Shameless Self Promotion

If you're like me, you don't mind doing a bit of shameless self promotion. That's why I'm using this blog to publicize my latest book.

Below you'll find two reviews that appeared in leading publications. After you read the reviews, you'll discover some comments about the book that outstanding educators nationwide have made. Hopefully, you'll read all of this information before you buy at least one copy of this helpful classroom aid. It's available on the Internet and at bookstores everywhere.

Review in SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL July 1, 2009

KELLNER, Hank Write What You See: 99 Photos to Inspire Writing 120p. w/CD. photos. reprods. Web sites. Cottonwood Press, 2009. pap. $24.95. ISBN 978-1-877673-83-2. LC 2008938630.

Gr 8 Up–This book is filled with black-and-white photos of all types–landscapes, portraits, action shots, stills, and more. The images are paired with a quote from scholars, writers, philosophers, celebrities, politicians, etc. For example, a shot of a gymnast supporting himself in mid-air is matched with Lance Armstrong’s comment, “Pain is temporary, quitting lasts forever,” and an image of a little girl taking a picture appears with a quip from Dorothea Lange: “Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still.” Each entry is also joined with one or more of the following writing prompts: questions to consider, possible opening lines, ideas for writing, or possible key words. The book, which is accompanied by a CD containing all of the photos and text, concludes with five pages of suggestions by teachers as to how one can use the volume to inspire writing. A terrific resource for ELA and creative-writing teachers.–Joanne K. Cecere, Monroe-Woodbury High School, Central Valley, NY

Review in VOICES OF YOUTH ADVOCATE August, 2009

Kellner, Hank. Write What You See: 99 Photos to Inspire Writing. Cottonwood Press, 2009. 118p. $24.95 Oversized pb. With CD- ROM. 978-1-877673-83-2. Illus.

Sometimes the most difficult part of writing can be finding the right inspiration. This book is designed to stir the imaginations of students to think creatively and express themselves in new ways. The black-and-white photos are accompanied by quotations, trigger words, questions for students to consider, ideas for writing about the photos, possible first lines, and suggestions for research on the photo's subject. They vary in topic from people to places, nature, buildings, pets, and even graffiti, with accompanying quotations from Shakespeare to Elvis. Each page has a single photo, making it easy for photocopying and sharing with the class, and photocopy rights are addressed on the verso page. Students are encouraged to write in a variety of styles ranging from news to poetry, descriptive, point-of-view exercises, and scripts. As an extra bonus, the book is accompanied by a CD that can be used to project the photos onto an overhead. The CD offers the same content as the book, but it allows the user to choose between displaying the photos with their accompanying suggestion or projecting them on their own with no text. Using photographs as stimulation is a popular exercise among professional writers, and many teachers already use this method in classroom writing projects. This collection makes trying an exercise with photographs easy for a teacher who has not attempted it before, especially with the classroom project suggestions. Some students may not be drawn o the black-and-white photos, but the absence of color will allow for additional creativity in description. Possibly the most helpful feature is a special section in the back of the book where high school and college teachers share how they have helped to inspire creative writing through the use of photos.—Joyce Doyle.

WHAT OTHERS HAVE SAID ABOUT WRITE WHAT YOU SEE

Write What You See is one of the best approaches to freeing the minds and pens of students I have ever seen. To think that in this package the teacher gets 99 photos and endless concepts for creative composition classes! I would use this approach over and over with students year after year because the possibilities are unlimited.
Joe Morgan, Advisor, Illinois Writing Program
Author, Into the Chilling Water and Potato Branch

Write What You See will be a source of ideas for writing lessons that students will remember far beyond the school year…This book is a feast of wonderment, inspiration, provocation, and stimulation to write. Teachers of language arts, composition, and social studies who encourage their students to express themselves through written language will pull this book off their shelves again and again.
Diane Carver Sekeres, Literacy Program Faculty
College of Education, University of Alabama

What a great idea! The images in Write What You See are provocative, and the suggested prose under each one provokes critical thinking as well as being poetical and lyrical. In our world of visual imagery, this is a nice way to entice students into a discussion of the world we live in.

