Renaissance Italy (Art History Lesson)
I designed this lesson plan for a lower-division art history survey course. This lesson was used in discussion sections. I had a diverse group of students with varying degrees of familiarity with art history with most at the introductory level. This lesson is best suited for such groups.
ASSUMPTIONS: I expect that students will have had some exposure to the Renaissance through reading and/or lecture prior to discussion. Originally, this discussion functioned as a review session for the Quattrocento period and a preview of the Cinquecento period.
AIDS & MATERIALS: PowerPoint presentation, projector, and whiteboard.
BOOK MATERIAL USED: Most information comes from Gardner’s Art through the Ages, 15th Edition (Kleiner, Cengage).
LESSON POWERPOINT WITH BRIEF NOTES (50 min):
Practice with Postcards (ESL Lesson)
I originally used this lesson plan while getting my CELTA certification. This lesson is suitable for Pre-Intermediate English learners. However, it can be adapted to make it more useful for other levels. My students seemed to enjoy this lesson because they got to keep their postcards and express their thoughts on new or unfamiliar places.
LESSON AIMS: By the end of this lesson, students will have had practice in writing a postcard using common postcard greetings and correct letter formatting. Students will have also had practice with reading and functional language.
AIDS & MATERIALS: Postcards (realia/authentic materials with transcripts if necessary and extra blank postcards for students); comprehension questions; postcard format visual aid on whiteboard.
BOOK MATERIAL USED: Task adapted from Four Corners (Richards and Bohlke, Cambridge).
PROCEDURE (40 min.):
- Lead-in (5 min.) Elicit context (“visiting new places”) from students. For instance: “I have lots of friends and family across the country. How can I tell them about my vacation?” If students don’t guess “postcards” or “letters”, realia can be used to elicit. Then have students discuss: “Where do your friends and family live? How do you talk to them?” Conduct class feedback.
- Pre-writing (10-15 min.) Give students a postcard. Set a gist task in which students quickly read the text and then answer a question on what the text was about or where the writer was visiting. Students will work individually and then pair-check followed by class feedback. Next, students will work in pairs to complete a guided discovery task to identify who wrote the text, who received it, where the recipient lives, etc. This is followed by another feedback session to clarify postcard features like register and structure.
- Writing task (10-15 min.) Students will write their own postcards to friends or family members. Students should follow context of writing about where they are living/visiting and life in a new place. Monitor students to assist and note mistakes for delayed corrections.
- Follow-up (5-10 min.) Have students talk to (different) partners about who they wrote to, what they wrote about and why. Monitor and note any important items to correct or highlight during feedback. Students can also read each other’s postcards for pair-check. End with class feedback and delayed corrections if time allows.
MATERIALS:
- Gist task Use the postcard to answer: Where was the writer visiting or staying? Were they enjoying that place?
- Guided discovery task Use the postcard to answer: Who wrote the postcard? Who was the postcard for? Where was the postcard sent? What did the writer say to greet the other person? What did the writer say to end the message?