In looking at modern art in class, my ESL learners have expressed some admiration, some confusion, and some contempt. I created this unit to challenge students' ideas of what art actually is and to tease out what makes an art object different from a similar object that is not an art object. The entire activity involves a museum visit, opera and rap music, and many other materials. In this particular exercise, I used PowerPoint to engage students in a discussion about art and advertising, showing two similar images and asking students to identify which was art (a painting by David Hockney) and which an advertisement. After students had difficulty deciding which was the art object, I elicited ideas about what makes modern art different from the other everyday objects it sometimes resembles. We created a list which included thoughts on the purposeof the object, the motivation for creation, the creation process, and the ideas that fostered its creation.
As a final project, the students created PowerPoint presentations to engage their classmates in a discussion of a work of art that they researched. To help students understand the organization of an oral presentation, they first worked together in small groups designing a sample orientation for new students in The English Language Center ESL program. Throughout the term, I asked students to do various assignments using PowerPoint, so by the time they had to produce their final project, they were already comfortable using the software and could focus on preparing a thoughtful oral presentation.
Students may need help with learning how to listen well and participate in their classmates' presentations. One idea I sometimes use is to give each student some cards, each with a polite speaking strategy on it, for example, asking for clarification (see below). Students get rid of a card by giving it to the instructor when they use the strategy during a classmate's presentation. The goal is to get rid of all of your cards.
The use of PowerPoint really inspired students to show off their work, giving them confidence to present in front of their peers. They dedicated lots of time and energy to creating their PowerPoint projects, becoming "experts" in their chosen art object, seeking out images on the web to include in their presentations.
Activity Overview
In the classroom, first I showed two images on a PowerPoint slide. Students had to identify which image they would expect to see in a museum. (Both? Neither?) The images were (a) David Hockney's Three Chairs with a Section of a Picasso Mural (1970) and (b) an advertisement for lawn chairs from the Internet.
Students then voted (a, b, neither, both). The variety of results helped me make the initial point that it is difficult to tell which is art and which isn't, and that they might be interchangeable. I then elicited ideas about what made these two visual images different. Here are some results from the brainstorming session during which we compared art and advertising:
| Art | vs. | Advertisement | |
| Materials | acrylic on canvas | vs. | digital image |
| Technique | painting | vs. | computer-generated |
| Purpose | to show an idea, feelings, express an idea, say something, show a process | vs. | to sell |
| Audience | museum viewers | vs. | consumers |
| Creator | artist | vs. | advertiser |
| Time | long time | vs. | short time |
 |
 |
A |
B |
Once students have seen me model interactive discussions of art and music, for their final presentation, it's their turn to do the facilitating.
I assessed the students in several ways: by observing their computer lab activities, reading their progress reports and using the oral presentation rubric. The progress report was turned in two weeks before the assignment was due. I gave students a copy of the rubric in advance to make sure they felt it was a fair way to assess their presentations. I emphasized the oral presentation aspect through the grading rubric. I am not concerned with flashy PowerPoint; rather, I see it as an organizational tool for presenting information.
Materials and Resources
Project Preparation Exercise [pdf] [html]
To gain experience with organizing a presentation, I asked students to work in groups to create an outline for a new student orientation. They didn't present this; it is simply an exercise to get them to consider what information is important and how it can be organized well and delivered in an engaging way.
Final Project Handout [pdf] [html]
A description of the final presentation students were expected to do, with online image resources and basic instructions for copying and pasting images from the Internet to PowerPoint.
Progress Report for Presentation[pdf] [html]
This simple layout with blank slides offered students an opportunity to firm up the planning for their presentation and helped me recognize who needed assistance.
Presentation Strategies [pdf] [html]
A list of helpful strategies and English phrases organized by topic, including: getting the audience's attention, concluding the presentation, checking for understanding, and politely interrupting the speaker.
Presentation Rubric [pdf] [html]
A matrix of criteria for assessing the students' presentations, with ratings from Fantastic to Unprepared on three performance elements: Awareness of Audience, Organization and Strength of Material, and Delivery.
Project Preparation Exercise
You are returning students at The English Language Center (TELC.) You have been asked to give a presentation to new students. The foreign student advisor is going to pay you $300.00 to prepare and present a new student orientation. New students can be confused and they need information. What will you tell them in your presentation??? To create this presentation for new students, you would need an introduction, body, and conclusion, much like in an essay. Write some notes below about your introduction, body, and conclusion.
