P hotographs are a powerful teaching tool,

A picture is worth a thousand words P hotographs are a powerful teaching tool, especially in second-language instruction. Long before we develop verbal skills, we are able to derive profound meaning from our visual environment. No wonder we say, I see what you mean. Newspapers use photographs liberally to lend appeal and meaning to their stories. Imagine how drab a newspaper would be without photographs. Compelling newspaper photographs provide the all-important sense of being there. On the other hand, photographs rarely tell the whole story. Imagine how shallow newspapers would be if they included nothing but photographs. Photographs provide beginning secondlanguage students with immediately comprehensible input. Right away, students can build their vocabulary by recognizing and describing familiar objects. As linguistic skills develop, photographs aid in the comprehension of written material. The initial activities in this section encourage students to learn a variety of English nouns, adjectives and prepositions. The teacher may have to provide some basic vocabulary. The more challenging activities combine the use of photographs and text (headlines, articles, and cutlines - the brief explanatory captions under most photos). Just as a picture is worth a thousand words, so there are a thousand ways to use newspaper photographs in second-language education. Here are just a few: 1 2 Select different photographs, each showing an example of a different shape. For example: a round ball, a square house, a straight road, and so on. Find as many examples of different shapes as you can. Say or write the names of the objects and their shapes. Select different photographs each showing an example of a different size. For example: a big elephant, a little boy, a tall tree, and so on. Find as many examples of different sizes as you can. Say or write the names of the objects and their sizes. 11

3 4 Find different photographs each showing a different quantity. For instance: one bird, two chairs, many people, and so on. Find as many examples of different quantities as you can. Say or write the names of the objects and their quantities. Find different photographs each showing an example of a different position. For example: something above, below, in front of, behind, or beside, something else. Find as many examples of different positions as you can. Say or write the names of the objects and their positions. 5 6 Find a picture that makes you smile or laugh. Imagine the story behind it. Tell a friend. From many photographs, cut out different body parts: eyes, ears, mouth, hair, arms, legs, and so on. Paste them together to make a whole body. Identify the different parts. 12

7 8 Choose an interesting news photograph. List things you could see, hear or touch if you were there. Find an action photograph. Discuss with a partner what you think is going on in the picture. What do you think happened before the photo was taken? What will happen after? 9 10 Find five photos of people in the news. For each, make up a name, where the person is from and the person s job. Have your classmates guess which photo goes with which name, place and profession. Cut out five photos along with their cutlines. Separate the cutlines from the photos and mix them up. Trade with a partner. Rematch your partner s cutlines and photos. For a greater challenge, rematch photos with headlines or articles. 13

11 12 Find an interesting photograph. Don t read the cutline. Write your own cutline for the picture. Compare what you have written with the original cutline. Choose a newspaper photograph of a person. Write a thought or speech bubble that expresses what the person might be thinking or feeling. 13 14 Choose a photograph, but don t show it to anyone else. Your classmates must guess the subject of the photo by asking you questions that can only be answered by yes or no. Select a photograph, but don t let your partner see it. Describe the photo to your partner, who will make a drawing based on your description. Your partner can ask you questions about the photo. When finished, compare the drawing to the photo. Later, switch roles. 14

T he comics are rich resources for developing whole language exercises. They are especially useful in factual and inferential comprehension, discussion, deconstruction and restating. Comics contain many examples of: event sequencing, creative expression, and emotive speech colloquial usage and vocabulary; word play, allusions, double meanings, and idioms lifestyles, social trends and biases, and humour Best of all, the funnies, as the comics are also called, make learning fun. They appeal to all ages. And when illustrations accompany written dialogue, students are less likely to translate back to their mother tongue, and even novice language students are quick to uncover meaning. Useful vocabulary: cartoon, comic strip, character, frame, caption, speech bubble, thought bubble 1 Make a list of the different animals that appear in today s comics. Explain which one you would like for your pet and why. 2 Make a list of five different characters in today s comics. Describe how each one looks. Which is your favourite? Why? 15

3 4 Select frames from the comics that show occupations. Which character has the most interesting job? Why? Ask your classmates which comic strip they like most. Make a graph to show the results. 5 6 Cut apart the frames of a comic strip. Mix them up and trade with a partner. Put the frames in the order that makes the most sense. Is there another order that makes sense? Explain your choices. Your teacher will give you a comic strip with some or all of the words covered up. Look at the drawings and the remaining words, then write what you think the characters are saying in each frame. 16

