Photo Essay Assignment
Step 1: Pick a partner and a topic. In order to sign up for your topic, you must have a working
bibliography with at least ten entries. (If you are competing with another team for the same
topic, you must show that you have the best working bibliography.) Check both of these in this
your teacher by ________
Step 2: Each member of your partner team will research for a minimum of five hours. Use the
research record sheets to record your discoveries. Create a bibliography that includes at least
five different sources that you actually use. These may be some of the same sources you listed in
your working bibliography, but now only list the sources you actually used. Your research and
bibliography is due _____________
Step 3: With your partner, write a three-page, double-spaced typed paper about your topic. A
paper of this length will take a reader approximately five minutes to read aloud. You do NOT
have to use meat-con. You MAY use the second person. Each partner should write half of this
paper. (One should write the first page and a half; the other should write the second page and a
half.) You are welcome to work together on the whole thing, but one person will receive a grade
for one half of the writing and the other for the second half. The paper must have a title,
paragraphs, a brief introduction, and a conclusion. It should be carefully edited. A typed draft of
this paper is due ____________
Step 4: Create a storyboard using the storyboard sheets provided. Find pictures, graphs, maps,
film clips, etc. to use with your essay. Use the storyboard to figure out what people will see as
you read your paper. Each frame should tell what the viewer will see as you read a particular part
of your essay. A draft of your storyboard is due ____________
Step 5: Use iMovie to begin collecting all your images. Collect all your images and film clips
before adding music, animations or transitions.
Step 6: Add animations and transitions to your iMovie.
Step 7: Record your voice reading your essay as you proceed through your iMovie, and add
music to your final project. Your finished photo essay should be no shorter than 4 minutes and
no longer than 7. Your finished photo essay movie is due _____________________.
Grading: See the attached grading rubric. Many of the grades you will earn as you go.
You will be graded on
1) The quality of your individual writing in your half of the paper.
2) The quality of your individual research record and bibliographic information.
3) Your ability to put together an iMovie with creative and appropriate images, music
and animations.
4) The quality of the information you present in your photo essay.
5) The quality of your images.
6) The creativity with which your present this information.