Have your students take photos from a local or regional zoo or wildlife preserve. Assign categories, if necessary, such as animals from a certain country or animals from the same family. Have the students prepare a report on the animals they took photos of and present them to the entire class as a slide show exhibit or as handouts to the class. If you are in an area that does not have a zoo close by, have them take pictures at a petting zoo, farm or even their own family pets.
Assign your students a profession to photograph, such as a fireman, taxi driver or even a teacher. Have them take photos of what an entire work day entails for someone in that line of work. Tell the students to create a layout with the pictures on a poster board and write a report that tells a story about the photos and the person depicted in the photos. Make sure to get permission from the appropriate agency before sending a student out to take photos.
Instruct the students to take photos of their families. The photos should depict the kind of activities that the family does every day, such as eating dinner or playing video games. Special events, such as going on a weekend trip or a sporting event, are good subjects as well. Have them create a photo journal of their pictures with captions written underneath describing all of the details about the photos.
Assign the students to take photos of their neighborhood — the places that are important to them, such as the baseball field or the corner grocery store. Have them create a photographic map of their neighborhood or a guidebook, complete with interesting tidbits about the locations depicted in the photos.
Have the students take pictures of various types of weather that they see. Have them include as many different weather events as possible, without putting themselves in danger. They should include sunny conditions, rainy conditions, snow and ice (if the season is right), fog, lightning and various cloud formations. Have them create a report about the weather condition and what kind of effect that type weather has on them.