Art and Writing: A Connection Using iPads

Self-Portraits with Text.

I have taught this lesson for several years with eighth grade and I recently added a twist with technology.  There are several iPad apps that incorporate type and photography so I did some research and tried out several of them.  My favorites are WordFoto and Type Drawing.  I introduced WordFoto to my 8th grade students after we discussed the elements of self-portraits, the reason artists create them and what message they would want to convey about themselves when they create their own. They completed a writing prompt that encouraged them to reflect on themselves in an introspective way; including writing about important people in their lives, places they would like to go, people they would like to meet (dead or alive), their dreams and goals, how they think other people see them, how they would like to be remembered, etc. I use the "One to Ten Reflection" (see below) as the prompt. I pushed the students to ask themselves "why?" or "because" after each writing to foster further critical thinking.  It was important that they understood the difference between creating a self-portrait solely about themselves and creating a self-portrait of how they want to be perceived.  They spent some time (okay, maybe too much time!) taking pictures of themselves.  It was fun and they had a lot to choose from for their self-portraits.  I encouraged them to choose one that seemed to be the most accurate reflection of themselves.  Impressive!