After a field trip to do observations of the pond water habitat, the class creates a Photo Journal to document their observations using digital images and written narrative. The Photo Journal becomes a valued science document about the pond. The classroom has Photo Journals of the pond habitat going back to 1993. Children use the collection of Photo Journals to study longitudinal changes in the pond.

The collaboratively authored Photo Journals provide a model for children on how to write about their pond science observations. As children are able to collaboratively write narrative for the Photo Journals, they are developing the writing process skills needed to do their own individual pond writing for e-mail messages.

The Photo Journals are also used as text of direct reading strategies instruction and ongoing reading practice. Because the journals have photos with narrative, children can use the visual cues to predict the words of the text. The visual images remind them to access their prior knowledge about the pond along with syntax and phonic cues to accurately predict words.

PHOTO JOURNAL LESSONS

Lesson #1 Downloading the Digital Images to the Computer

Time: 15 minutes

Materials:

• Disk of pond images from Digital Camera
• Computer with Graphic Converter software

1. Create a new folder in the Water Habitat folder titled Pond Images + the date of the Field Trip (Example: "Pond Images 1/18/00").
2. Put the disk in the computer and label it Pond Images + the date of the Field Trip
3. Open Graphic Converter and select Convert More
4. Select the disk from the desktop as the images chosen to be converted and select the new pond image folder as the place where the images will be put after being converted.
5. Select all the images from the disk and click "Convert"; wait for all images to be converted
6. Quit "Convert more" in Graphic Converter.

Computer with Graphic Converter Software
• Computer Folder of pond images

1. Select "Slide Show"; use the Slide Show for the first viewing of the images.
2. As the images are viewed, students take turns making verbal narrative comments to describe the pond observation information in the images. This step begins the process of collaboratively thinking and talking about the content for written narrative.
3. After viewing the images in the slide show, the teacher opens the collection of images in the "Open Browser" feature of Graphic Converter. In "Open Browser" the small groups, under the guidance of the teacher, take turns opening and titling each image. Then the group decides together the order of the images for the photo journal and numbers them accordingly. Then they take turns using the editing tools to trim the selection, adjust color, brightness, and size of each image for use in the Photo Journal. Second year students who have had numerous teacher-led lessons on the digital imaging editing tools model and mentor the process for the first year students.
   
   Lesson #3 Reviewing the Edited Slide Show
   
   Time: One 30-minute session as a whole class or four 15 to 20-minute sessions for small groups for more in-depth viewing and conversation
   
   When all the images have been edited for the photo journal, the class watches the slide show again (as a whole class or in rotation of small groups) to see the changes in the images and share ideas for descriptive sentences on the content of each image.
   
   Lesson #4 Authoring the Photo Journal
   
   Time: Three 45 minute lessons with small groups for each lesson or six 20+ minute lessons with small groups for each lesson (Number and length of lessons is determined by the teacher depending on literacy/collaboration skills and goals of the students.)
   
   
   1. The teacher creates a new word processing document titled "Pond Photo Journal" + the date of the pond observations.
   2. In small groups the title page and then each subsequent photo pages are created using the following steps:
      1. The teacher or second year students insert the selected images and do the keyboarding as the class generates the narrative sentence for each image.
      2. Using the slide show or open browser feature, the group decides on a title page image and it is inserted with the title and date entered onto the title page.
      3. Keyboarder does a page break and inserts the first photo image that starts the journal story.
      4. Taking turns, the small group generates narrative, descriptive sentences for the image.
      5. The sentences are re-read for editing and revising text. The words are highlighted to lead the choral reading of the sentences.
      6. As a page is finished, the keyboarder does a page break and inserts the next image.
      7. After several photo journal pages have been created, another small group comes up to the computer to continue the process. Before starting a new page, they chorally re-read the pages already authored by the previous group.
   3. When all pages of the photo journal have been created, the document is printed in color and bound as the Photo Journal that is added to the ongoing collection of Photo Journals. Additional copies are made for reading instruction, practice, and assessment.
   
   
   Criteria for Authoring Photo Journal Text
   
   
   1. Sentence content must directly relate to the digital image on the page.
   2. Examples of rich descriptive narrative from previous journals are read as models and inspiration for students to generate further rich, descriptive narrative.
   3. Students re-read each generated sentence for syntax qualities (i.e. noun-verb agreement, complete sentences) and for conventions (punctuation, spelling, and capitalization).
   
   
   Lesson #5 Reading Instruction and Practice with Photo Journals
   
   Time: One hour daily reading lesson time blocks
   
   The Photo Journals are used for integrated reading/science instruction in combinations of : 1. small group lessons; 2. paired collaborative reading practice; and 3. individual sustained reading practice. Paired reading practice may be done in homogenous reading pairs or in heterogeneous reading pairs with a stronger, more independent reader mentoring a developing reader.
   
   Directions for reading practice include working on reading strategies followed by discussion and assessment of comprehension of science concepts presented in the Photo Journal content.
   
   Lesson #6 Sending Photo Journal Document to Online Collaborating Classrooms and Schools
   
   Time: 20 minutes
   
   Materials:
   • Photo Journal Document File
   • Eudora E-mail Software (WAN)
   • First Class E-mail Software (LAN)
   
   
   After completing the Photo Journal, the class may send an e-mail message to other classrooms and schools who are collaborating with them on local to global water habitat studies. The e-mail message will include an attachment for the Photo Journal document so other schools can download and read it.
   
   The e-mail message is composed in Eudora (for distant classes and schools) and/or on First Class (for within district collaborating classrooms). The two students who have the Classroom Helper Chart assignment of working on e-mail and websites on the day we are sending the Photo Journal, are the ones that compose and send the e-mail with assistance from the teacher. (Anytime students are sending e-mail, their work is monitored and approved by the teacher before being sent.)
   
   Lessons #7 Uploading the Photo Journal into the Classroom Water Habitat Website (Optional Lesson)
   
   Time: Sequence of 30 minutes sessions until the Photo Journal is uploaded and edited as a website document
   
   Materials:
   • Photo Journal Document
   • Claris Home Page Software
   1. The teacher prepares a website folder for the most recent Photo Journal in the Water Habitat folder. The new folder contains both a "Graphics" folder and a new website page document titled photojournal+ date.
   2. With mentoring, monitoring, and assistance from the teacher, two second grade students who have experience editing digital images and creating webpage text do the following:
      1. Copy the photo journal images to the new "Graphics" folder and then, using Graphic Converter, resize the images for the website publishing (standard size for our webpage images is approximately 250 pixels with proportional length)
      2. Title the new Photo Journal webpage in large font, create a single row/column table for each page of the photo journal, insert images, and copy/paste the text in smaller font for each image from the Photo Journal document into the webpage document. Students use the Claris homepage color tools to design the colors of text and the background of the tables.
      3. The teacher and two students use "Preview in Browser" to do a final check of the Photo Journal website page.
      4. The teacher creates the necessary links and sends the new Photo Journal website document to the server.
   
   
   Assessments:
   
   
   1. Students are assessed for active listening and verbal contributions in the small group lessons.
   Students are assessed in the re-reading of the generated text on the screen with support given as needed; anecdotal notes are kept indicating how a child read with or without support

1. knowing the sequence of steps for downloading the digital images

Onto:

• Materials & Resources
• What Students Had to Say