Using Photography in the Junior Classroom

Geeta Naran, Glenda Pretorius & Hamish BettsSunnybrae Normal School

Images are a Powerful Stimulus.

Children took photos of Autumn scenes....

Children could teach their peers how to use cameras

...these were used as a motivation for writing poems.

Adjectives could be explored...“lonely branches”

“crunchy, brittle, transparent leaves.”

and Similies“leaves crunching like my morning cereal”“....multi coloured leaves like a rainbow”

“....like walking on a carpet of leaves”

Autumn Poems

In Autumn I see leaves changing colour like green, yellow, red, orange and brown.I hear leaves crunching like my morning cereal.I feel leaves munching under my feet.

By Kate

In Autumn I feel leaves slither under my feet. In Autumn I hear leaves flying away like a bird. In Autumn I see my toes crunching leaves. By Elly

Our Zoo Trip

A slide show of the photos taken on the trip was shown just before 3pm.

Children enjoyed sharing the zoo trip and some of the photos they took with

their parents.

Using Trips to Consolidate Learning

Our signs unit was integrated into our zoo

trip...

... we took photos of

signs......and made them into a slide show. We used this as a motivation for a class discussion.

Using these ideas the children made their own signs to use

around our school.

Using Photo Books

Experiences can be made into electronic books. Children can help take photos, write or dictate

the text. They enjoy reading and sharing these books on the computer.

The children have been taking photos and we have been emailing these to

Anna.

When Anna left our class and went to Florida to live, she took photos of her class and made a book to share with her new class in Florida.

Photos of Room 2 by Anna

A Form of Communication.

Anna has been emailing us photos too!!

We are using these photos in

discussions and learning to make

comparisons between the two

schools

Creating a Vision Map of of the Junior Playground

We identified areas for improvement in the playground.

We also took photos of these areas and discussed what we wanted to change.

The children put on their green

‘Thinking Hats’ and thought of some new ideas. They

drew these over the photos...

...the children designed a vibrant playground full of

colour!

Students with learning difficulties respond well to visual stimuli, and lots of positive reinforcement.

The students’ individual sticker charts have their photo’s displayed beside their names. This helps the illiterate students to identify which chart belongs to whom.

We have a photo wall! Photo’s are taken of events / activities /

achievements.

Our photo wall keeps parents

up to date with “the goings on”

in Room 4... and the students

delight in having their photo’s displayed!

Last year’s ORRS

teacher popped in for a visit.

Peseti, who belongs to the

SNS Garden Club brought some

vegetables to show us.

A couple of examples of

events / experiences ...

Caught in action ... movement to music

Some examples showing students

achieving ...

Future architects / builders!

Relevant photo’s with a word/

sentence underneath have proven to be an

excellent resource for those students

who battle to relate to texts, and/or have a limited reading

vocabulary.

This student was able to understand the concept of “I” and was finally able to read the word “I” after 20 such pages. He is now in Year 3, and this is the first time he has been able to read a word unassisted.

Photo’s are also used as a record of

work done, and subsequently as a

reference.This photo is a record of a practical lesson, showing how objects can be sorted and placed in patterns.

This student was tested on the skill of sorting and

pattern making. A photo was taken, showing his

achievement. This photo was displayed in his Skills

Book. Both his Portfolio and Skills Book were shared with his parents during

Parent/Teacher conferences.

Another record of a practical lesson showing

same / different

Photo’s are also used to communicate/reinforce good social skills.

Room 4 and Room 13 students (Buddy Class) working cooperatively on a colour, cut and stick activity.

A group of Room 4 students working cooperatively on a

painting activity.

We’ve also used photo’s in our art work.