It's in the bag PDF Print E-mail

Rob Watling has always been fascinated by students' school bags. Why are they so huge? What's in them? Why are they always on the desk? What do the contents say about their owners? He had less than two hours to find out.

The session

A double lesson (90 minutes) with 26 mixed ability Year 8 students in an inner-city Grant Maintained School.

The project

The students took portraits of each other and the contents of their school bags, as part of a creative writing project in English.

Aims and objectives

To encourage observation, groupwork, visual and written creativity. Each student was to produce one photographic portrait of a friend and to use their own portrait to stimulate and illustrate a poem about themselves and their belongings.

The work

After a brief introduction to the project, the class split into pairs to show and discuss the contents of their school bags: what they carried with them, what things were important, useful, unneccesary, special or even private. As this was the first day of term after Christmas there were plenty of new bags, pencil cases and presents to talk about. Students made a list of their possessions and each pair was encouraged to compare notes and ideas.

While this was going on, each pair in turn was taken out and given a camera, to take portraits of each other: holding, or displaying, some of the things from their bag. They were allowed to take only one picture each (both to encourage careful preparation and to keep the cost down). Students needed quite a lot of advice about framing, composition and focusing. The fact that everyone was both a subject and a photographer helped to encourage the shyer students and to subdue the over-enthusiastic ones.
Once they had taken their photographs the students were encouraged to start their poems, which could be written from their own point of view or from that of the bag or an object within it.

Follow-up

The film was taken to the nearby 1-hour processor which meant it was back in time for the next English lesson. The results were predictably variable (only the better ones are reproduced here) but each portrait was now used as a stimulus and illustration for the completion of the creative writing. The portraits and poems were eventually mounted and displayed, and the students would also analyse their portraits critically before repeating the project later in the term and trying to improve on the results.

Possible variations

Such a quick project could easily be adapted for other work on objects and self-image. Students might be asked in advance to bring in a specific item to be included in their portrait (a family photograph, the first record they ever bought, something they hate to eat...) or they might experiment with giving people incongruous objects (the caretaker with a Gameboy, the headteacher with a gun).

This sort of work can usefully be preceded (or followed) by sessions on representation, portraiture, composition and lighting. It can provide a clear focus for other language work ranging from descriptive prose to critical discussion.

Tips

  •  We used a high-quality single lens reflex camera with a wide angle lens. A fast film (800 ASA) was used, as this lesson was done in the depths of winter. It might be better to work outdoors if you can.
  •  It is worth having an extra set of prints made so students can compare different pictures. Or (if time is not important) use a firm like TriplePrint who give you one ordinary photograph and two smaller ones. Polaroids give instant results but are more expensive.
  •  Be prepared for the students to be over-excited at some stages (especially when they get their pictures back)!
  • Try to have a spare film, camera and batteries available (just in case).
  • Don't forget to let someone take your portrait, too.

© 2001 Rob Watling
 

Discuss this item on the forums. (0 posts)
< Prev   Next >