Writing Workshop: Images and Text

Writing Workshop: Images and Text (IMAG) was a Baby CTY Writing course focused on writing pieces by seeing pictures and understand historical significance or emotion and then express the photograph in essay writing. This course was offered at Brooklandville, Chestertown, Los Angeles (Windward), Sandy Spring and Thousand Oaks.

Course Description

From the CTY Course Catalog (2011):

Every day, we are bombarded with images. These images are more than just marks on a page or pixels on a screen. They have meaning, and understanding that meaning is fundamental to understanding the world around us. In this writing course, students analyze, discuss, write about, and create texts that use both words and visuals to interpret and make meaning in our visual world.

By examining elements of art such as line, shape, and color, as well as principles of design such as balance, proportion, and emphasis, students acquire the skills necessary to understand and use images in conjunction with their writing. For example, they may analyze the interplay of writing and images in various types of texts, such as how-to books, craft books, or sports fundamentals books. Students also consider content and context in their visual analyses and interpretations. They might decode photographs and primary documents to use in a biographical piece with historical facts.

Students generate four to six major written pieces. They might take photographs and research a self-selected topic to create a photo essay. They may collectively produce a field guide detailing the plants and animals at their site or work together on a class concept book. Students also complete a number of small projects which might include storyboarding, analysis of political cartoons, or production of a travel brochure. Throughout the session, students’ writing is developed through a process of drafting, critiquing in workshops, and revising.