PICTURES

IN THE NEWS
An intermediate-level
English-second-language (ESL)
teacher’s guide that introduces
the use of newspaper photographs
in ESL instruction

www.montrealgazette.com/digital
 Pictures in the News

INDEX

LESSON/
PAGE ACTIVITY

ii Preface
1 Feelings
2 Ballooning
3 Same and Different
4 Describing a Picture
5 What’s My Line?
6 Things People Do
7 Action!
8 Just Friends?
9 Missing
10 Yes! No! Maybe . . .
11 Mix and Match
12 What’s the Story?
13 One More Statistic
14 Nothing but the Facts
15 Dream Vacation
16 What Do You Think?
17 Puzzled?
18 What Price Progress?

Pictures in the News is an intermediate-level English-second-language (ESL) teacher’s

guide that introduces the use of newspaper photographs in ESL instruction.
It is adapted from the Gazette-in-Education guide of the same name written by
Michèle Langlois and P. Charles Brown. The current version was updated and
adapted for online use by Ellen Laughlin, with design by Laleah Tanguay.
i

PREFACE
Virtually all English-second-language
(ESL) teachers are aware of the value of the
newspaper as an authentic English-language
teaching tool. Most use newspapers
in the classroom from time to time, but may
hesitate to do so on a regular basis because they
fear their students will have difficulty coping with
“newspaper language.”
In order to gently introduce ESL students to the
regular use of the newspaper as a tool to practice
and improve their second-language skills, the
activities in this manual are all designed around
photographs found in the newspaper.
Students are encouraged to complete the
activities using photographs they themselves
select from the current newspaper. While
pictures pre-selected by the teacher have their
value – and many teachers keep a file of
interesting photos for use at appropriate times –
allowing students to choose their own pictures
increases motivation and meaning. It also means
that an activity can be repeated if appropriate,
using different photographs. In most cases, stu-
dents can select pictures from whichever part of
the newspaper interests them most.
The activities can be completed using either
the print version or the digital version of
The Gazette. The digital edition contains every-
thing in the printed Gazette, with the added
benefit of a “Photo Gallery”, where students can
view all the pictures included in the day’s news-
paper simply by clicking on the appropriate icon
at the bottom of the page. On-line
subscribers also have access to other
Canwest newspapers across the country.
Pictures in the News
Students will often be asked to clip or print out
the picture(s) they have chosen.
As a departure from the strict reading-compre-
hension activities that have often accompanied
newspaper work in the ESL classroom, this series
of activities focuses on listening and speaking,
with less emphasis given to reading and writing.
Designed for intermediate-level ESL students, the
activities are all interactive, aimed at improving
aural/oral skills. Each lesson helps teach or
practice one or more of the following global
objectives:
• Inferring meaning
• Finding global information
• Locating specific information
• Looking for details
• Comparing information
• Restating
• Questioning
• Asserting
• Discussing
The activities are in order from Level 1 to Level 3,
with Level 3 being the most difficult.
Before your students begin the activities, ensure
that they are familiar with the general format
and content of the newspaper. You may want to
give them time to browse, exploring the various
sections and features and, if using the digital
version, familiarizing themselves with the special
navigation features.
ii
 Pictures in the News
LESSON 1 / LEVEL 1 / PAIRS

FEELINGS
1. With your class, BRAINSTORM vocabulary related to emotions.
2. With a partner, CHOOSE six newspaper photographs of
people showing different emotions.
3. LOOK at the pictures with your partner.
HOW do you think each person feels?
WHY do you think each person feels this way?
4. What do YOU look like when you feel the
same way?

Objectives:
Functional:
• Describe the physical characteristics of people
• Express a personal message using information given
by several pictures
• Express an opinion or formulate hypotheses about
a given topic
• Describe events
Grammatical:
• Third person singular
• Simple present tense
• Adverbs of manner

Follow-up:
• Write a few sentences about the reasons or events that led
the various people to feel that way. Be creative.
• Read your paragraph or retell the story you wrote to your
partner or group.

1
 Pictures in the News
LESSON 2 / LEVEL 1 / INDIVIDUALS OR PAIRS

BALLOONING
1. With a partner, CHOOSE four interesting newspaper photographs.
2. For each, in a “balloon”, WRITE the words or thoughts expressed by
the person or animal. You may be funny if you wish, but try to be
logical and realistic.
3. Join another pair or small group to SHARE your “balloons” and
VOTE on the best one.
4. DISPLAY the winning pictures (one for each group) and have the
whole class vote on the best one.

Objectives:
Functional:
• Express an opinion or formulate
hypotheses about a given topic

2
 Pictures in the News
LESSON 3 / LEVEL 1 / PAIRS

SAME AND DIFFERENT

1. With your class, BRAINSTORM vocabulary relating to size, shape
and position.
2. With a partner, CHOOSE two newspaper photographs that are
similar but not identical (for example, two buildings, two fashion
models, etc.)
3. LOOK at the pictures. MAKE A LIST of everything that is the same
in both pictures, and another list of everything that is different.

