Humanising Language Teaching
Year 3; Issue 5; September 2001
A logical-mathematical look at a painting
Language focus
Description
Proposed M.I. focus
Spatial and logical-mathematical
Level
Intermediate to advanced
Time
20-30 minutes
Preparation
Copy one questionnaire per student
Choose a slide of a powerful classical painting that lies within your learners' acceptance
range.
In class
- Darken the room and show the slide of the painting- let them look at it for 2-3 minutes.
- Read the questions twice at normal speed and ask them to focus on two they really feel like answering. During the second reading they should jot these down.
- Group them in 4's to discuss the answers to the questions they have chosen.
- Give them the whole questionnaire and ask them to add three more questions of their own.
- In 4's they work on the questions they have come up with.
Logical Quantitative Questionnaire
- What color do you see most of in this work of art?
- What color do you see least of in this work of art?
- Which object or shape did you see first in the painting?
- Why do you think this is the first thing you noticed?
- Look at what is happening on the canvas. Are things moving quickly or slowly?
- How can you tell?
- Make an argument for why this painting is true to life or not true to life
- Is there a hidden idea or emotion in the painting?
- What clues helped you find it?
- What questions might you ask the artist, to find out how he made the painting?
- What is the value of this canvas?
- How did you calculate it?
Acknowledgement
We got this questionnaire from Iole Vitti of Peanuts School, Pocos de Caldas, Brasil, and she
came across it while working at Project Zero in Harvard, USA.