7 8 Find a comic strip where a character asks a question. Find another comic strip where a character says something that is a possible answer to that question. Cut out the two characters and their speech bubbles. Paste them beside each other on a piece of paper. Do this for a few more questions and answers. Cut out a speech bubble. Place it on top of a speech bubble in a different comic, so you put new words in a character s mouth. Replace other speech bubbles like this. Which combinations make the most sense? Which are the funniest? 9 10 Make up two frames to be added to the beginning or end of a comic strip from today s newspaper. Use a comic strip as the beginning or ending of a short story. 17

11 12 Think of something funny that has happened to you, your friends or family. Make up your own comic strip about the event. Choose a comic strip that would be fun to act out in class. With other students, play the parts of different characters. Read your part with feeling. Use your imagination to add to the scene. 13 14 If you could meet your favourite comic strip character, what would you ask him or her? With a partner, role play an interview with the cartoon character. Imagine you are a space alien sent here to learn about the people of earth. Your only source of information is the comics. Make a report of your findings. 18

WEATHER WEATHER T he weather is a popular topic of conversation. Weather forecasts help people plan what to wear, what to do, and where to go. Naturally, weather forecasts spark many practical second-language activities. 1 Make a list of weather words from today s weather forecast. Illustrate the meaning of each word by cutting out or drawing a symbol. WEATHER WEATHER 2 3 With the help of your teacher, compare the temperatures in various cities around the world. For example: Which city is the hottest? Which is the coldest? Is Amsterdam hotter or colder than Athens? etc. Pretend you are going on holiday to Sydney, Australia. Look up Sydney s weather forecast, then discuss with a partner what clothes you should pack. 19

WEATHER WEATHER 4 5 Look up the time the sun will rise today and the time it will set. Describe what you will be doing at those times. With a partner look at tomorrow s weather forecast. Discuss what you might wear and how you think it will affect the way you feel. WEATHER WEATHER 6 7 Read today s weather forecast in the newspaper. Use the information to prepare a brief weather report that could be read on radio or TV. Read it to a partner. Pretend you re a newspaper reporter who has witnessed a bad storm, like a blizzard, tornado, or hurricane. Prepare a short news article about what you have seen. 20

HOROSCOPE HOROSCOPE H oroscopes are a popular newspaper feature based on the ancient art of astrology. Horoscopes offer semipersonalized predictions based on the idea that our personalities and fortunes are affected by the position of the stars and planets, especially at the time of our birth. Every day, the horoscope offers twelve sets of predictions, one for each sign of the zodiac. The stars and planets may not have any immediate effect on our fortunes, but horoscopes do tend to deal with our basic hopes and fears. Therefore, besides just predictions, horoscopes offer a fascinating view of human nature, which is sure to launch many interesting conversations. 1 Learn the names of the various zodiac signs and the dates that correspond to each one. Take a class survey to see how many people were born under each zodiac sign. HOROSCOPE HOROSCOPE 2 3 Pretend your horoscope has come true. Draw a picture of your day. Read your horoscope for today. Tomorrow, read it again. How true was it? 21

HOROSCOPE HOROSCOPE 4 5 Newspaper horoscopes try to pack a lot of information into a small space. Often words like the, a, and, you, your, is, are, and will are left out. Rewrite your horoscope to your own liking. Share it with your classmates. Find sentences where these words seem to be missing. Put back the missing words and rewrite each of the sentences so they are more complete. HOROSCOPE HOROSCOPE 6 7 Make up an imaginary horoscope for a friend. Use today s newspaper horoscopes for style. Read the predictions made for people born on today s date. Make up a short story in which most of the predictions come true. 22

S ports appeal to people of all ages and backgrounds. More and more people watch and play sports. No wonder the sports section of the newspaper is so well read. Sports writing tends to be more relaxed than most news writing, making room for an abundance of idioms. Help students locate these phrases and use them in their own sentences. Here are some others activities to help you use sports coverage in your classroom. CKEY STERDAY anadiens 3, Nordiques 2 e Colisée eriod Nolan Ricci)...11.44 (pp) ci Que. (holding 4:33. N ng) 5:26, Brunet M ing) 8:34. Kea ns Mtl. ( 1 Cut out or copy five headlines from the sports section. Ask a partner to guess which sport is involved in each headline. CKEY YESTERDAY Canadiens 3, Nordiques 2 t Le Colisée t Period ec, Nolan g, Ricci)...11.44 (pp) Ricci Que. (holding 4:33. No ecking) 5:26, Brunet Mt ticking) 8:34. Kean ardins Mtl. (h 2 3 CKEY ESTERDAY Canadiens 3, Nordiques 2 Le Colisée Period c, Nolan Ricci)...11.44 (pp) Ricci Que. (holding 4:33. N king) 5:26, Brunet M cking) 8:34. Ke rdins Mtl. List the different sports mentioned in today s newspaper under two headings: 1. sports played in teams 2. sports played alone Trade lists with a partner. Add at least three more sports to each of your partner s lists. Make a collage or poster about a particular sport. Use photos and words from the sports section. Include as many clippings about that sport as you can (teams, stars, scores, equipment, action photos, etc.). Show your creation to the class, pointing out the things you ve found. 23

