three: Once you have opened the Flipagram app, tap on the “Start” button on the very top of the screen. This will take you to a screen that says “Add Moments” at the very top. On the page you should see ways to access Instagram, Facebook, and My Photos. Under “My Photos,” you should see your “Scavenger Poetry” folder. Touch that icon, which will take you to all of the images that you and your partner photographed and shared.

Based upon your answers to “step two,” you can organize the images into the order you feel is best by highlighting them in that order. Highlight the photographs (they will be highlighted in blue) you want to use (you must choose at least 20 images with a maximum of 35 different images) and tap “next” in the upper right corner of the iPad

_________ Step four: If you still want to make changes to the order of your images, tapping on the photograph until it begins to shake will allow you to move the photographs. Now that all of the images are in their proper order, you can decide if you would like to further edit the image or add text to each one or to just some of them. To do that, tap on the image of choice that will bring you to an “edit photo” screen. At the bottom, you will have more choices to rotate, duplicate, add text, or delete the image. Choose the “T” or “text” option. Once you do that, you will see the keyboard and color and font options. Play with the color to make it most visually pleasing. Use your fingers to enlarge or minimize the size of the text as well as move it to a location more pleasing to you. Once you are satisfied with the text and its placement and how the image looks overall, tap on “done” on the upper right corner of the keyboard.

______ Step five: You will now be prompted to enter a title. You and your partner should decide upon an apt title for your visual poem. Brainstorm a few ideas, and then tap the section to begin typing. Once you do that, you will see the keyboard and color and font options. Play with the color to make it most visually pleasing. Again, use your fingers to enlarge or minimize the size of the text as well as move it to a location more pleasing to you. Once you are satisfied with your title and its placement, tap on “done” on the upper right corner of the keyboard.

_________ Step six: Now it is time to experiment with the “speed” option at the bottom of the screen. Decide upon the length of your visual poem—the maximum is thirty seconds (scroll towards the left to the turtle to add time; scroll towards the right to reduce the time. While you do this, it will also show you the approximate time that each image will have during the finished video. Consider how many images you chose: it is a good idea to allow at least one second for each photo. Once you have determined the video length, tap on “done.”

_________ Step seven: Now it is time to work with the “audio” option. Tap on “audio,” whereby you will be given three choices—the best choice to use is the second one, “find music.” You will now see a list of “featured songs.” If you tap on one, you may hear the preview. You may also use the “search” option at the top of the screen. Type in the name of a group, or a performer, or the name of a song. You can also type in the name of a composer or musical piece you know. You can listen to the music briefly if you tap on the album you want and then click on the sound icon to the right. Be sure that what you want to choose is available as “Use 30 Second Preview” which is free. Not all songs will allow a free excerpt, and DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE CHOOSE “BUY NOW ON iTUNES!” Once you have decided upon the music, tap on “Use 30 Second Preview” which will be written in light blue. This will take you to the first image of your video, where you will be asked to “slide waveform to change start time.” You can decide to play with that or keep it as is (best option!), and then tap on “done.”

_________ Step eight: You should now take advantage of the preview option. Tap on the orange play button at the bottom of the screen to play your visual poem. If you need to make changes, tap on the “edit” button at the upper left corner of the iPad. If you are satisfied with the preview, tap on “finish” on the upper right corner. A “confirm” prompt will come on the screen, asking if you are ready to “finalize your Flipagram.” If you are, tap on “yes.” Your video will now be finalized.

_________ Step nine: You will now be prompted to “share” your video. Choose the “more” option on the bottom corner of the screen. It will give you a few prompts, so choose the “copy link” option. Now close the Flipagram app, and access the internet through Safari and get onto your personal or school e-mail account. Once you are in your e-mail account, create a new message that will be sent to pgulitti@. Be sure that you put the last names of your partners and class period in the subject line of the email. You will press onto the content part of the e-mail message to paste the link you should have copied. Once you have completed that, please send your e-mail to me. This is your final submission of this product. I must receive this work in order for you to present it to the class and to grade it. (It might be a good idea to check that all worked under your “sent” mail before closing out of the e-mail).

_________ Step ten: Watch your visual poem together and enjoy your creation! I look forward to seeing you present your “unique” views of things we see everyday.

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