Revista simpozionului Eficienta si calitate in educatie 2018 Revista simpozionului | Page 10
Did the person who made or took the image have a particular message?
2 Students work in groups. The teacher asks them to discuss using the image in
these different ways:
a) If it was an image on a film poster, what is the name of the film and
what is it about?
b) If it was the front cover of a book, what is the name of the book and
what is it about?
c) If it was an advertisement for a product or service, what would it be
and what advertising slogan would be on the advert?
3 Afterwards, as an extra option, the teacher asks each group to think of one more
new way to use the image.
Where would we see it?
How would it be used?
4 At the end, each group presents their ideas for the ways in which the image can
be used. The teacher ends the task by explaining that this exercise shows us how
the meaning of an image or text can change according to the context. So, when we
read or hear an argument or opinion, it’s important to understand its context.
4. Fact vs opinion / Description vs interpretation
Rationale: Sometimes we read texts or listen to people claiming to present some
kind of factually true content. However, when this is the case, it’s important to
approach the text critically for information that pretends to be factual when it is in
fact the author or speaker’s opinion. By analysing texts in this way, students can
learn to distinguish between facts (which can be proven, checked or measured)
and opinions / thoughts / judgements / beliefs / estimations. Thys can do so based
on the language used and in turn they will learn the language they need to express
opinion in their own writing.
Procedure
1 The teacher takes some sentences from a text which contains fact and author’s
opinion. Ideally, they will be from a text students have already been reading in
class and so the activity can form part of a longer reading lesson. The sentences
below are from an internet resource on how to write newspaper articles
http://www.abcteach.com/free/w/writing_newsarticle_middle.pdf)
1. Commas are the hardest type of punctuation mark to study.
2. Twenty percent of the punctuation marks in an average book will be
commas.
3. On Tuesday, the 7th of October, the English teacher presented the
punctuation rules to the committee.
4. Professor Knowitall presented evidence to support the rules of
punctuation in a forum last Tuesday.
5. The English language is studied in many regions of the world.
6. The English language is the most difficult language to study in the world.
7. During a heated debate, several grammarians who had proposed a
change in traditional rules of punctuation were unjustly criticized by the old-
fashioned grammarians on the board of directors.
8. Developments of new learning strategies are being proposed in a new
language book entitled I Need Some Help Please!
9. The book contains some of the worst explanations around.
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