Linda Dick, Instructor
Kalamazoo Valley Community College

I like most the flexibility afforded by the photographs in Write What You See. The images might trigger specific pieces for individual writers; even better, they can generate inventories of experiences, memories, impressions lived and imagined, from which writers may, later, craft those works seeking expression.

James S. Davis, Director
Iowa Writing Project

I’m looking forward to sharing Write What You See with future students. Hank Kellner’s melding of words and pictures is especially valuable in our increasingly visual world. These exercises can be used by a wide range of students…What a wonderful way to learn! This book will be at the top of my list to purchase and share. Thank you for writing it and for sharing both the photos and the ideas.
Vennie Eline White, Writing Center Coordinator
Riverland Community College

Write What You See is a testament to the National Writing Project’s tried and true flexible workshop model. It illuminates the point that school reform methods do not have to come from a scripted program, but rather that improvement processes should invite teachers and instructional leaders to take charge of writing instruction. This book can help teachers reach at-risk and reluctant student writers who need only a chance to
see and imagine. Hank Kellner’s book should inspire teachers— especially new teachers in search of best practices— to imagine such a declaration of academic freedom.
Patricia West, Department Head
Savannah Technical College

Students of varied age groups will enjoy using the stimulating photographs in Write What You See to jumpstart their thought processes for writing. This delightful collection of photographs and accompanying writing prompts offers a smorgasbord for imagination and critical thinking. Close observation builds a foundation for successful writing. Hank Kellner's choice of arresting photographs pulls us into a visual world where students will naturally find themselves observing carefully to ask questions and take creative leaps.
Valerie A. Reimers, Professor of English
Southwestern Oklahoma State University

This book will launch a thousand essays. Never again will students complain, "I don't know what to write about"! Filled with provocative photos, diverse ideas, and thoughtful prompts, Write What You See will unblock even the most timid writer.
Derri Scarlett, English faculty
Bismarck (N.D.) State College
Columnist, The Bismarck Tribune

"First I have to admit to a prejudice for great photography and great writing, and then I can say simply, Hank Kellner's Write What You See has plenty of both. This book is an antidote to a blank page, a sure-fire story starter, an aid to memory, and a fascinating read. Only for those readers wanting to be both visually and verbally literate. Bravo."
Cynthia Lee Katona, Professor of English
Ohlone College
Author, Book Savvy

How To Connect Seeing with Writing

Valerie Reimers is a Professor of English in the Department of Language and Literature at Southern Oklahoma State University. Reimers has developed an assignment that asks her students to discover convergences between visual images and verbal texts as they create both. First, she directs them to create photographs and, without looking at them, immediately write journal entries describing what they saw and hoped to capture in the photos. “In this way,” she writes, “the students connect seeing with writing.”

A few days later, Reimers directs the students to view printed versions of their photos, describe in writing what they see in their images, and compare/contrast their descriptions with the journal entries they had written earlier.

For the third and final part of the assignment, Reimers requires the students to submit a portfolio consisting of three sets of photos and written entries for evaluation and to share with their classmates. “Doing well on this assignment,” she concludes, “doesn’t depend on photographic skills. Rather, it depends on the careful choosing of subjects and the effort put into writing about them.” To receive a more complete description of this assignment, contact Reimers at valerie.reimers@swosu.edu.

Free! Free! Free! Mystery Photo

Marketing experts tell us that one of the most powerful words in the English language is Free. That’s why I’ve used it three times in the subhead (above).

“Balderdash!” you exclaim. “Nothing’s free. You pay for everything.”

“Not so,” I respond, secure in the knowledge that the Free Mystery Photo I want to send you is really, truly, without-a-doubt, undeniably free. All you have to do to receive my Free Mystery Photo is to send me an e-mail at hankpix@gmail.com with the words Free Mystery Photo in the subject line.

Are you still unconvinced? Do you want to know more about the photo before you send for it…even though it’s free? Okay. (1) This photo has been in my files for more than twenty years. (2) During that time, it appeared on the cover of The Reading Journal and in many other publications. (3) Most recently it appeared in Write What You See (Cottonwood Press, 2009). (4) Its center of interest is a teenager. (5) Before I retired, I used it to inspire writing time and time again with great success.

