Photography · Week 16 · Portraits, People, and Ethics
Día de los Muertos Photo Essay
Students learn how to photograph ofrendas and community celebrations respectfully by asking permission and centering the families' meanings.
- Students will
- Students plan a respectful photo essay of a community tradition by writing permission requests, shot ideas, and captions that center the families' meanings.
- SEL skill
- Describe a tradition from the perspective of the people who keep it
- What it looks like
- Students practice social awareness by taking the perspective of the people whose tradition they photograph.
- Content focus
- Día de los Muertos photo essay
- Format
- Partner exchange
Social awareness
Social awareness means understanding and caring about other people's perspectives, including those from different backgrounds and cultures. More social awareness activities
What you get
A teacher guide with what to say, step by step, plus student pages and a supports page for students with diverse learning needs, including those with IEPs. Print or Project it, or assign it in Google Forms and Google Docs for Google Classroom. Your first 10 activities are free.
Standards
- MA:Cn11.1.HSI: Media Arts, Connecting, Anchor Standard 11 (Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural, and historical context to deepen understanding), High School Proficient
- Artistic process: Connecting
- Level: High School Proficient
More social awareness activities for Photography
- Whose Point of View Social awarenessStudents compare photos of the same event by different photographers and discuss how personal and cultural context shapes meaning.
- Shooting in Pairs Social awarenessPartners alternate as photographer and assistant and practice reading each other's needs during a shoot.
- Photographs That Built Empathy Social awarenessStudents study photographers who documented farmworker life in California and consider how their images built empathy for social change.
- Documenting Our Community Social awarenessStudents plan a documentary series about a valley place or person and practice a listening interview before shooting.
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RoseThread Connect activities are drafted with the help of AI and shaped by educators. Students never have to share anything personal. Our five SEL skills are informed by CASEL's SEL Framework; RoseThread Learning is not affiliated with or endorsed by CASEL.