5 Photo Story: show what you know with media (Mapping Media to the Curriculum Book 4)

A five photo story is a collection of five images which tell a story of some kind without using supplementary text, audio or video. The five photos should “stand alone” as a story. Five photo story projects can become engaging projects for students in many different grade levels and content areas for several reasons. These include the flexibility they provide for students to use different devices (in BYOD or “bring your own device” school settings), the way they encourage students to engage in higher order thinking, and the use of active learning strategies. Five photo stories require students to think and represent ideas non-linguistically, which is an instructional strategy effective (according to Robert Marzano) for improving student achievement. In addition, these projects are collaborative. This book chapter explores examples of five photo stories, highlights available mobile apps and websites for creating them, and addresses workflows for students and teachers to successfully use five photo stories as an instructional strategy in the classroom.