Objectives:
Functional:
• Describe the physical characteristics of people,
animals, objects or places
Grammatical:
• Present tenses
• Affirmative and negative statements
• Adjectives relating to shape, size and position

3
 Pictures in the News
LESSON 4 / LEVEL 1 / PAIRS

DESCRIBING A PICTURE
Student A: Work with a partner.
1. CHOOSE an interesting picture from the newspaper.
Don’t show it to your partner.
2. LOOK at the picture and DESCRIBE to your partner
the position of everything you see in it (people,
objects, animals, vegetation, etc.). Your partner will
draw what you describe on a blank page.
3. Use the following expressions: there is and there are,
at the bottom, in the middle, at the top, on the right,
on the left, to the right, to the left, above, below,
beside, behind, etc.
4. When your partner’s drawing is finished, LISTEN to
the description of it and tell your partner whether
the drawing is correct. If necessary, repeat informa-
tion needed to correct the drawing.
Student B:
1. Your partner will describe a picture to
you. LISTEN carefully and DRAW the
people, objects, animals, vegetation, etc.
where you think they are supposed to be.
(Don’t worry if you can’t draw very well.
You can always write the words instead.)
2. When you are finished, CHECK BACK
with your partner, explaining what
you’ve drawn and where. If it is necessary
for you to make changes, your partner
will repeat the information. Use the
expressions there is and there are, at the
bottom, in the middle, at the top, on the
right, on the left, to the right, to the left,
above, below, beside, behind, etc.

Objectives: Alternate Activity:

Functional:
• Extrapolate information from certain 1. Student A gets a picture and answers the questions
predetermined words or expressions posed by Student B.
• Describe the physical characteristics of 2. Student B gets a blank page and asks questions in
people, animals, objects, places order to find out what the picture represents.
• Ask questions related to one or several 3. As Student B gets the information, he/she draws
discrete items of information picture.
• Answer one or more questions related to
one or more discrete items of information
Grammatical:
• there is, there are Follow-up:
• articles, numerals
Choose a newspaper
• adverbs of place
photograph and write
• adverbial phrases of place
a short paragraph
• spatial references
describing the picture.

4
 Pictures in the News
LESSON 5 / LEVEL 1 / PAIRS OR SMALL GROUPS

WHAT’S MY LINE?
Part One
1. With your class, BRAINSTORM a list of occupations
or careers.
2. With a partner or small group, CHOOSE five news-
paper photographs of individuals. Each picture
should include a clue to what the individual does
for a living – for example, a doctor with a stetho-
scope, a TV reporter with a microphone, etc.
3. EXCHANGE pictures with another pair or group.
4. With your partner or group, LOOK at the new pic-
tures you have received. Decide what each person
does for a living. What clues helped you make your
decision?
Part Two
1. Now CHOOSE three other newspaper
photographs of individuals. It should not
be obvious from these pictures what each
person does for a living.
2. EXCHANGE pictures with another pair
or group.
3. With your partner or group, LOOK at the
new pictures you have received. Decide
what you think each person does for a
living. Try to be as imaginative as possible.
What physical characteristics do these
people have that influenced your decision?

Objectives: Note:
Functional: You may want to split this
activity into two sessions.
• Express an opinion or formulate hypotheses about a given topic
• Describe the physical characteristics pertaining to people
Grammatical:
• Simple present tense
• Structures and phrases related to description of physical characteristics

Follow-up:
• Following Part Two, check the newspaper to find out what
each person actually does for a living.
• Do you know people who hold unusual jobs? Tell your
group about the people and their respective occupations.
• Assume the identity of one of the individuals pictured and
present yourself to the class as that person. Other students
will “interview” you. You must answer as if you were the
person whose identity you have assumed.
• Hold a discussion on the dangers of stereotyping.

5
 Pictures in the News
LESSON 6 / LEVEL 1 / INDIVIDUALS OR PAIRS

THINGS PEOPLE DO
1. CHOOSE five newspaper photographs showing one or more
individuals engaged in an activity.
2. LOOK at the pictures. With a partner:
a. DESCRIBE the activity.
b. SAY what equipment is needed.
c. DISCUSS the physical requirements expected of the participants.

Objectives:
Functional:
• Describe the physical characteristics pertaining
to people, animals, objects or places
Grammatical:
• Present continuous
• Descriptive adjectives
• Expressions of time and place

Follow-up:
Write a brief paragraph
describing each picture.

6
 Pictures in the News
LESSON 7 / LEVEL 1 / PAIRS

ACTION!
1. CHOOSE three newspaper photographs showing
some kind of action. Do not look at the cutline
(the description under the photo), the headline or
news story that goes along with the picture.
2. LOOK at the pictures. With a partner, discuss what
you think:
a. is going on
b. happened before the picture was taken

Objectives:
Functional:
• Extrapolate information from pictures
• Express an opinion or formulate hypotheses
about a given topic
Grammatical
• Past tense
• Present continuous tense

Follow-up:
• Write down some of the ideas discussed.
• Share your work with the class.
• Show the pictures to friends and acquaintances to get new answers
to the same questions and report your findings to the class or
group.
• Compare your ideas about the pictures with the information about
what is actually happening (contained in the cutline, headline
and/or news story).

7
 Pictures in the News
LESSON 8 / LEVEL 1-2 / GROUPS

JUST FRIENDS?
Part One Part Two
1. ELECT a secretary who 1. CHOOSE three newspaper photo-
will take notes. graphs showing people and pets.
2. FIND OUT: 2. LOOK at the pictures and discuss
a. how many people in your FEELINGS about them.
the group own pets 3. Together, CHOOSE a favourite
b. which ones picture.
c. if anyone knows
people who own
Part Three
GAZETTE FILE PHOTO

unusual pets
d. and which ones 1. The secretary of each group will
REPORT the information gathered
3. GIVE the reasons why
from his/her group to another group
people own pets.
or to the class.

Objectives: Alternate Activity:

Functional:
Follow the same procedure as above. Then,
• Summarize briefly essential information
ask students to give your opinion on the use
provided by several people
of animals in research, and how animals help
• Ask a questions pertaining to one or several mankind.
discrete items of information
• Answer one or more questions pertaining
to several discrete items of information
• Secretary: State the main idea of a message
conveyed by another person
Grammatical:
• Adverbial clauses with “because” to give
reason

Follow-up:
Put your feelings in writing.