1) Graffiti - Art or Mess? Listening and Speaking
5/4/2019 Zespol Szol w Dobrzejewicah
Christine Furness-Rousiamani
Teacher’s
notes.
A)
Introduction
Show the powerpoint which presents graffiti in
Trikala. Encourage discussion and comments. How does it compare to the
situation in your town? Should it be illegal? Is it art? Should taggers and
graffiti artists be punished? (10-15 minutes)
B)
Listening comprehension task (10 – 15
minutes)
Distribute
the photocopies of the student’s worksheet and give the students time to read
the statements (1 minute approx.)
Tell them
they will hear the text twice.
Read the text.
When you say the word
“graffiti”, some people think of big, beautiful and colourful artwork whilst
others think of mess that make our towns and cities look untidy and
badly-maintained. Graffiti is art that is painted on walls and other public
places. It is most often made with spray paint, which comes in a can. However,
graffiti can be made with any type of paint or other material.
Graffiti can vary
from a small “tag”; someone’s name written on a wall, to a very large mural,
which covers a whole wall. Graffiti is much more common in urban areas. The
artists argue that without graffiti, cities would just be grey and boring.
Those who do not like graffiti say that it makes the city look messy. Some
people also link graffiti to anti-social behaviour and gang culture.
Graffiti often has a
social or political message which it shows in pictures or words or both. A
famous British graffiti artist called “Banksy” creates street-art with very
clear messages for society. His art is usually made with stencils and spray
paint and often reverses the normal roles people have in society.
In the United Kingdom
graffiti is illegal. People can be fined a lot of money if they are caught
decorating public property. However, some towns and cities have “free walls.” These
are places where graffiti is legal. “Free walls” are created to stop people
doing graffiti in other places
The History of Graffiti
The first drawings on walls appeared in
caves thousands of years ago. Later the Ancient Romans and Greeks wrote their
names and protest poems on buildings. Modern graffiti seems to have appeared in
the USA in the early 1960s. The new art form really took off in the 1970s, when
people began writing their names, or ‘tags’, on buildings all over the cities.
In the early days, the ‘taggers’ were part of street gangs who were concerned
with marking their territory. They worked in groups called ‘crews’, and called
what they did ‘writing’ – the term ‘graffiti’ was first used by The New York Times and
the novelist Norman Mailer. Art galleries in New York began buying graffiti in
the early seventies. But at the same time that it began to be regarded as an
art form, John Lindsay, the then mayor of New York, declared the first war on
graffiti. By the 1980s it became much harder to ‘decorate walls’ without being
caught.
The debate over whether graffiti is art or
vandalism is still going on. Peter Vallone, a New York city councillor, thinks
that graffiti done with permission can be art, but if it is on someone else’s
property it becomes a crime. On the other hand, Felix, a member of the
Berlin-based group Reclaim Your City, says that artists are reclaiming cities
for the public from advertisers, and that graffiti represents freedom and makes
cities more vibrant.
For decades graffiti has been a
springboard to international fame for a few. Jean-Michel Basquiat began
spraying on the street in the 1970s before becoming a respected artist in the
’80s. The Frenchman Blek le Rat and the British artist Banksy have achieved
international fame by producing complex works with stencils, often making
political or humorous points. Works by Banksy have been sold for over £100,000.
Graffiti is now big business.
After the
second reading, elicit the answers and the reasons why the students decided
they were true or false.
Student’s Worksheet
Listen
carefully to the recording and decide whether the following statements are true
or false according to what you hear. Write T for true and F for false after
each statement.
1) Everyone
agrees that graffiti makes our towns look untidy.
2) Not all
graffiti is done with spray cans.
3) Most graffiti
appears in cities.
4) In the
UK graffiti is against the law.
5) The
Ancient Greeks were the first to draw on walls.
6) A famous
author was the first person to use the term ‘graffiti’ to describe writing and
painting on walls.
7) People
started making money out of graffiti in the 1970s.
8) Peter
Vallone thinks that graffiti is sometimes art and sometimes a crime.
9) The
Berlin group ‘Reclaim your City’ believes graffiti makes a place more colourful
and lively.
