Celebrating

Photography!
Grade 10
Six Weeks
20 Students
Photography/Digital Media
Unit Overview
The students will explore and discuss the various ways photography
has been utilized in celebration.
Students will view celebratory imagery and information about various
cultures throughout history and their respected occasions.
Students will reflect on celebrations personal to them and choose one
to develop throughout this unit.
Students will shoot, develop, and print at least six images specific to
the assignment, while keeping a process journal of steps and
decisions.
Students will identify characteristics used in interpreting work.
Students will create a two dimensional collage consisting of images
taken specifically for the project, as well as pre existing memorabilia,
photos from home, etc.
Students will then present and discuss their celebratory collages.
Influential Theories
Ausubel:
Subsumption Theory, Mechanism by which new
material presented in academic settings (lectures) can
be integrated into existing mental structures. For
subsumption to occur, the presentation of new
knowledge should be preceded by "advance
organizers.
Bruner:
Constructivist Theory: Individuals actively construct
knowledge by comparing new ideas or concepts with
their current knowledge (schema or mental models).
Instructional Objectives
Explain and justify three decisions made that connect personal
experiences to social and cultural celebrations while creating
their work.(Pr6-II a.)
Individually, make a list of at least three characteristics that
were utilized in interpreting the given images and explain why.
(Re8-II a.)
Plan a 2-dimensional collage, consisting of at least two images
and mixed materials illustrating a unique celebration they
participate in. (Cr1-II b.)
In groups, compare uses of imagery in two celebrations
throughout different local/cultural/historical contexts. (Cn11-II
a.)
Day One
Students will be introduced to photography utilized for
special occasions/celebration.
The students will begin with a list and discuss of the
various types of celebration and the potential reasons
they are documented using photography from the
images.
Students will then be given ten minutes to explore a
celebration of their choice from the list.
The students will then gather in groups of four, to
discuss the celebrations they looked into.
Day One

In groups of four, students will pick a pair of
celebratory images out of a hat, compare and
interpret the photographs.



As a class, the groups will present their pair of
images, and explain the characteristics that
helped them interpret the works and at least two
similarities and/or differences between the
images.

Day Two
The students will be introduced to the Unit Assignment.
Students will be asked to reflect in their journals for 10 minutes on the previous lesson by
thinking of celebrations personal to them, choosing one to concentrate on for the
assignment.
The Assignment outline explains the series of six prints must:
Be accompanied by contact sheet, exposure charts, decisions made, steps, possible print choices
Represent a specific celebration/tradition they personally relate too.
Demonstrate appropriate subject matter, craftsmanship, and composition.
The students will begin their process and aesthetic plans in their journals for the dry work
(shooting, subjects, lighting, composition, location, materials), wet work (processing film/
developing in the dark room), and collage aspect of the assignment.
The students will share a brief plan and explanation of their chosen celebration one-on-one
with the teacher before beginning their studio work.
Work Days
The students will have 4-5 weeks of their unit to dedicate to their series of six prints and process journal.
Each work day will begin with a recap of the previous day, as well as designating a goal to reach a point of
progress in order to stay on track, a written reflection in their journal, or photo history prompt/assessment.
The students will peer-review at the end of each week, to demonstrate decisions making and progress.
The students will display their series in the classroom during the final week(s).
Throughout the final work week, students are to leave constructive comments using vocabulary from the
lesson to interpret at least three students work who are not in their peer-review group.
The students will turn in their process journal at 5 weeks to be checked for exposure charts, contact sheets,
print choices, negatives, reflections, and final choices for the series.
The students will then concentrate on their two dimensional collage, utilizing at least two of their prints from
the series and various materials and imagery.
Day Three
The students will explore collage/mixed media
artists Vik Muniz, David Hockney, Hannah Hoch,
and Mark Wagner.
In groups, students will explore their given artist
and interpret the work, finding three personal
characteristics and how it relates to the given
image.
The students will then be given the collage
expectations hand out and time to plan.
Vik Muniz: Sarah Bernhardt
Mark Wagner: Abe Lincoln
Hannah Hoch: Cut with the
Kitchen Knife
David Hockney: Place Furstenberg,
Paris, August 7, 8, 9, 1985
Active years

Materials Used

Issues typically addressed

Brief interpretation of the
work

Three characterstics that
helped you interpret the work
Final Day(s)!
Students will be given five minutes to prepare for the
presentation of their collages.
The students will draw numbers deciding the order of their
presentations.
Students will present one by one to the class, with the
expectation to explain
Their individual celebrations significance to them
The decision-making process while creating the collage
The specific images used
Materials
Significance of preceding