By the way, the Free Mystery Photo will arrive in your electronic mailbox with permission to reproduce it for use in your classroom. Send today!

Where To Find More Information

I’ve written a series of articles titled “Using Photographs To Inspire Writing.” You can read these articles at www.creativity-portal.com, www.teachers.net/gazette, and www.developingteachers.com.

In these articles you’ll find dozens of ideas for using photographs to trigger writing in the classroom; interesting photographs that are sure to stimulate your students’ imaginations; contributions by outstanding teachers nationwide; and much more.

But that’s not all. At the three websites cited above, you’ll discover more new and exciting ideas that will help to enhance your teaching than you’ll be able to use during your entire teaching career.

Let Your Students Photograph Themselves

I’ll bet that almost all of the students in your classes can easily produce digital images. That said, why not ask them to photograph each other and use their photos as inspiration?
Obviously, this activity lends itself to the creation of character descriptions in which you could require that the students write not only physical, but also emotional descriptions of their subjects.

And there’s more. Because digital photos can easily be manipulated, you can convert color images to black and white images. And you can even convert positive images to negative images. By doing so, you make it possible for your students to create many different kinds of creative writing assignments.

In the example shown here, my granddaughter held her digital camera at arm’s length to capture a self-portrait. Using Photo Base 3, I converted the image from color to black and white and from positive to negative. Then I showed the image to another middle school student and asked her to write a brief piece based on her reaction to it.

Another Me

Most people think I’m much too shy.

They say the world will pass me by.

But if they look behind the light

That sometimes hides me from their sight,

They’ll surely see

Another me.

And then they would be right.

Obviously, the resultant poem wouldn’t have impressed Byron, Wordsworth, or Keats. Nevertheless, it does illustrate the power of photographic images to inspire writing among students of all ages.

Shameless Self Promotion

Published by Cottonwood Press, Write What You See: 99 Photos To Inspire Writing is a collection of thought-provoking black-and-white photographs accompanied by a wide variety of inventive writing prompts to motivate students. But there’s more! Each book comes with a CD-ROM that makes it possible for you to use a video projector to display the photographs and writing prompts. Order today!


Copyright © Hank Kellner 2009
Self Portrait by Anna Kellner, Age 13
Poem by Louise Bowman, Age 13

________________________________________________________________________

Write What You See: 99 Photos to Inspire Writing by Hank Kellner. Order at www.cottonwoodpress.com, www.amazon.com, or Toll Free at 1-800-864-4297. Cottonwood Press books are distributed by Independent Publishers Group. Includes supplementary CD with photos. 8 ½ x 11, 120 pages, perfect binding, ISBN 978-I-877-673-83-2, LCCN 2008938630. $24.95. The author will contribute a portion of the royalties earned from the sale of this book to The Wounded Warriors Project.

Using Photographs To Inspire Writing

Comparison and Contrast

Most students probably don’t realize that they exercise the mental processes of comparison and/or contrast every day. For example, each morning they may compare two choices of clothing. Or they may contrast two kinds of breakfast cereals. Or they may even compare or contrast you to other people who influence their lives.

But when it comes to using comparison and contrast in their expository writing, students don’t seem to make the connections as easily as they do at other times. Fortunately, some photo-graphs can easily help students develop compositions and/or contrasts using these two patterns of organization.

Using the photographs shown here, students could develop papers that are organized in terms of the differences between the two women. In their compositions, the students could discuss the differences in clothing, hairstyles, facial expressions, lighting, and even the jewelry the women are wearing. They could also speculate as to the period of time during which the photos were taken. And they could speculate as to where the photos were created.

But that's not all. The same two photos could also inspire stu-
dents to create stories or poems.

The Addsion Gallery of American Art

The Addison Gallery of American Art is a department of Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts, http://chat.andover.edu/addison/education/education_PWP.htm. When you visit this website, you’ll discover more about this organization’s Photography and Writing Program, which is “designed to enable and inspire students to express themselves in words and photographs.” Definitely worth a visit.