10)
Banksy’s style is simple.
KEY
1) F (some
people think it makes a place more beautiful)
2) T (graffiti can be made with any type of paint or other
material.)
3) T (in
urban areas)
4) True
(it’s illegal)
5) F (cave
painting preceded)
6) T
(Norman Mailer, the novelist)
7) T (art galleries in New York began buying
graffiti in the early seventies)
8) T (it
can be art, but when done on other people’s property it’s a crime)
9) T
(vibrant)
10) F (it’s
complex)
C. Expressing oneself through graffiti (15 minutes+)
Tell
students to write a slogan in English, design their tag or draw a picture that
could decorate a wall. Provide colours and a roll of paper for the whole group.
When it’s ready we’ll ask ourselves if it’s art or not!
2) Creating
Storyboards from Soundtracks (Teacher’s Notes)
Christine Furness-Rousiamani (February 2018)
Aim: to practise language
of narration
Objectives: to get students to
·
express ideas about why music is used in films and how
it makes the audience feel
·
describe background scenery
·
describe sequences of actions
·
collaborate in international groups to create a
storyboard
Introduction (no more than 10 minutes)
Write on board: “Cinema and music” and ask students:
·
What does music bring to film?
·
Is it absolutely necessary? Why?
/ Why not?
What do we call the background music to a film?
What is the music for?
Could you imagine a film without music?
Do you have any favourite soundtracks?
Point out that usually
a film director will approach a composer to write the soundtrack once the story
and script is ready, but in this lesson we’re going to do it the other way
round! You are going to listen to a few soundtracks and create a story to go
with one of them.
A) Listen to the soundtrack (Star Wars). Do you recognize it? What does it
make you think of? Does anyone know the
story? Where is it set? How does this music reflect the setting and /or action?
B) We’re going to listen to two more soundtracks. While listening to the
first one, look at the storyboard for one little scene that a group of students
made while listening to it. Why do you think they thought of this set of
images? (5 minutes)
Play “The Book Thief”.
C) Now listen to another piece of music and imagine a setting and a
storyline. Draw simple pictures or write
down words that describe what you want this scene to show as you listen. (5 minutes)
For the setting, think about
scenery /landscape - the place, the season, the weather etc.
For the action decide what’s
happening? Who are the characters? How are they related? What are they doing?
How do they feel about each other? etc.
D) Now in groups of 4 discuss your ideas and decide on the best picture
sequence. You can use a combination of all your ideas if you want.
Give students 15 minutes and
play the soundtrack as many times as they want.
Distribute storyboard sheets.
E) Presentation of storyboards.
Each group presents their work and explains it to the others. (5 - 10 minutes)
Creating
Storyboards from Soundtracks (Student’s Worksheet)
Introduction
What do we call the background music to a film?
What is the music for?
Could you imagine a film without music? What would it be like?
Do you have any favourite soundtracks? Which ones? What do you like
about them?
A) Listen to the soundtrack. Do
you recognize it? What does it make you think of? Do you know the story? Where
is it set? How does this music reflect the setting and /or action?
B) We’re going to listen to two more soundtracks. While listening to the first
one, look at the storyboard for one little scene that a group of students made
while listening to it. Why do you think they thought of this set of images?
C) Now listen to another piece of music and imagine a setting and a
storyline. Draw simple pictures or write
down words that describe what you want this scene to show as you listen.
For the setting, think about
scenery /landscape - the place, the season, the weather etc.
For the action decide what’s
happening? Who are the characters? How are they related? What are they doing?
How do they feel about each other? etc.
Setting:
Action:
D) Now in groups of 4 discuss your ideas and decide on the best picture
sequence. You can use a combination of all your ideas if you want
Fill in the grid on the storyboard. You can write notes underneath each
sketch if you want. Give your film a title.
E) Present your storyboard and be prepared to answer questions from your
classmates about it!
