Focus Lessons

Discipline: Professional Resources, Literacy

Copyright: 2019

Grade(s): 4 - 12

Imprint: Heinemann

Author(s): Ralph Fletcher

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

Ready-to-Use Craft Lessons

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.”