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."

Ralph Fletcher has been a mentor to teachers and young writers everywhere. He has helped hundreds of thousands of teachers understand the importance of letting go and trusting their writers. Ralph's professional books are part of this tradition. His newest book, Focus Lessons, helps teachers use the natural links between writing and photography to enhance their instruction. Another recent title, Joy Write, explores the value of giving students time and autonomy for the playful, low-stakes writing that leads to surprising, high-level growth. Ralph frequently works with young writers in schools, and speaks at education conferences in the U.S. and abroad, helping teachers find wiser ways of teaching writing. Ralph is the beloved author of many bestselling teacher professional books and resources including: - Writing Workshop: The Essential Guide - What a Writer Needs, Second Edition - Mentor Author, Mentor Texts - Craft Lessons - Breathing In, Breathing Out - Teaching the Qualities of Writing - Lessons for the Writer's Notebook Students know Ralph as the award-winning author of more than 20 books for children and young adults, including Fig Pudding, Twilight Comes Twice, The Writer's Notebook, Marshfield Dreams: When I Was a Kid, and most recently Marshfield Memories: More Stories About Growing Up. Ralph Fletcher online >> Listen to a recent Heinemann podcast where Ralph talks about Joy Write (17:31). >> Read Ralph's latest thoughts at his blog: Living the Writing Life. >> Listen to an interview with Ralph on Education Talk Radio (38:29). >> Follow Ralph on Twitter @FletcherRalph.