Call for Submissions

I’ve been writing a series of articles titled “Using Photography To Inspire Writing” for publication at http://www.creativity-portal.com/ and www.teachers.net/gazette. Please visit those two websites to read the articles published to date.
As in the book Write What You See: 99 Photos To Inspire Writing (Cottonwood Press, 2009), each article contains samples of photo-writing activities educators have used in classrooms at many levels nationwide.
If you have used photos to stimulate writing in your classroom, and if you would like to share an activity that’s been successful, I’d love to hear from you. Please send approximately 100 words describing your activity to me. Don’t forget to include your name, title, school or college, city, state, and a brief statement granting permission to use your submission in my articles. Thank you.

A Marriage Made in Writers’ Heaven

Mary Borg’s Writing Your Life presents hundreds of ideas and suggestions that can help to inspire writers at all levels. Together with Write What You See, this book will form a perfect union for teachers who want to offer their students almost limitless opportunities to write. Cottonwood Press publishes two versions of this fine book, one for grades 6-12 and one for adults.

Book Description

Many readers of my mailings, articles, and blog have written to ask for more information about Write What You See. That’s why I’m including a book description in this blog entry. If you still have questions, please contact me.
Write What You See is a collection of photographs and accompanying prompts that belongs in every classroom in which the teaching of English composition plays an important role.
Written by a retired teacher of English, this work presents 99 dramatic black and white photographs accompanied by insightful prompts that are certain to captivate and motivate students of writing at many levels.
Ranging in subject matter from people to places to animals to things, the photographs in this work depict a wide variety of locations, activities, and moods. Students who view the photos are sure to respond positively as they tap their inner resources and create prose and poetry they never thought they would create.
In addition to the photos and prompts, Write What You See contains two special sections that are especially noteworthy. One section cites ten creative ways to use photographs to inspire writing. Another section reveals how more than two dozen master teachers nationwide stimulate their students’ imaginations with photographs.
Although brief written prompts accompany each photograph in Write What You See, students are not required to use them. If they wish to do so, aspiring writers may simply view the photographs and allow their imaginations to guide them in their writing. This feature makes the work suitable for use at many different levels of instruction.

In Write What You See students at many levels will be:

• motivated to write compositions more easily than ever before.
• encouraged to use their imaginations and creativity as powerful stimuli.
• encouraged to express their feelings and ideas in writing.
• offered opportunities to exchange ideas with their peers.
• permitted to express their thoughts in writing without fear of negative
  feedback
• offered the opportunity to display their works in a variety of ways.
• exposed to a variety of approaches and techniques that will improve their
  writing.

Write What You See is a must not only for instructors who want to offer their students a fresh, creative approach to the writing process, but also for anyone who wants to broaden his or her writing horizons.

_______________________________________________________________________
Write What You See: 99 Photos To Inspire Writing by Hank Kellner. Includes supplementary CD with photos and writing prompts. Original Edition. Cottonwood Press. 8 ½ x11, 120 pages, perfect binding, ISBN 978-1-877-673-83-2. $24.95. Write What You See will be available from Cottonwood Press at http://www.cottonwoodpress.com/ in late January, 2009.

Using Photographs To Inspire Writing


Go Google!

If you Google the phrase “photographs and writing,” you’ll discover an astounding 23,400,000 entries for that topic. That’s enough to keep you busy for the rest of your life and beyond—if that were possible.

But 23,400,000 entries are just a few drops in a teacup when they’re compared to the mind-boggling 77,100,000 entries Google cites when you enter “photography and writing” instead of “photographs and writing.”

Obviously, I couldn’t sample more than just a few of the websites cited in Google, but I did find one that's especially helpful to anyone who's interested in using photographs to inspire writing in the classroom: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/learn/collections/environ/langarts.html.

According to the unnamed author of this “Learning Page” from the Library of Congress, some photographs can help to launch “projects that will develop visual literacy and creative writing skills,” while others “lend themselves to expository writing.”

