Focus Lessons: How Photography Enhances the Teaching of Writing

“Writers, like photographers, are image makers.”

We teach our students to write using words and sentences that create a desired effect. You might encourage them to zoom in on a small moment, focus on a specific detail, or experiment with a new point of view. The language of writing has a natural link with photography.

Linking Photography with Writing

In Focus Lessons, Ralph Fletcher makes this connection clear. He offers new ideas about how this link can enhance your instruction.

• -Using a camera as a writer’s notebook
• -Taking pictures to spark creativity
• -Learning to “read” images as mentor texts
• -Helping students develop writing from photos

Craft Lessons Ideas

Ralph also shares fifteen craft lessons that draw on the photographic world. Each lesson highlights a different technique like creating tension, using arresting details, or setting a mood. Then he shows how to achieve each one—in both photography and writing.

“A series of savvy decisions are required to produce a memorable photograph,” says Ralph. “That’s true with writing, as well.”

Grades:  4-12