OCKEY YESTERDAY Canadiens 3, Nordiques 2 t Le Colisée t Period ec, Nolan g, Ricci)...11.44 (pp) Ricci Que. (holding 4:33. cking) 5:26, Brunet M icking) 8:34. Ke ardins Mtl. 4 5 OCKEY YESTERDAY Canadiens 3, Nordiques 2 t Le Colisée t Period ec, Nolan g, Ricci)...11.44 (pp) Ricci Que. (holding 4:33. cking) 5:26, Brunet icking) 8:34. K ardins Mtl Start a class sports scrapbook. Include different sections for different sports. Include photos, articles, and especially your own comments. Check the sports scoreboard page and make a list of all the opponents your favourite team must meet. Locate the home towns of the opponents on a map. Which town is closest? Which is farthest away? CKEY YESTERDAY Canadiens 3, Nordiques 2 Le Colisée Period, Nolan Ricci)...11.44 (pp) icci Que. (holding 4:33. N king) 5:26, Brunet Mt cking) 8:34. Kea dins Mtl. ( 6 7 CKEY YESTERDAY Canadiens 3, Nordiques 2 At Le Colisée st Period bec, Nolan rg, Ricci)...11.44 (pp) Ricci Que. (holding 4:33. No ecking) 5:26, Brunet Mt sticking) 8:34. Kean jardins Mtl. (h Find one newspaper photograph showing victory and another showing defeat. For each picture, write at least three words that describe how you think each person feels. Find an article that gives a lot of information about a sports event: place, time, teams, and so on. Create a newspaper ad promoting the event. 24

CKEY YESTERDAY Canadiens 3, Nordiques 2 t Le Colisée t Period ec, Nolan g, Ricci)...11.44 (pp) Ricci Que. (holding 4:33. N cking) 5:26, Brunet M icking) 8:34. Kea ardins Mtl. ( 8 9 CKEY YESTERDAY Canadiens 3, Nordiques 2 At Le Colisée st Period bec, Nolan rg, Ricci)...11.44 (pp) Ricci Que. (holding 4:33. N ecking) 5:26, Brunet M sticking) 8:34. Kea jardins Mtl. ( Find a few photos of athletes in action. Read the cutline and story that goes with each photo. Write speech bubbles on each photo, showing what you think the athletes are saying or thinking. Find a quote by an athlete. Write the question you think the reporter asked the athlete to get that quote. Write other questions you would ask that athlete. CKEY YESTERDAY Canadiens 3, Nordiques 2 At Le Colisée st Period bec, Nolan rg, Ricci)...11.44 (pp) Ricci Que. (holding 4:33. N ecking) 5:26, Brunet Mt sticking) 8:34. Kea jardins Mtl. ( 10 11 CKEY YESTERDAY Canadiens 3, Nordiques 2 At Le Colisée st Period bec, Nolan rg, Ricci)...11.44 (pp) Ricci Que. (holding 4:33. N ecking) 5:26, Brunet M sticking) 8:34. Ke sjardins Mtl. Pretend you are a famous athlete written about in a sports article. Your partner pretends to be a sports reporter. Use the information contained in the article to role play an interview. Later, switch roles. Read a sports story and summarize it in a sentence or two. Do this for a few sports stories. Use your summaries to prepare a brief sports report for TV or radio. 25

ARTS & LIFE ARTS & LIFE T he Arts & Life section offers a wide variety of lifestyle and arts features. These include fashion news and tips; recipes and food shopping hints; buying, decorating and renovation ideas; advice columns, and much more. Arts & Life articles are both interesting and useful to second-language students. 1 Pretend you re inviting a friend to dinner. Choose a recipe from the newspaper that you would like to make. Call your friend and describe the recipe to him or her. Does he/she think it sounds good? ARTS & LIFE ARTS & LIFE 2 3 Pretend you are the owner of a restaurant and you need a new menu. Cut photos, words, and numbers from the newspaper. Paste them on a piece of paper to make your menu. Cut out fashion pictures from the newspaper. From these, cut out individual pieces of clothing. On a piece of paper, paste clothing from different photos together to make new outfits. Paste new heads on the models. Write the name of each item of clothing beside your collage. 26

