Using Photography to Inspire Writing 8

By Hank Kellner

“Everything is funny as long as it happens to someone else.” So wrote the American humorist Will Rogers. That statement certainly is true, even though the young boy shown in this photo seems to be unaware of the events that are taking place around him.

One way to use a photo like this one is to present it to students with only a few accompanying “trigger” words designed to stimulate their imaginations. For example, you could pair the photo with words like humor, laughter, jokes, funny situations, or others. Then you could ask the students to write opening paragraphs based on the first thoughts that come to mind when they view the photo/words combination.

To complete the assignment, you could ask the students to write longer works based on their opening paragraphs. In some cases, students may wish to exchange their opening paragraphs before writing their compositions.

Another approach would be to conduct class discussions using thought provoking questions that will help the students formulate ideas for stories, poems, or even expository pieces based on the concept of humor. Students will readily respond to such questions as: (a) What is the little boy in this photo thinking? (b) Why are the two adults laughing? (c) What are some of the funniest things you have ever seen in a film or on television? (d) What does it feel like to have someone laugh at you? (e) Who is the funniest person in your class, and what is funny about this person? (f) What are some things that make you laugh (g) In what ways can laughter be harmful?

Long Live Books and Reading!

Silhouetted against a window, a girl appears to be engrossed in the book she is reading. At a time when motion pictures and television seem to capture the attention of so many people, is this girl the exception rather than the rule? What is it about the book she’s reading that holds her attention? In what way can reading a book be more satisfying than watching a film or television?

To teach specific writing skills, you could ask your students to discuss only the main character in a novel they have read. For this assignment, they should discuss the character they have chosen emo-tionally as well as physically. They should also tell how their characters dealt with conflicts or problems that were important in the novel they chose.

Of course, many students either don’t enjoy reading, or are outwardly hostile to doing so. If that’s true of the students in your classroom, you could ask them to write compositions that cite specific reasons for their aversion to reading.

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About the Author | More by Hank Kellner
Write What You See: 99 Photos To Inspire Writing by Hank Kellner available from Amazon. Original Edition. Cottonwood Press. I-800-864-4297. Cottonwood Press is distributed by Independent Publishers Group. Includes supplementary CD with photos. 8 ½ x11, 120 pages, perfect binding, ISBN 978-1-877-673-83-2, LCCN 2008938630. Visit the author’s blog at hank-englisheducation.blogspot.com. The author will contribute a portion of the royalties earned from the sale of this book to The Wounded Warriors Project.

03/23/09