Altered Images: Exploration and Evaluation
Lesson Plan
In this lesson, students in elementary grades learn about how and why images are altered, and they also experiment with altering their own images.
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Information Literacy / Media Literacy / Digital Literacy
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Lower Elementary Upper Elementary
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Students will learn that photos, images, and videos are able to be altered. Students will learn some reasons why photos, images, and videos are altered. Students will practice altering photos, images, and videos.
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Ability to play videos from YouTube Access to a device for practicing image alteration
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Two or more class periods
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INSTRUCTIONAL PROCEDURE
1. Start with a class discussion about their own experiences. Have you ever used an app on a phone to change a picture you took? Maybe you added cat ears to a selfie, or you changed the colors? Discuss as a class different ways students have changed photos or have seen those around them change photos.
Next, discuss why they made those changes. Did you make the picture smaller to take something out that you didn't want in the background? Was it to make the picture more fun?
2. Look at historical context. As technology gets more advanced, it is easier for people to change the way photos, images, and videos look, but people have been altering images for over 150 years.
Provide examples from history of photos that had been altered. The example below is from the Library of Congress and was shared in this Time article, "Doctored Photos - The Art of the Altered Image" (https://time.com/3778075/doctored-photos-the-art-of-the-altered-image/). (Note: Some images in this article are disturbing and not all occur pre-computer. I chose to use the two below for that reason.) The picture was taken around 1865 during the Civil War. The original image was altered to include one of the generals who was not present for the original picture.
Have students review the two images bellow along with Time caption, then discuss with students why they think the original image was altered.
(altered image)
https://www.loc.gov/item/2018668951/
(original image)
https://www.loc.gov/item/2019637174/
"By comparing the previous doctored image [to the original], it becomes clear that Brady added Blair (visibly absent in this original). One of Sherman's corps commanders in the critical final offensive in Georgia, Blair led the XVII Corps, which protected the rear of Sherman's army during the Atlanta campaign. Like the other men in the photo, he played an important role in the March to the Sea, helping deliver one of the final blows to the Confederate cause" (Strauss 2011).
3. Share contemporary examples of altered images. Discuss possible reasons why these images and videos were altered. What do you notice about these examples? What differences do you notice? Why do you think this person would create/change these images? Why would someone change the before image to the after image? What benefit is there to changing how a picture of looks? Who might make those changes?
Here are some examples you can use:
These photos come from an Instagram account (@koty_vezde), where the creator alters photos and adds cat faces to other animals or objects. (Note: The creator has a store where they sell merchandise, and you can pay to have your pet's face added to an object of your choice.)
(shared with the artist's permission)
Peter Stewart, a professional photographer, shares on his website (https://www.peterstewartphotography.com/Before-and-After-Gallery/) many post-processing examples of how he has enhanced photos he has taken. There is a fun slider feature on his website that shows the before/after transformation.
(shared with the artist's permission)
Share a video that has been altered. Possible Examples: Watch a video (or more) from Zach King, YouTuber/Magician (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq8DICunczvLuJJq414110A). Find ones that you feel are appropriate for your age range/audience. There are many short examples to use like these: "The Most Realistic Balloon Animals" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cfTjmxUNB4) and "Ouch--Football Tackle" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bLPU0UoI7o)
1. Check with your school/district to see which tools you are able to use with students. Be sure to practice using the tools on a student device before your lesson to ensure it works how you want it to. There are a wide range of possibilities outlined in these Common Sense Media articles. I have used ChatterPix with younger students, and I think Canva and Pixlr could work well for grades 4–6, but there are many others to try, like some of these on this list: "Photography Apps for Kids and Teens"(https://www.commonsensemedia.org/lists/photography-apps-for-kids-and-teens).
Provide an image or allow students to take a picture of an object or location. Then, using the photo editing tool, students can make a variety of changes to their image. Some of these changes can be teacher directed and others can be chosen by the student.
Students can then present their original image and their altered image to the class, sharing what they changed and why. Or, you can have students share their images for other students in the class to identify the differences.
For older students, add some complexity by giving them a specific task as direction for their alterations. For example, the image is going to be used on the cover of a website, or the image is being used in an advertising campaign to sell a product, or the image will be used for a child's birthday card. Have them explain why they made changes to their image to fit their assigned audience.
This lesson would lead nicely into an additional lesson about copyright and remixing others' work, such as these two lessons by Common Sense Media: "Let's Give Credit!" (https://www.commonsense.org/education/digital-citizenship/lesson/lets-give-credit) and "A Creator's Rights and Responsibilities" (https://www.commonsense.org/education/digital-citizenship/lesson/a-creators-rights-and-responsibilities).
DIFFERENTIATION
This lesson can be adapted and differentiated for grades 2–6 by splitting the concepts among grade levels and adjusting the vocabulary and discussion questions.
ASSESSMENT
Provide feedback to students on the images they created, the ways their images were altered and their reasons why. Students could also provide information in an exit ticket sharing one or two reasons how/why images are altered.
WORKS CITED AND ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Strauss, David Levi. "Doctored Photos - The Art of the Altered Image." Time.com. June 13, 2011. https://time.com/3778075/doctored-photos-the-art-of-the-altered-image/.
Get more ideas about engaging students critically with images in Courtney Pentland's editorial, "Is Seeing Believing?" and in Emily Jacobs' secondary lesson, "Digital Resources and Tools: Reading Photos Laterally."
About the Author
Select Citation Style:
MLA Citation
Pentland, Courtney . "Altered Images: Exploration and Evaluation." School Library Connection, October 2020, schoollibraryconnection.com/content/article/2254933?learningModuleId=2254933&topicCenterId=0.
Chicago Citation
Pentland, Courtney . "Altered Images: Exploration and Evaluation." School Library Connection, October 2020. https://schoollibraryconnection.com/content/article/2254933?learningModuleId=2254933&topicCenterId=0.
APA Citation
Pentland, C. (2020, October). Altered images: Exploration and evaluation. School Library Connection. https://schoollibraryconnection.com/content/article/2254933?learningModuleId=2254933&topicCenterId=0
https://schoollibraryconnection.com/content/article/2254933?learningModuleId=2254933&topicCenterId=0
Entry ID: 2254933