ARTS & LIFE ARTS & LIFE 4 5 Imagine you are a fashion designer. Find words from the newspaper that might be used to describe your new line of clothing. Draw a floor plan of your bedroom, house, or classroom. Clip or copy as many words as you can find from the Home section naming different pieces of furniture. Paste them on your floor plan in the right place. Try doing the same for your dream bedroom, house, or school. ARTS & LIFE ARTS & LIFE 6 7 Your teacher or a classmate will read aloud one of the letters to Annie s Mailbox (an advice column). Without looking at the columnists answer, give your own advice. Write your own letter to Annie s Mailbox asking for advice. Ask one of your classmates to write a reply. Afterwards, compare your answer with the advice offered in the newspaper. 27

T he Gazette includes daily news, reviews and schedules from the world of entertainment. The features deal with music, films, videos, drama and dance performances, TV and radio programs, art and museum exhibits. The entertainment pages have something for students of all ages. 1 You have invited a friend to your house to watch TV. Find the TV listings in the newspaper. Discuss what you want to watch. Give the name of each program, the time and the channel. Explain why you chose each program. 2 3 Choose a movie you want to see. Phone to invite a friend to go to the movie with you. Tell your friend about the movie. Explain where and when it is playing. Give directions to the movie theatre. Take a class TV survey. Find out which TV shows are most popular which actors and actresses are most popular how many hours of TV the students watch each week Write a short news article describing the results. 28

4 5 Find a review of a new recording by a musician or group. Design a CD/cassette cover for the recording using information from the review. Include the names of the musicians, the title of the recording and, if available, the song titles. Pretend that your favourite musician is coming to town. Design a newspaper ad to promote the concert. Before you begin, look at ads in the entertainment section.what information do they contain? How do they attract the readers attention? 6 7 Pretend your class wants to visit a museum exhibition. From the newspaper, choose a museum exhibition you would like to visit. Present your reasons for wanting to see that particular exhibit. Pretend that a friend from out of town is coming to visit for the weekend. Use the entertainment section to make a list of activities that you can do together. For each activity, write down the time, place and cost, as well as how you will get there and what you should wear. 29

8 9 Choose a photograph of a famous actor, actress or musician. Pretend this person is missing. Prepare a Missing poster to help find him or her. Glue the picture onto a sheet of paper. Underneath, describe the star in as much detail as possible: name, age, hair color, eye color, height, weight, clothing, etc. Pretend you are a famous musician or actor written about in the newspaper. Explain how your life would be different if you were that person. 10 11 Find and read a news story about a famous musician or actor. Pretend you are that person, while your partner is a TV show host. Do an interview. Use as much information from the story as you can. Write a newspaper-style review of a book you have read or a movie you have seen. Share it with your classmates. 30

TRAVEL TRAVEL T he newspaper s travel section is always fascinating, whether you re planning an actual trip or simply dreaming of far-off lands. The travel section is a wonderful lead-in to linguistic exercises in asking for and giving directions, as well as discussions of geography, cultural customs, transportation, languages, and much more. 1 Use the travel section to make a list of holiday destinations. For each destination, write the following on an index card: where it is how to get there cost where to stay best time to visit special attractions what to shop for, etc. Which destination would you most like to visit? Why? TRAVEL TRAVEL 2 3 Make a list of all the holiday destinations found in one travel section of the newspaper. Take a class survey to find out which of these destinations is the most popular. Everyone should briefly explain his or her choice. Pretend that you are a travel agent, and your partner wants to go on a trip. Use the travel section to suggest places your partner might go. When he or she has chosen a destination, pretend to make arrangements (call the airline clerk, make hotel reservations, etc.). 31

TRAVEL TRAVEL 4 5 Imagine that you are a travel reporter from another country. You want to write a travel article about this city. Ask your classmates for advice on the best places to visit here. You might also want to look through the rest of the newspaper, especially the entertainment section, for ideas. Write an imaginary postcard to the class from a holiday spot reviewed in the travel section. Include information about the weather, what you ve been doing, and your feelings about the place. TRAVEL TRAVEL 6 7 Read a travel article about a foreign country. List five differences between that country and your own. Design a travel ad for an unusual location, for example, the moon or a volcano. Before you begin, examine the ads in the travel section of the newspaper. What kinds of information do they contain? 32