In the section of the article that deals with creative writing, the author presents a photograph of five students who are on a field trip, directs the students to select one of the students shown in the photographs, and then asks such questions as: (1) How old is the student? (2) Has the person you chose been on an adventure like this before? (3) What unexpected events occur on the trip? (4) Are friends along on the trip? (5) Is there someone in the group the student dislikes?

In the expository section of the article, the author presents a simple, uncluttered photograph of a sand dune and points out that “…in writing about a sand dune, an essay might include the definition of a dune, an account of where dunes exist in the world, the kinds of animals and plants that live among the dunes, and an assessment of the human impact on sand dunes.”

Every Photograph Tells a Story

On a more personal level, today almost everyone owns a digital camera. Except for a few diehards, gone are the days when people waited anxiously for rolls of film to be developed and prints to be made. Now, as if by magic, images appear instantly to be downloaded, stored on hard discs, and printed at the drop of a sombrero.

This means that most students probably have collections of hundreds, if not thousands, of digital images that can trigger writing assignments. Consider these two photos, for example. A student at almost every level could have created them. And the photos could easily trigger any number of questions designed to inspire writing. For example: (1) What were the conditions under which the student photographer created the photos? (2) What were the reasons for creating them? (3) What was happening while the student photographer snapped the photos? (4) In what way are the people in the photographs related?

Indeed, the number of questions you can ask is limited only by your imagination and by the imaginations of your students.

Alternatively, you could simply show the two photographs without comments or questions and ask the students to respond to them based on their unspoken thoughts and their feelings before they write their compositions.

This photo is a good example of a photo that reveals little but says a lot. Almost in silhouette, a uniformed police officer wearing a helmet stands near a display window. Part of a shadow appears behind the officer. A headless mannequin clothed in white stands framed in the window to the officer’s left.

Some students will want to discuss the contrasts between the officer and the mannequin; the similarities between the positions in which the two are presented; and the helmeted officer as opposed to the headless mannequin. Other students will want to create narratives featuring the two figures. For example, what would happen if the headless mannequin somehow morphed into a living person? How would the officer respond to such a startling event?

Photographs that feature people involved in some form of activity always elicit interesting verbal and written responses from students. In this photograph, a woman leans forward at what appears to be the shore of a lake or river as she trains her camera on something or someone we cannot see. On each side of the frame, several canoes rest on the shore.

Who is the woman? How old is she? Is she married or single? Does she have a companion who’s waiting outside of the scene? Who or what is she photographing? Is she a professional photographer or an amateur?

How Some Master Teachers Use Photographs

After having students respond to several photos in terms of the five senses, Lehigh Valley Writing Project Co-Director Kristy M. Weidner-Gonzalez has the students write short poems in which each line reveals one of the senses. Then the students take a walking tour of the school and surrounding neighborhood during which they photograph their favorite places. Using the images they produced, the students revisit the idea of senses as they write about what they had experienced when they created the photos. “The second time around has much more meaning for the students,” writes Weidner-Gonzalez, “because the places they photographed were much more personal and held certain memories for them.”

As a Teacher Consultant for the Illinois State Writing Project and an English teacher at Central Catholic High School in Bloomington, Ann Cox uses photos to teach characterization. After giving her students a magazine photo of a person, she asks them to write a character sketch of the person. Then she provides a scenario and directs the students to describe how their characters would react and why. Finally, students share their writing with the class and discuss their motivation.

At the Prairie Lands Writing Project, Technology Liaison Mary Lee Meyer conducts workshops for teachers at which she emphasizes the use of images to inspire writing. “About 15% of the student population has low verbal skills,” she wrote in a recent workshop handout. “Using images to invoke responses helps that population.” Meyer pointed out, also, that images “…require students to use their powers of critical analysis when writing.”

Among other things, in her workshops Meyer urges teachers to help students (1) write dialogue by using comic characters; (2) discover details by analyzing images; and (3) expand the use of imagery words by studying photos and paintings. You can read one of her workshop handouts, “Images: Their Impact on Learning” at the following website. http://www.missouriwestern.edu/plwp/08saturdayseminar/info.html

Copyright © 2008 by Hank Kellner Photos by the author

_____________________________________________________________________________

Hank Kellner is a retired educator and the author of Write What You See: 99 Photos To Inspire Writing. Although the official publication date for the book is April 1, 2009, it should be available directly from Cottonwood Press earlier than that--most likely in late January, 2009.

