Topic                          Art & Design. Museums.

Level:                          Intermediate B1

Resources/Materials:   On Screen-3 (Express Publishing), https://breakingnewsenglish.com,                     www.teachingenglish.org.uk , teacher’s PPP, students’ PPPs, online dictionaries, posters

Teacher’s Aims:

• To help students describe well-known paintings
• To develop students' listening and writing skills
• To expand students' vocabulary
• To develop / practice students' speaking skills
• To develop creativity

Lead-in:

Dears, I hope this lesson will be interesting & useful and by the end of the lesson you will be able:

to describe paintings;

to boost your listening and speaking skills;

to revise using articles and prepositions;

to work in a team;

to create your own masterpiece -)

So, off we go!

Stage 1.

The pictures in exercise  are the best five paintings in the world according to a website found through Google.  Have you seen  any of these paintings? In a gallery, on a poster, postcards…? Which do you  like or dislike?

 

Paintings

Task 1: Famous paintings

 A) Look at the list of paintings. Can you complete the names the artists who painted them?

1. Mona Lisa - L_______ d_______ V______

2. The Scream - E_______ M_______

3. Sunflowers - V_______ V_______ G_______

4. Guernica - P_______ P_______

5. Poppies in a Field - C_______ M______

B) Which painting?

Write the name of the paintings from A in the correct place.

1____Sunflowers This still life painting of flowers in a vase is one of the artist’s most recognisable works.

 2 _______________The enigmatic smile of this portrait has captured the imagination of the world. It has been stolen twice and now it is displayed in the Louvre, Paris.

3 _______________This landscape shows how the Impressionists depict the beauty and simplicity of nature.

 4 _______________ This is an abstract painting that symbolises the anguish and pain of modern life. 5 _______________ This monochrome painting has become a reminder of the tragedies of war, an anti-war symbol, and an embodiment of peace. The painter is famous for his cubist style.

C) Match the underlined words in task B with the definitions.

1 Not realistic __abstract_

2 A picture showing an expanse of scenery. ___________

3 Painters who used colour to capture the feeling of a scene rather than specific details. __________ 4 Of one colour or shades of one colour __________ 5 Picture of a person __________

6 A style of art that depicts objects as geometric shapes that are seen from many different angles at the same time __________

7 A picture of inanimate everyday objects __________

Task 2: Mystery painting Listen and complete the description with the words:

Background, left-hand side, looks like, seems to be, there are, there is

 

In the foreground 1 __________ a man standing on a bridge. He 2__________ he is screaming. His face is expressing surprise and fear. His mouth is open in an ‘O’ shape, his eyes are wide open and his hands are on his bald head. In the 3__________, on the 4__________, 5__________ two people walking towards him but they don’t look worried. The sky is blood red and beneath the bridge, a blue river 6__________ flowing to the sea

 

 

 

Stage 2.

Do you know any famous paintings?

What do you think is the   most famous painting in the world?

Yes, you are right, it is the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci

The painting the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci is believed to be a portrait of Lisa Gherardini, who was a spouse of a Florentine merchant.

In the portrait we can see a fairly young woman sitting half-turned on a chair. Her gaze is fixed on us. There is a scarcely perceptible smile on her face. Her wavy hair falls on her shoulders. Her head is covered with a dark veil. Her face, brightly lit, is framed with dark objects, which brings our attention to it.

The woman is sitting upright with her arms folded. She is wearing a deep-green dress. Her shoulders are covered with a shawl.

Looking at the portrait we can see that the woman is sitting on the balcony. Behind her back there is a desolate land with a lake. In the background snow-covered mountains are seen.

The portrait is considered to be one of the best specimens of a portrait genre.

I’m very fond of arts and one of my favourite pastimes is visiting picture galleries. You can see lots of genuine works of art there that were written by famous artists. I also pay attention at any nice copy that I see in stores or online.

 

Imagine you are art critics-) and describe some famous paintings. (Students describe pictures they see on the walls)

 

Stage 3. Museum (Listening. Students listen to the text twice)

Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word 'museum'. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them.

 

So, let’s talk about one of the most famous museums in the world – the Louvre!

 

The Louvre in Paris has topped a list of the world's most visited art museums. The annual survey of galleries and attendance was taken by the "Art Newspaper". Its results put the Louvre in the top spot with around 9.7 million visitors in 2012. That was a jump of over a million from the previous year. New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art was the second most visited venue, with three London museums filling the third, fourth and fifth positions. The most popular exhibition of the year was the Dutch Old Masters at Tokyo's Metropolitan Art Museum, which attracted over 10,000 art lovers a day. The continuing popularity of the Louvre was boosted last year by the opening of its new wing dedicated to Islamic art. 

