The My United States Curriculum focuses on an exploration of the role photographers and their images have played – and continue to play – in shaping, entrenching, and challenging assumptions about American social life and culture in the United States.

This curriculum includes seven lesson plans that explore the role photographers have played and continue to play in shaping, entrenching and challenging assumptions about social life and culture in the United States. Students will reflect upon their personal experiences of living in the United States in the form of writing and photography while addressing tough issues such as the environment, the economy, race and war. The final projects created by students using the Biennial Curriculum will be exhibited alongside traditional LTP projects at FotoFence 2010 on Saturday May 9th.

Teachers not currently participating in LTP are welcome to purchase the My United States curriculum for $50. Please contact the LTP office at 713-223-5522 ext. 11 or ltp@fotofest.orgfor more information. You may purchase the curriculum online by clicking Buy Now.

To see a sample of the introduction and first lesson of the My United States Biennial Curriculum, click here.

Literacy Through Photography is a multi-lesson curriculum program combining visual literacy and writing. Teachers are trained to incorporate visual imagery and writing into core classroom teaching. Each lesson is linked directly to Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills objectives for English Language Arts, and meets the standards set forth national curriculum mandates of No Child Left Behind, and the National Council of Teachers of English Standards for the English Language Arts. The curriculum can easily be adapted to accommodate different age groups, class sizes, and teaching schedules.

The Curriculum interconnects photo-based image-making and diverse kinds of writing, from narrative essays to poetry. Students in the Literacy Through Photography program are given the opportunity to work with cameras and create images that follow the specially designed lessons plans around four main themes, SELF, FAMILY, COMMUNITY, and DREAMS. Their photographs (film-based and digital) serve as effective catalysts for the related writing assignments. FotoFest offers students and teachers a year-end public display of the student work. The year-end projects range from wall mounted posters and collages of photography and writing to three-dimensional installations and video presentations.

The goal of the SELF lessons is to motivate students to think about who they are. They learn about the elements of a portrait and six different photographic techniques they can use to create their own portrait. After creating their self-portraits, students focus their energy on creative writing exercises that encourage them to express strong emotions in writing.

"... It felt like I was crying in earth so I went through all the eight Planets. I felt really angry. My posture was to show my muscles. I stopped at Neptune and got mad because I did not like freezing cold places so I wanted to conquer Neptune. I am the king of Neptune!!! "

Raheem Babajite, KIPP SHINE Prep, 2008

In the FAMILY lessons, students learn to “read" a family portrait. They spend time researching their family trees and obtain information about their heritage. They interview and create “character sketches” of important family members. In their writing assignments, students are encouraged to explore their feelings, both positive and negative, about the relationships within their families, and conceive of ways to capture those feelings visually- in photographs, and verbally through their writings.

"In this picture you can see the love that I feel for my mom and the love that she feels for me.

This is what we do every morning before I go to school. She blesses me…all my comings and goings. She is afraid that one day I will not return from the streets of the neighborhood. This is why I always have her in my heart.'

Mario Cruz, Wheatley High School, 2005

The goal of the COMMUNITY lessons is for students to explore their relationships with their communities and to communicate their positive and negative feelings about their communities. They spend time thinking about how to capture the essence of their communities in photographs.

“I consider my family to be bigger than just the people in my home.  I think life would be a lot easier if we just learn to treat all people with fairness and kindness.  To me, family is anyone who is willing to stand up for you and show you love.”

Nimran Patail, Albright Middle School

Through DREAMS lessons, students are encouraged to explore their imagination and detail their dreams…their sleeping dreams and their daytime fantasies. They spend time thinking of the best ways to capture dream images in photographs and through writings.

“Había una vez unos pescaditos nadano y jugando en el agua.  De pronto, voltearon y ahí estaba una ballena malvada.  Ella los persiguió alrededor del mar. En ese momento, la ballena miró hacia arriba y habia unos señores que querían pescar unos pescaditos.  Su barco se movió porque la ballenale pegó y los señores se calleron al mar.  Los pescaditios rescataron a los señores rápidamente porque la ballena se los quería comer pero la ballena en vez de seguirlos se fué a otro lugar para encontrar pescados y comerlos.”

Melissa Mendez, Thomas Jefferson Elementary

As an educational extension of the FOTOFEST2006 Biennial, The Earth, a new four-lesson curriculum has been created to lead students on personal investigation of their relationship with the Earth. Students will learn about the Earth’s history, cycles, and sustainability through a series of stories about differing cultural views about its existence, and creative writing assignments.

We hope this new and dynamic lesson suggestion, developed by Shirley Lyons, a Literacy Through Photography (LTP) teacher, will support you in your classroom and offer students an outlet for expression. This lesson will aid students to be better able to examine photos and plan their photos to relay the message and feelings of the photographer.  Students will write text that mirrors the images they capture in their photos in a follow up lesson after peer examination and discussion of the photos. 

In LTP we know the power of connecting images to words and hope that you witness this when you try these activities which incorporate LTP strategies.  Additional activities are included and can be adjusted to meet the needs of students.

>> Download the free hurricane lesson plan
>> East Early College High School Student Images [.ppt]