INTRODUCTION
How would you get students ready for the presentation? Would you start with something that would get
their attention? Would you give background information? Write some notes about what you would say in
the introduction.
BODY
What is important to the students when they're first starting at TELC? How would you organize the information
so that it would be logical? Write some notes about what you would say in the body.
CONCLUSION
How would you keep them thinking about the information? Would you repeat it? Would you put the information
into a story? How would you end on a positive note? What is a good thing to say? Would you welcome
them? Write some notes about what you would say in the conclusion.
Final Project
Due Date: _________
The Assignment
- Choose a partner. Together, you will search for a work of art to present to the class. You must create a PowerPoint presentation with the work of art and any art historical information you wish to present.
- The artwork is not limited to modern art. It can be any artistic movement and any medium (painting, sculpture, etc.). You will present the artwork on Thursday, February 27. Presentations should be 6-8 minutes. Both partners should participate in the preparation and presentation of the project.
- The format of the presentation is up to you. If you want to do something interactive, with lots of questions and class involvement, that might be more interesting for your classmates. You can also do a more traditional presentation with less discussion.
The Artwork
- You can find art images on the Internet using a museum website or other art index. Right click on the work of art and click Copy. Then right click in PowerPoint and click Paste. As in the past, make sure you include the name of the website and date accessed on your slide.
- You can find art historical information using the Internet as well.
Some Websites
If you use this, you'll find more links and articles for the art you choose. http://www.artencyclopedia.com
You can find information about the art and the artist here. http://www.artarchive.com
This is a good place to start if you don't know what to use for your project. http://www.metmuseum.org
Our friends at MoMA have some images online for you to check out. http://www.moma.org
Good luck!
Progress Report for Presentation
Name: ______________________________________________________
Due: _______________________________________________________
1. Are you working with a partner? If yes, who?
2. What work of art are you going to discuss?
3. How many slides are you using?
4. Please explain what's in each slide in the boxes. If you need more space, please use the back of this paper. You don't need to use six slides. Use as many or as few as you want.
| Slide 1 | Slide 2 |
| Slide 3 | Slide 4 |
| Slide 5 | Slide 6 |
Presentation Strategies
Strategies for opening your speech and getting
the audience's attention: Remember that the opening sets the tone for the presentation.
|
Checking for understanding:
|
Strategies for concluding your presentation:
Please do not say, "And that's all." You need
some concluding statement. This is the last thing
people hear and they often judge your presentation
by the last thing they hear!
|
Politely interrupting the speaker:
|
Presentation Rubric
Name _______________________________________________________ Date _________________________
Title/Topic _________________________________________________________________________________
| Performance Element |
4-Fantastic | 3-Very Good | 2-Needed More Preparation |
1-Unprepared | Points |
| Awareness of Audience |
*Increases audience
understanding of topic *Effectively convinces an audience to recognize the validity of a point of view *Asks audience for feedback |
*Raises audience understanding
of most points *Clear point of view, but development or support is incomplete *Asks audience for some feedback |
*Raises audience understanding
of some points *Point of view may be clear, but lacks development or support *Does not ask audience for feedback |
*Fails to increase audience
understanding of
topic *Fails to engage the audience |
|
| Organization, Strength of Material | Well-organized
PowerPoint slides with
clear introduction,
body and conclusion *Uses indicator statements and keywords *Pertinent examples, facts, and/or evidence |
*Has some success
defining purpose and
subject *Some organization of PowerPoint slides *Some indicator statements, keywords *Some examples, facts, and/or evidence support the subject |
*Attempts to define purpose
and subject *Very little organization of PowerPoint slides *No indicator statements, keywords *Weak examples, facts, and/or evidence, which do not adequately support the subject |
Subject and purpose
are not clearly defined *No organization of PowerPoint slides *Very weak or no support of subject through use of examples, facts, and/or evidence |
|
| Delivery | Uses appropriate language
and makes few
minor errors *Builds trust and holds attention by direct eye contact with all parts of audience |
Uses appropriate language
with quick
recovery from minor
errors *Fairly consistent use of direct eye contact with audience |
Uses inappropriate language
with many
errors *Occasional but unsustained eye contact with audience |
Inappropriate language
and errors make
it difficult to understand *No effort to make eye contact with audience |
|
| Total Score (out of possible 12) |
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