The survey showed that while traditional art was popular in Japan, contemporary and modern art dominated the top exhibitions in Europe. It also highlighted Brazil as an up-and-coming destination for art. The newspaper said: "The appetite of Brazilians for exhibitions is remarkable…especially for the non-charging shows organised by the Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil. The exhibition halls in its Rio de Janeiro space were crowded thanks to an ambitious visual history of the Amazon." The publication also noted how, "the spiritual power of artifacts" proved popular. Japan's Shoso-in temple exhibition drew over 14,240 visitors a day, "to venerate as well as admire a selection of temple treasures".

                                                        From  http://www.BreakingNewsEnglish.com/1303/130331-louvre.html

1.      Before listening

True/False:

 Read the headline. Guess if  a-h  below are true (T) or false (F).

1. The Louvre came top of a list of museums of the past decade.  T / F
2. The Louvre attracted almost 10 million visitors in 2012.  T / F
3. Three London museums were in the survey's top five.  T / F
4. The Louvre was more popular because of a new home for Islamic art.  T / F
5. Modern art was more popular in Japan than it was in Europe.  T / F
6. The survey showed the number of art lovers in Brazil declined sharply.  T / F
7. There was a very unusual exhibition in the Amazon rainforest.  T / F
8. An exhibition at a Japanese temple drew over 14,000 visitors a day.  T / F

(Answers: a F  b T  c T  d T  e  F  f  F  g  F  h  T

2.      Listening

Listen and fill in the gaps

The Louvre in Paris (1) ________________________ the world's most visited art museums. The (2) ________________________ attendance was taken by the "Art Newspaper". Its results put the Louvre in the top spot with around 9.7 million visitors in 2012. That was (3) ______________________ from the previous year. New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art was the     (4) ________________________, with three London museums filling the third, fourth and fifth positions. The most popular exhibition of the year was the Dutch Old Masters at Tokyo’s Metropolitan Art Museum, which attracted over (5) ________________________. The continuing popularity of the Louvre was (6) ________________________ opening of its new wing dedicated to Islamic art.

The (7) ________________________ traditional art was popular in Japan, contemporary and modern (8) ________________________ exhibitions in Europe. It also highlighted Brazil as an (9) ________________________ for art. The newspaper said: "The appetite of Brazilians for exhibitions is remarkable…especially (10) ________________________ organised by the Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil. The exhibition halls in its Rio de Janeiro space were crowded (11) ________________________ visual history of the Amazon." The publication also noted how, "the spiritual power of artifacts" proved popular. Japan's Shoso-in temple exhibition drew over 14,240 visitors a day, "to (12) ________________________ a selection of temple treasures".

3. Post listening

1. How often does the Art Newspaper conduct its survey?  
2. How many people visited the Louvre in 2012?
3. In which city was the fifth most popular museum?
4. Where was 2012's most popular exhibition?
5. In what part of the Louvre can people see Islamic art?
6. What was more popular in Japan than in Europe?
7. What did a newspaper say was remarkable about Brazilians?
8. What kind of shows in particular did Brazilians like?
9. What Brazilian exhibition was ambitious?
10. What did over 14,000 go to see every day in a Japanese temple?

 

-Search the Internet and find out more about the Louvre. Share what you discover with your partner. (Pair work)

 

Stage 4

1. Students present their PPP about famous museums.
2. Let’s play a little bit-) Role Play

Role  A – Modern art lover You think modern art is best. Tell the others three reasons why. You hate traditional art. Tell the others three reasons why. You think schoolchildren should be taught to express themselves via modern art.

Role  B – Traditional art lover You think traditional art is best. Tell the others three reasons why. You hate modern art. Tell the others three reasons why. You think schoolchildren should be taught the history of art. Learning modern art in schools is a waste of time.

Role  C – Art teacher You think no art is best – it is all great. Tell the others three reasons why. If you hear someone attacking an art form, tell them they are wrong. You think schoolchildren should spend more time in school studying any art that interests them.

Role  D – School student You don't understand why people are so interested in art. You think photos on the Internet are better than art. Ask the others why art is so important. You think it is better to study computer coding at school, not art.

 

Stage 5

Feedback

-Make a poster about the world's art galleries. Show your work to your classmates. Did you all have similar things? (Group work)

Evaluation

Home assignment: Choose one of the following:

1. MODERN ART: Write a magazine article about modern art. Include imaginary interviews with people who are for and against it.

Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).

 2.WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? Write a newspaper article about the next stage in this news story. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.

3. LETTER: Write a letter to the head of the Louvre. Ask him/her three questions about the art museum. Give him/her three ideas on how to make it more popular. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.