Running head: Creating Graphics 1

Creating Graphics

Robert Tippett

Student ID: 000299500

Western Governors University

Student Mentor: Nina Smith

Assessment Code: TDT1 Task 2

May 15, 2017

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Introduction

We as a society have been learning from pictures before there was an invented language

to convey knowledge. Early man drew on cliff sides and cave walls. Early languages were filled

with hieroglyphs depicting words. A great work of art can convey emotions, thoughts, and spark

debates. Images inspire learning. Who said a picture is worth a thousand words? Im sure if I

spent any time on the Google the answer would be clear, or more confusing, thanks Wikipedia! If

a picture is worth a thousand words to the person viewing it. Is it then reasonable to assume an

appropriate graphic in a lesson plan can convey more meaning then any lecture? The answer is a

resounding yes!

Graphics in Education

Purpose & Audience

Incorporating graphics to use in my lessons has always been a priority. Often times I will

use graphics to convey word means or as an entry task to get students engaged. I utilize a

graphics whenever possible because I work with struggling students. Most of my students do not

engage in the lesson unless there is some form of visual aid to help them. Often times during

reading I will use my white board to story board the passage being read into visual clues to assist

students in recall events or facts. Unfortunately I am not the best artist especially when it comes

to using computer drawing programs as you can

plainly see in figure 1 to the right.

This picture was drawn while reading a

short story about the Olympics. It has nothing no

relevant purpose to my lesson other than to

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engage students, encourage thinking, and illicit a response from students. Sure it is a stick figure

competing in the Stick Figure Games but the visual made student remember the story of Jim

Thorpe and his adventures in the Olympics. I never intended to create this Figure
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drawing and I could have just as easily used a picture from the Internet but it was more impactful

to create a graphic myself in front of the students. A graphic does not have to be pretty to be

impactful but it must be memorable.

Figure 2 is a copy of student work that went along with the picture above. I should point

out my students are all identified as students with special needs all of which have IEPs. Figure 2

does not look like much but the student was able to

remember some details about Jim Thorpe and compose a

simple essay. Given the students academic level, the idea

that he would create anything, even something so basic on his

own, is an accomplishment. He used the picture to remember

the characters name and his accomplishments during the

Olympics, a feat he probably would not have been able to do Figure

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had he not been looking at the picture.

When I select a graphic(s) to use in a lesson I always consider my audience. My audience

is made up of students who struggle with academics. Most of which are on IEPs, have a

disability, or have behavior issues which impede their ability to learn. I teach 6th, 7th, and 8th

grade students, between the ages of 11 and 15. When selecting a graphic I try to find graphics

which would be familiar to students. I have found choosing a graphic can be a challenge at times.

Often when planning to use a graphic I will first look on the Internet but more often I use my
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phone to capture an image to use for the specific lesson. This way I have more control on the

content of my lesson.

Lesson Specific Graphics

As an English Language Arts (ELA) teacher I am responsible for building a students

vocabulary. In a recent lesson for my sixth grade ELA class I designed a vocabulary building

exercise wherein I used a picture sort to help students recall vocabulary by determining the mean

of the word by looking at multiple graphics. Part of the lesson was built around this Common

Core State Standard; Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text,

including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of a specific word choice on

meaning and tone CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.4 (CCSS, n.d.).

The words for this lesson were pulled directly from stories students had been reading in

the Read180 Curriculum. In this exercise students would match pictures to their vocabulary

words. Students were given multiple pictures then had to select the word they thought best

defined the picture. Students then had to justify their answers. So long as the justification was
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clear a student would receive full credit. Below, in figure 3, are three pictures used in this lesson.
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Figure
3

Students would look at each picture (they were numbered) decide which word best describe the

picture then give a reason. A picture sort is one of my favorite vocabulary building exercises

because it encourages so much discussion from my students. These three pictures were by far the

most discussed because they could have multiple meanings which in turn meant multiple words

could be used to describe the picture.

Process

I am not the best photographer. I am even worse when I am using my phone to take

pictures. When I have time I like to use my Nikon D5200 to take pictures but as a teacher I rarely

have the time to do this. This usually means my pictures are hurried and of poor quality. To fix

this I often use PhotoScape, a FREE software for editing pictures. There are many reasons why I
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use this program but the number one reason is it was free when I first started using it (its still

free) and now I am comfortable with the features. I have used other photo editing software such

as Photoshop, Lightroom, and Fireworks. But in a jam when I need a simple fix I turn to

PhotoScape. Using PhotoScape is pretty simple.

Directions:

1) Download PhotoScape from: http://www.photoscape.org/ps/main/download.php.

2) Install package, be sure to use the manual installation to ensure no additional software is

being installed.
3) PhotoScape will open automatically after installation but if for some reason it doesnt find

the Icon on your desktop or in your start menu and run the application.
4) Select your photo from the correct folder on the left side of the screen. Your photo will

appear in the middle of the work area.

5) PhotoScape has a lot of features but the basic features are all down at the bottom and for a

teacher with little time to edit photos these basic features are invaluable. Using these basic

features I edited the photo below from the first picture on the left to the last picture on the

right.
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6)

7) Start by resizing the photograph.

a) There is a Resize button at the bottom of the screen.
b) Select a file size. For the photos above I used 480x640 This will help save space and make

the graphic easier to manage later on.

8) Next crop the picture so that only the important elements remain. In this case all I wanted

was the student planner. The desk below it may confuse students when the view it.
a) Use the crop tab to select the area you wish to crop the picture down to. I would suggest

using a standard photo size this maintains the aspect ratio and makes it so your picture does

not become askew.

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b) Once you have the part you want cropped click the crop button. You now have an image

much like the one in the center.

9) Next apply filters. For whatever reason cameras do not always pick up the true color. Could

be any number of reasons for this but I believe I am just a terrible picture taker.
a) There are many filters to choose from and many different ways to get the desired results

for the third picture I used Sharpen, and a Film effect called Velvia-High. This created the

blue effect and gave it white washout at the top corner.

10) When you have selected your filters and made all your changes simply save your picture.

The program will prompt you with three choices but dont worry it automatically creates a

backup of the original should you have need to go in and create a new version of the same

picture.
11) Now you can close the program or enjoy editing more pictures.
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Reference

CCSS, English Language Arts Standards Reading: Literature Grade 6. (n.d.). Retrieved May

16, 2017, from http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/RL/6/.