3) Phrasal Verb Workout
Christine Furness-Rousiamani
Aim
|
To get students to
understand and use phrasal verbs connected with keeping fit
|
Time
|
60 minutes
|
Materials
|
Whiteboard ,
computer or CD player
|
Procedure:
1) As
students come into the classroom play “Rhythm is a Dancer” – Rhianna, Ariana
Grande etc. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjB8M06Au-g)or a similar song with a fast dance
rhythm.
2) Write
“Phrasal Verb Workout” on the board and elicit what that might mean… (ambiguous
due to the multiple meanings of ‘work out’.) Ask students if they work out
regularly and if think they get enough physical exercise. Ask them what happens
if we don’t exercise our bodies or our minds. Stress the importance of physical
and mental ‘workouts’.
3) Explain
what phrasal verbs are, how they sometimes have more than one meaning, and how
we sometimes make nouns from the verbs as in the case of ‘workout’. Elicit
other examples – lookout, comedown, etc. If necessary refer to the notes at the
bottom of page 3 (10 minutes max. for
steps 1-3)
4) Give the
students the worksheet and get them to fill in the phrasal verbs in pairs and
then act out the dialogue (Steps A and B). (15
minutes)
|
5) On the board
write the following phrasal verbs:
a) Come on
b) Bend down
c) Go ahead
d) Get up
e) Warm up
f) Work out
g) Burn off
h) Cool down
i)
Pump
up
j)
Blow
away
Ask students to look at their
worksheets again and match the phrasal verbs a-j with the illustrations 1 – 10
(exercise C). (10 minutes)
6) Get
students to write their own dialogue (exercise D on worksheet) using at least 5
of the above phrasal verbs. Play upbeat dance music quietly in the background. Go
round monitoring. (10 minutes)
7) Get
students to present their dialogues as actively as possible. (10 minutes)
8) Play Simon Says with phrasal verbs (5 minutes)
|
4) Teenage Obesity in the USA
Grade 9-10 English Class
Maria Samara
Level: B1 – B2
Topic: Teenage obesity in the USA
Reading: An article on obesity in American teenagers
Aim: Discussing the number of obese teens in the USA, their diet and lifestyles; comparing your
lifestyle to that of an American teen; practising the present perfect
continuous in questions and answers
Vocabulary: Adverbs, adjectives and words
related with diet.
Grammar: Present Perfect Simple and P.P. Continuous
Time: 60 min
Materials: Whiteboard, handouts, laptop
Warm up activity/Lead in: Write FAT AMERICA on the board and say: This is the title of the article
you are about to read. What do the words make you think of?
Do you
believe Americans have a weight problem? Why? /why not?
What about you?
Elicit Sts’
answers. Review synonyms and
near-synonyms of fat: plump, overweight and obese. (5-10 min)
Exercise 1. Students scan the text (Handout 1)
and find the answers to the following
questions: (10 min)
a.
Why did Americans start living in the
suburbs?
b.
Why don’t American teens exercise
much?
c.
Why does food from fast food
restaurants taste good?
d.
Why was supersizing introduced?
e.
What do you think will happen to
overweight teens in the future?(free answers here)
Language note:
Teach additional American English phrases like:
Movie theatre (spelled theater in AmE)
Supersizing (serving or selling food in very
large portions)
Fries (chips), soda (fizzy drink), drive-through
(a restaurant, bank, supermarket, etc where you can be served without getting
out of your car), jumbo (very large),
adopt, approach, epidemic, outlive (10 min)
Exercise 2: Elicit the function of an adverb (to describe how, where or when something
happens or to modify an adjective). Ask:
How are many adverbs formed? (Adjective + -ly)
Go through
the different types of adverbs in the text (handout 1) and study the
highlighted adverbs. Elicit which ones are
sentence adverbs (adverbs that introduce a whole sentence), adverts of manner
(that describe the way we do something), and adverbs of degree (adverbs that
make an adjective or verb stronger or weaker) (10 min)
Exercise 3: Practise on forming adverbs (Handout
2, 10 min)
Exercise 4: Write the following prompts on the
board:
My hair is wet –it-rain
I /know / Alex/for/20 years
They/laugh/for ages –and they can’t stop!