Contact the author at hankpix@gmail.com.

Visit Cottonwood Press at http://www.cottonwoodpress.com/.

Using Photographs To Inspire Writing

Less is more. There's really nothing complicated about the photograph shown below. A figure stands silhouetted against a gray-to-black background. In the far distance, a bright circle hovers above the horizon.

One fist appears to be clenched as the figure stands with its feet apart. Is the figure male or female? Is it facing the horizon, or is it facing the camera? Does its posture suggest anger, rage, or hostility? Why is the subject standing alone in a space that's delineated by shades of gray?

If you showed this photograph to your students to inspire them to write stories or poems, you might ask them the questions cited above. Alternatively, you might simply show the photograph and allow your students' imaginations to kick in and guide them as they create their compositions.

By the way, if you're a photography buff, you'll probably want to know that this photograph was created using a Leica M-3 and Plus-X film back in the days when silver-based images were king and digital imaging wasn't even on the drawing board yet.

Photographs can also lend themselves to teaching specific skills. At Columbus State Community College, for example, Sheila Dickson uses graphic images to focus on point of view as a writing technique. She writes: "Being a 'flower child', I show images of the Kent State shootings in 1970." First, Dickson asks students to write a descriptive paragraph from the points of view of a participating student, a National Guardsman, or an observing student. Then she directs them to write another paragraph from a different point of view. Finally, she tells the students to develop one of their choices into an essay. "Using this technique," she concludes, "I've received some of the best student writing I've ever received at the high school and college level during my thirty-six years of teaching English."

At Independence High School in San Jose, California, English teacher Martin Brandt shows his students side-by-side photos of two women and asks them to respond in writing to the following five questions: (1) What does each photograph show? (2) How is each woman dressed? (3) What do you notice about the environment surrounding each woman? (4) What do you notice about the condition of each woman? (5) What do the two women have in common? In this way, he helps the students develop papers based on comparisons and contrasts.

From the Boston Writing Project, Peter Golden reports that in one of several photo-related exercises he uses with students at South Boston High School he projects a photo of Marilyn Monroe (a Norma Jean photo) and asks the students to write down their responses and share them. After the students arrive at a general description of the subject, as in shy or sophisticated,
Golden presses them for details. Then he directs them to write descriptions of Norma that convey their conclusion (shy or sophisticated) without using that word. “In other words,” he writes, “the readers should come to the same conclusion just by reading the description.”

“One of the projects my students and parents are most proud of is a project I do with my high school freshmen,” writes Jennifer Sluss, Tech Liaison for the Mountain Writing Project. To help teach purpose and audience in writing, Sluss’s students create visual personal narratives/memoirs that she fondly refers to as the Me Mini Movie. In this exercise, students compile photos that tell a story or present an aspect of their lives that they value. “We then add a song to the photos in Movie Maker or Power Point. When we do this, the students must focus on matching the music to their message. We also talk about tone, audience, and the purpose of the Me Mini Movies.” Sluss also uses representations of abstract art to help her junior English students relate to the themes and plots of novels.

Photographs are wonderful teaching aids. They can be used to elicit responses from the most reluctant students. They can be used to trigger the imaginations of students from elementary school through college. They can be used to inspire either expository or creative pieces. When you use them to encourage writing in the classroom, never again will students complain that they have nothing to write about.

___________________________________________________________________

Hank Kellner is a retired teacher of English and freelance writer-photographer. He is the author of many articles that have appeared in publications nationwide. His upcoming book, Write What You See: 99 Photos To Inspire Writing, 120 pages, ISBN 978-1-877-673-83-2, $24.95, perfect binding, 8 1/2 x 11 will include a supplementary CD with photos. Although the official publication date for Write What You See is April 1, 2009, it should be available directly from Cottonwood Press earlier than that--most likely in late January, 2009. Visit Cottonwood Press at http://www.cottonwoodpress.com/. Contact the author at hankpix@gmail.com.

