Interesting Photos for Better Writing
Interesting Photos
for Better Writing
One of the Google Alerts I received
this week was an article from the New York Times. The authors shared how
teachers have been using one of the most famous feature of the times called
“What’s Going On in This Picture?” in order to help their English Learners
because better writers. They noted that, “teachers across grade levels and
subjects have told us again and again how powerful of a learning tool such a
simple activity can be” (Leon, Montemagno, & The Learning Network, 2018,
paragraph 2).
The article then goes into a
detailed explanation of how the two teachers, Leon & Montemagno, who are
titled E.N.L (English as a New Language) teachers used the feature in their
classroom. Essentially they have their English Learners write claims about the
photographs.
They start by posting the picture
at the beginning of the week. They give copies of the photographs to student in
either paper form or on iPads. Those that use iPads use an application called
Skitch so they can write notes and labels on the photograph. The first day they
focus on building background knowledge and vocabulary based on the content of
the photograph. The next step is when they analyze the photograph. The students
are given time and tools in order to use words and phrases to talk about the
photo. They are encouraged to use Google Translate and to write in whatever
language is easier for them (native language most of the time) in order to
understand the photograph to their best ability. Then when it’s time to share
out they have differentiated ways of having the students communicate their
claims based on their language acquisition level. For example, “Entering”
students will copy down information on T-Chart, while the “Expanding” students
are giving their claims with evidence from the photograph to support their
claim. Then it’s time to write their claims. Again, the writing is
differentiated based on language levels. They also include blogging at this
time to share their ideas with others. Finally, their responses are printed off
and the actual caption is revealed from The Times.
Although this activity was designed
for Middle School students, it could easily be modified to use in elementary as
well (which is where I work). We could do photographs of different scenarios
that the students have or haven’t experience in order to create understanding
of language and conversation while builds their vocabulary and background
knowledge. Overall, I think this is a great activity and would love to include
it in my instruction. Check out the link below to see pictures and more details
about the activity.
Leon, C., Montemagno,
M., & The Learning Network (2018, March 8) How to Use Interesting Photos to Help Students Become Better Writers Retrieved
from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/08/learning/lesson-plans/reader-idea-how-to-use-interesting-photos-to-help-students-become-better-writers.html
This sounds like an incredible way to help L2 students at varying levels engage in vocabulary building and English expression - especially with the use of Skitch. No matter their abilities, students would be identifying and labeling objects and items in a scene, and could then go on to verbally explain to one another what they think is happening in some bizarre photos. I really enjoyed this idea, thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a great idea for ELLs! I think it is a great way to start writing for beginners. You also could differentiate this for more advanced ELLs. I actually have done something similar to this when I worked on analyzing texts. I started with students analyzing advertisements. They came up with concrete objects that represent the add then came up with ideas, feelings, or meanings behind the advertisements. This is what your idea reminded me of. I think it's a great idea in any classroom and would be a great benefit to ELLs.
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