As I spend another year in school teaching children (year 5 and year 6) how to use a DSLR, I am amazed at just how easy they take up the camera and produce beautiful pictures. Children love taking photographs and they love talking about the photographs they have taken... I try and jot down their thoughts to help them make captions for their photographs. Just this interplay is extremely valuable as they learn to brainstorm their ideas and explore their creative approach. 'The boy jumps down the slide'
'Did he?' and on they go! It's a magical moment where children have taken over and support each other caption a photograph, tell a story... they are like mini-photo-journalists beavering away on a newspaper as they create their own story. WHAT FUN!!
"Photos Invite Stories and Stories Generate Language Practice"
When children come up with their own topic (with a few suggestions from me), take photographs, and investigate and build stories, they are doing some pretty authentic work. It builds self esteem, and helps them with reading, writing, critical thinking, vocabulary development, concept development and many other skills including the exposure triangle, rule of thirds etc.
The Focal Point
But I think for me the main reasons I started this project back in 2008 whether we are talking about successful street photographers, famous portraits or just getting used to using the DSLR camera or evening taking photographs around the school, my focus is on how children learn, what they do, what they say and how they follow their passions and interests and ultimately, how they arrive at their creative decisions. The skills they learn, 'landscape? portrait? which should I choose' All of which transfer to other areas in the curriculum. Their laughter as they share their experience with their friends all support their ability to grow.
AND, Yet whilst all of this happens... I receive another email, asking how our workshops and kids camera clubs support the school curriculum. A few photographs go along way! I look round the school... hundreds of images displayed on the wall, photographs taken on i-pads to confirm children completed a task, photographs and illustrations in books... Its all there right in front of us... Images on school walls... surely, all we need to do now is teach children the reason they arrive on the wall, the messages they convey and the thought process behind each story and so much more!
Perhaps its not a question of do we need photography in school its already here...Maybe we just need to open their creative eye to this wonderful world of photography
Kids Camera Clubs and Work Shop
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