Using Photography To Inspire Writing
by Hank Kellner

“Words and pictures can work together to communicate more powerfully than either alone.”
William Albert Allar
American Photographer

If “One picture is worth a thousand words,” can one picture also inspire a thousand words? Of course it can. That’s why educators are becoming increasingly aware of the power photographs have to unlock students’ imaginations and help them express themselves through written language.
Whether you want to teach specific writing skills or simply to help students overcome their reluctance to write, you’ll find that photographs are powerful teaching aids that can inspire students at all levels to create both expository and creative compositions. What’s more, when you use photographs in your classroom, you can be as directive—or as non-directive—as you choose to be.
For example, you could show this photograph to a group of students and ask them to let their imaginations guide them as they respond to it in writing. But if you want to be more directive, you could ask them such leading questions as: What is the woman in the photo thinking? Why is she standing alone in this scene? What does it feel like to wait for someone who is late? What kind of a family does this woman have?
You could even use short poems to complement photos that help to initiate responses from students. Here’s an example of one such poem that worked well with this photograph at the middle school, high school, and community college levels.

Memories
What are you thinking
As you stand, unsmiling,
Alone on a deserted street?

Another time?
Another place?
A moment when your world
Was bright and cheerful
And you didn’t have to stand
Alone on a deserted street.

Many educators who have used photographs successfully in the classroom are eager to share their photowriting experiences with other professionals. At Piedmont Virginia Community College, former Adjunct Assistant Professor Justin Van Kleeck showed his students a photo of a baby macaque and a pigeon who had “adopted” each other as friends. “I asked the students to freewrite after showing them the photo and giving them information about how the animals came together,” he writes. You can see the photo at http://primatology.net/2007/09/13/baby-macaque-and-white-pigeon-make-friends/ “The students wrote about everything from how different species can get along so easily while humans cannot, to the human behaviors that stress animals, such as poaching,” he concludes.
At the Prairie Lands Writing Project, St. Joseph, Missouri, Teacher Consultant Mary Lee Meyer asks her high school students to write “I am From” poems based on photos that are significant to them in terms of their lives. To support this activity, she asks such questions as Where are you from? Who are/were your grandparents? What occupations did your ancestors have? Meyer has also used this exercise at a writing institute for teachers. You can see samples at http://missouriwestern.edu/plwp/wtca/examples.htm under “I Am From…Example 1 Michelle.” See also Meyers' interesting blog at http://writingwithtechnology.edublogs.org/.
How creative can you get with photographs of bridges? Ask Diane Sekeres, who conducted a workshop for teachers at the University of Alabama’s Longleaf Writing Project Summer Institue for Teachers. “I found about 20 pictures of different kinds of bridges: rope, draw, suspension, destroyed, over gorges, over highways, over water,” she writes. “Then I asked the teachers to study the photos and select one that was a metaphor for their teaching.” At the conclusion to the exercise, the teacher-students wrote about their choices and their reasons for making them.
Another outstanding example of how a teacher uses photographs to inspire writing comes from Iowa Writing Project Director James Davis. First, Davis asks his students to recall a photograph of some significance to them. Then he directs them to describe the photograph as they remember it. “Who is in the photograph?” he asks. “What are their expressions and stances? What are the important details of the setting?” To conclude this assignment, Davis asks the students to find the photograph they described and study it carefully before writing about any discrepancies between the photo as it exists and their memories of it. “Why might these discrepancies exist?” he asks. “Which version has more to do with truth?”
When he’s not busy editing Star Teaching, Frank Holes, Jr. teaches at Inland Lakes Middle School, Indian River, Michigan. Holes shows his students photographs of children performing daily activities and asks them such questions as Who is the child? What is his/her name? What is the subject’s family like? How old is the subject? What is he or she feeling? “I also ask the students to give a full description of the setting that includes sense impressions,” writes Holes. Then he asks questions related to a possible plot before he directs the students to write a story that places the child in the setting.
“To spur on students who are afraid to write, or intimidated by the writing process,” writes Derri Scarlett, “I have them take pictures (or bring in pictures) that they like. An English instructor at Bismarck (N. D.) State College and a columnist for The Bismarck Tribune, Scarlett then encourages those students to talk about why they like the photos, or what the photos mean to them. Then she directs the students to “brainstorm” on paper. That’s when they jot down the words they first spoke of when they discussed the photographs. From that exercise come sentences, then an essay. “Because the students have invested themselves in the subject matter,” concludes Scarlett, “this is a great way of easing into the writing process.”
Often maligned but never out of sight, visual images surround and captivate us without letup. Show a photograph to a child, and the youngster will point to it, trace its image, and respond with a variety of emotions. Show another to an adult, and you get a frown, a smile, or a gesture—rarely will you draw a blank. Show a photograph, or a series of photographs, to students at any level, and you’ll generate more responses than you can handle. Soon your students will be creating stories, poems, and essays that will make you wonder why you hadn’t used this simple and obvious technique years earlier for stimulating the creative process.
__________________________________________________________________________
Hank Kellner is a retired educator and the author of WRITE WHAT YOU SEE: 99 PHOTOGRAPHS TO INSPIRE WRITING. Although the official publication date for the book is April 1, 2009, it should be available directly from Cottonwood Press earlier than that--most likely in late January, 2009.

