Lesson 4: Photography on the Internet

Featuring the EarthLink Photo Center, powered by Snapfish

Student Objective: Students will practice speaking and learn how to give directions in a clear and concise manner
Time Required: Thirty minutes for student lesson preparation; one hour for lesson with seniors
Materials: Name tags, list of senior participants and student teachers, computers with EarthLink software, Digital Photos Student/Senior Worksheet 4 (PDF), pen/pencil for each student and senior, blank journal for students

Thirty-Minute Prep Before Seniors Arrive (optional):

1. Have each student put on their name tag and redistribute the name tags of each student’s senior partner, if necessary. Review Digital Photos Student/Senior Worksheet 4 (PDF).
2. Explain that word choice, speech tempo, and finding common frames of reference are essential to giving directions or explaining complex ideas.
3. As a group, select a board game that everyone in the class knows how to play (e.g., Scrabble, Go Fish, etc.). Explain that you are going to demonstrate how difficult it can be to give clear directions.
4. Go around the room. The first student should explain the first step of the game, the second student the next step, and so on. Afterward, analyze the challenges in giving clear directions and discuss several solutions (e.g., short sentences, providing examples, presenting the steps in order, etc.).
5. Have students pay attention to the ways in which their senior partners explain things. In addition, students should make note of the most effective ways to explain unfamiliar terms and ideas to their senior partners.

Lesson Directions:

1. Seat seniors and students in the same pairs as for earlier lessons. Answer any outstanding or new questions pertaining to Lesson 3.
2. Using a digital camera, take a photo of the class—both seniors and students. E-mail this photo to the senior participants.
3. Distribute Digital Photos Student/Senior Worksheet 4 (PDF) to each pair. Review the introduction together and answer any initial questions. Instruct each pair to complete Section 1.
4. After twenty minutes, ask each pair to take a five- to ten-minute break if time permits. Seniors can use this time to write e-mail, if desired.
5. After the break, answer any questions that arose during Section 1. Then instruct each pair to complete Section 2.
6. After twenty minutes, reconvene as a group and answer any final questions.

Senior Homework (optional):

Ask seniors to search for photos on the Internet using Google Images. Seniors should e-mail one photo to themselves and their student partner before the next class. Seniors without Internet access outside of the GenerationLink classroom may e-mail a photo at the beginning of the next GenerationLink class.

Student Wrap-up (optional):

For homework, ask students to write an account (as best they can remember) of at least three dialogue exchanges that occurred between students and seniors during Lesson 4. Students should analyze these exchanges for communication problems, as well as how (or if) problems were clarified during the conversation.