Cameras will start going home about two weeks into the term.
After the pictures have been taken the students will work with their developed pictures to create poems. Then, the selected picture will be scanned and finally, the finished work will be posted on the Class Portfolio page.
Our Community
A Project about Your Neighbourhood
A community is made up of a group of people who live in the same area and share goods, services and buildings. It is a place where people work, play, shop, and learn together. There are many services that help people in a community and people also reach out to help each other. A community is made up of people who come from many places, speak different languages, and have diverse customs and backgrounds.
Within each community there are even smaller communities called neighbourhoods that have their own unique flavour. You will explore your neighborhood and your community through journaling, surveys, photography, poetry, research, and biography. You will tell the story of your neighbourhood through your own eyes.
Before you actually begin your journey, take a look at a picture and poem from Steve's neighbourhood; Look at the Cat, Miriam's; Schoolhouse, and Melissa's; Through the Crisscross Fence.
On these pages you see photographs each of them took of their communities as seen through their eyes. Pay attention to how these children capture images of their community. In what ways are these photos similar and in what ways do they differ? As you explore, think about the people, places and activities that would capture the unique flavour of your community.
Maybe it would have made more sense to do this project during the winter, Quebec can be more easily identified through our winter sports, but no, your challenge is to:
Activity I
Use your notebook to draw a map of your street, take notes, copy down quotes and sayings you overhear, make sketches, write poems, make journal entries, or list questions that come up. As you collect information, start thinking about the photographs you would take to capture the flavour of your neighbourhood, photos that would distinguish your block from another.
Complete this survey during your observation time, it will help you in your research.
Activity II
Your first task is to walk your neighbourhood and look for possible camera shots that would capture the people, places and spaces that best represent the spirit of your neighbourhood. As you encounter possible shots, stop to sketch them out in your notebook. As you observe and work, think about Steve, Miriam, and Melissa's pictures and take a tour of Class 434's Neighbourhoods; ask yourself why they took the photos they did to represent their neighbourhoods. How are you going to capture photos that paint a picture of your neighbourhood?
Your second task is to learn about the art of photography. You can learn the basic principles of taking good photographs at the Kodak site and the Better Photos web site. Take time to visit each site. Try to identify three key photography tips you plan to use when you take your photos and write these tips down in your Notebook.
Now you are ready to photograph your neighbourhood. Look for shots that really capture the ebb and flow of your neighbourhood's daily life.
Once you've taken your pictures, you must now decide on which one you will use on the class website and write the perfect poem to go with it.
Good luck! All the work you do on this project will not only help you learn more about your neighbourhood and your community, it will prepare you for THE FIVE THEMES OF GEOGRAPHY.