Contact author: hankpix@gmail.com.
Visit Cottonwood Press: http://www.cottonwoodpress.com
Photo by the author. Poem by Jerry Kato.

Shameless Self-Promotion
I was seventy-one years old when I began work on Write What You See: 99 PhotosTo Inspire Writing. Now I'm seventy-three, and the book is finally at the publisher where it's being fine tuned and made ready for the printer.
I've been delighted by the many positive comments I've received from educators who have read the unedited manuscript. Here's an excerpt from Diane Carver Sekeres' contribution. "Kellner's juxtaposition of his and others' photography with quotes, poetry, and prompts in WRITE WHAT YOU SEE is a feast of wonderment, inspiration, provocation, and stimulation."
Diane is a member of the Literacy Program Faculty at the College of Education, University of Alabama. Thank you, Diane!

The Case of the Thieving Seagull
Of all the writing activities that use images to inspire writing that have crossed my desk, Justin Van Kleeck’s “Thieving Seagull” assignment is among the most creative and original. “I show my students a video of a seagull that steals a bag of Doritos from a store in Scotland every day,” writes Van Kleeck. In the first part of the assignment, he directs the students to write a process paper in which they instruct their fellow seagulls on how to steal, open, and eat the Doritos. In the second part of the assignment, he tells the students to write from the point of view of a shopkeeper who is telling other shopkeepers how to prevent the seagull from stealing Doritos in a creative, non-violent way. "The key to the exercise,” concludes Van Kleeck, “ is for students to utilize the process approach while also employing their imaginations. They should be encouraged to create easy to follow, step-by-step instructions without skimping on style."

Does This Person Have a Toothache?
Well, we really don't know, do we? But whatever the problem may be, the image shown against an interesting and enigmatic background certainly is provocative.
Some students may simply study the photograph and allow their imaginations to guide them in their writing. Others may wish to discuss such questions as : (1) Is the person in the photograph a man or a woman? ((2) What is the meaning of the cryptic statement painted on the background? (3) Is the subject of the photograph in pain? If so, what is the cause of the pain? (4) If you could interview the subject of the photo, what would you want to find out about him or her?In any case, this photograph is just one example of thousands--maybe even millions--of others that can trigger ideas in the minds of students at all levels.

Nitwit of the Month Award
If Bill O'Reilly can have a "Pinhead" Award, why can't I have a "Nitwit" Award? Here's my first one. According to the London Daily Mail, a former British glamour model named Jayne Bennington spends the equivalent of $600 a month in an attempt to make her 11-year-old daughter into a beauty queen. Congratulations from across the pond, Jane. We look forward to the appearance of your unlucky daughter on a reality show very soon.