Ask students
to make sentences with the present perfect simple or present perfect continuous,
eg. My hair is wet. It’s been raining all
morning. (5 min)
When they
have finished, ask some students to read out a sentence and give reasons for
their choice of tense. Focus on questions with ever and point out that
it is used to talk about a completed action. Remind students that state
verbs are not used in continuous tenses!
Then in
pairs, students ask and answer the following questions:
a.
Have you ever been to America?
b.
How long have you been studying
English?
c.
How many times have you exercised
this week?
d.
How long have you known your best
friend?
e.
Have you ever eaten a supersize meal?
f.
How often have you walked to school
this week? (10 min)
which shows
what will happen if we eat too much junk food.
Optional:
Write a short paragraph about your feelings towards fast food after you’ve watched
the film (100-120 words)
ENJOY!!
HANDOUT 1
Fat America
America is
getting fatter. Back in the 1970s only 10% of teens were overweight, but today,
one in three teenagers are overweight or obese, (more than 25 million). Let’s
take a look at the reason why:
Car culture
In the 1940s,
the population inside cities grew rapidly
and American families started to move into the suburbs. Today, more
than 50% of American teens live there. In the suburbs, houses are bigger,
gardens are bigger and teenagers are bigger, too. It’s easy to see why - they
go everywhere in cars. Suburbs are a long way from shopping centres, schools
and friends’ houses.
As a result,
families spend an average of 2 hours a day in their cars. And, when they reach
their destination, drive–through supermarkets, restaurants and banks keep them comfortably in their seats.
‘Screenagers’
A typical
American family has 3 TVs and the average teenager, or ‘screenager’, watches 22
hours of television every week. By the time they leave high school, most
teenagers will have spent more time in front of a TV than in the classroom. But
it’s not just TV that makes kids extremely
inactive. The average US home has 24 electronic gadgets, including
smart phones, computers and games consoles. It’s not surprising that only 12.2%
of American teens actually exercise each week.
Fast Food
Fast Food is
one of America’s great success stories and Americans have been eating
hamburgers for decades. The first burger bar opened in 1921, but it wasn’t
until the 1950s that fast food became incredibly
successful. Women started to work, people had less time and restaurants
like McDonald’s fed families quickly
and cheaply.
Today, 50 %
of meals are eaten outside the home and more than 3 quarters of American
teenagers eat a fast food meal at least once a week. People have known about
the problems of fast food for years, but they still eat it. Why? Probably
because the salt, fat and sugar makes it taste really good.
Supersizing
In the 1960s,
jumbo – sized popcorn went on sale in a movie theater in Chicago. The manager
wanted people to spend more, but he noticed that customers only bought one bag
of popcorn because they didn’t want to look greedy. However, they didn’t mind buying
a bigger–sized bag. The idea of supersize portions was born. In the 1970s, fast
food restaurants adopted the same approach and introduced larger fries and
sodas. Surprisingly, today’s
‘small’ fries are the same size as large fries in 1970. Similarly, the largest soda in 1955 was much smaller than
today’s child- size soda. Over the last 3 decades the average teenager’s
calorie consumption has risen by 25% to 2,700 a day. Worryingly, that’s 700 calories more a day than they need.
Doctors fear
an epidemic of illnesses like diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Many think
this could be the first generation that doesn’t outlive its parents. But health
centres for obese children are starting to make a difference. “These kids want
long lives and they want to do a lot of things”, explains a doctor at the
centre. “Clearly, that’s not
going to happen unless they change their lifestyle”.
HANDOUT 2
Choose one
word that you cannot use to
complete each sentence:
1. --------------,
in America, children as young as two suffer from obesity.
a. Really b. Worryingly c. Surprisingly
2. You can
make pizzas at home easily and ---------------------.
3. The new
burger restaurant ------------ became a big success.
a. incredibly
b. rapidly c. quickly
4. Healthy
food is ------------- expensive compared to fast food.
a. really b. extremely c. similarly
5. Jordan sat
down ------------------ on the sofa and turned on the TV
a.
comfortably b. incredibly c. quickly
6. More than
30% of teens in the US are overweight. -------------------, 30% of teens in the UK are overweight, too.
a. Similarly b. Extremely C. Worryingly
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