Using Flashface to work on vocabulary related to human physical features: face, eyes, hair, …

Class or Subject Area: Foreign Language

Specific Learning Objectives:

Speaking/Writing: Students use a series of phrases and sentences to give a description or presentation of people.

Speaking/Listening/Reading: Students ask and answer questions about people’s physical features (face, eyes, hair ...).

Grade Level(s): 10-12

Activity Summary:

Students use Flashface to practice the vocabulary terms related to human facial features (parts of the body and characteristics), like in the following examples:

- face: elongated, round, square, oval…

- eyebrows: thick, thin, bushy…

- eyes: blue, green, dark, light, big, almond-shaped…

- hair: dark, light, short, long, bald, moustache, beard…

- chin: douible, square, receding, pointed, prominent…

- mouth / lips: thick, thin, lower, upper, fleshy, lipstick, lipgloss…

What you need:

Access to Internet

Access to Flashface

How it works:

Students 1 uses Flashface to draw a sketch artist that (s)he later describes to Student 2.

Student 2 uses Flashface to draw a portrait according to the description given by Student 1.

They compare both sketches and make comments.

They exchange roles.

Preparation:

Familiarize yourself with Flashface so that you can give your students a short tutorial, if needed.

Explain the assignment to them

Directions for the students:

“ You have witnessed a crime and you are the only person who saw the perpetrator. You need to describe that person. In order to do so, you will use a software to help you draw a sketch artist. You will later give a description of your drawing to your partner. (S)he will make her/his own drawing according to your directions and you will compare both portraits. After that, you switch roles with your partner. To understand how it works, let’s demonstrate with … (you model the activity by explaining how to use Flashface and by showing examples you created yourself).

Sample:

Here is a sample model made with Flashface.

Using Themeefy to narrate in the past

Class or Subject Area: Foreign Language

Specific Learning Objectives:

Reading (beginner): Students locate a concert or a film on calendars of public events and identify where it takes place and at what time it starts.

Reading (intermediate): Students I read reviews dealing with the content and criticism of cultural topics (films, theatre, books, concerts) and summarize the main points.

Writing (intermediate): Students give clear detailed descriptions on a wide range of cultural, intercultural and social issues.

Writing (advanced): Students write detailed critical appraisals of cultural events (film, music, theatre, literature...).

Grade Level(s): 6-12

Activity Summary:

Students use Themeefy to write a short e-book presenting the cultural life of a given city.

What you need:

Access to Internet

Access to Themeefy

How it works:

Students use Themeefy to (1) agregate and (2) curate relevant information about the cultural life of a given city. They visit web pages giving information about seasonal festivals, movies, dance, theater, museums. Then they pretend that they spent their last week-end in that city and write - in the past – about their experience, contrasting past tenses, such as “perfect” (what they did) versus “imperfect” (how it was).

Preparation:

Make a list of cities you want your students to visit. Those may be related to places that your students will visit in real life or places described in a novel you are reading in class. Assign each student (or group of students) one of the cities on your list.

Have them write about the cultural life of the city they just visited.

Directions for the students:

“ I will assign for each of you one of the cities we have discussed in class. Using Themeefy, you will gather information about cultural events happening in that city. Your task is to write a five-page long e-book about the cultural life of that city, as if you had spent a week-end there For each page, write a comment about the cultural event you supposedly attended. Your magazine includes 5 contrasted uses of the past tense. At the end, you will send to your teacher the url of your e-book. To understand how it works, let’s demonstrate with … (you model the activity by explaining how to use Themeefy with a city and a narration of your own).

Sample:

Here is a sample e-book I have made for the students, to use as a model.