The document discusses the use of selfies as a motivational tool in the classroom for Generation Y students, emphasizing their visual and kinesthetic learning styles. It provides various practical activities aimed at enhancing creative and critical thinking skills through the analysis and creation of selfies. The document includes suggestions for incorporating selfies into speaking and writing exercises, highlighting the potential for increased student engagement and expression.

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1
Selfies:
a
Fast
Track
to
Boost
Students’
Motivation
by
English
Language
Fellow
Mathilde
Verillaud
December
16,
2015

2. 12/18/15
2
OBJECTIVES
• Identify
why
selfies
are
a
tool
of
the
Y/
Millenium
generations
• Engage
students’
creative
and
critical
thinking
skills
while
using
their
visual
and
technological
language
• Practical
activities
for
the
classroom
I.
What
is
a
selfie?
“Selfie”
:
a
photograph
that
one
has
taken
of
oneself,
typically
one
taken
with
a
smartphone
or
webcam
and
uploaded
to
a
social
media
website.
(Oxford
Dictionary’s
Word
of
the
Year
for
2013
)

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1)
Have
you
ever
taken
a
selfie?
2)
How
often
do
you
see
your
students
taking
selfies?
Polls:
Why
do
people
take
selfies?
 To
be
cool,
everyone
does
it!
 To
promote
themselves
–
media
platforms
(instagram,
facebook
etc)
 Obsession
with
technology
 To
correct
the
false
perception
others
have
of
them
 To
create
a
better
self

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4
Millenium
Generation/Generation
Y
Visual
and
kinesthetic
learners
Entertainment
and
games
Tech
savyy
Customized
tasks
Respect
Less
reading
«
I
don't
care
about
my
looks
but
I
wish
people
will
see
my
soul
and
it
appears
more
clearly
in
these
photographs
than
in
others.
»
Playwright
August
Strindberg

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5
II.
Critical
Thinking
and
Creative
Skills
in
a
Selfie?
How to avoid THIS?
Basic
Photography
Vocabulary
Subject
Background
Foreground
Perspective
Close-­‐up
Composition
Far
view

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6
Brainstorming:
in
the
chat
box,
share
the
different
ways
one
can
take
a
selfie.
• hand-­‐holding
the
camera/cellphone
(thus
showing
only
one
part
of
your
body)
• with
a
selfie
stick
• in
a
mirror
• in
a
reflective
liquid/solid
surface
• a
shadow
• by
someone
else
• with
a
timer
• with
a
remote
control
Basic
Composition
Tips
Angles
Diagonals
Rule
of
Thirds

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How
to
be
creative?
Discussion question:
What do you learn about the subject’s work, personality,
environment or mood from the following photograph?
Type your answer in the chat box.

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Self
portrait
by
Richard
Avedon
Discussion question:
What do you learn about the subject’s work, personality,
environment or mood from the following photograph?
Type your answer in the chat box.

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Self
portrait
by
Weegee
Brainstorming
Unique
STORY
COLORS
FEATURES
ENVIRONMENT
PROPS

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III.
Now
what?
Practical
Activities
Using
your
Students’
Selfies
Speaking
activities
Higher
order
questions
(Bloom’s
taxonomy)
Self-­‐portrait
by
Camila,
student
in
Argentina
Describe:
What
do
you
see?

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11
Self-­‐portrait
by
Monica,
university
student
in
China
Infer:
Why
did
Monica
decide
to
take
THIS
photograph?
Self-­‐portrait
by
Grace,
university
student
in
China
Create:
Write
a
news
story
that
might
be
used
with
this
photograph.

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Gallery
Walk
1. Exhibition
in
the
classroom.
Each
team
has
a
different
colored
pen.
2. The
class
has
10
minutes
to
go
from
photo
to
photo
and
write
descriptive
sentences
under
each
photo.
3. The
group
with
the
most
correct
descriptive
statements
wins.
The
Description
Game
1.
One
student
orally
describes
a
picture
for
one
minute
to
his/her
partner,
using
only
positive
sentences.
2.
The
other
student
says
the
same
sentences
in
the
negative
(or
transforms
statements
into
questions
etc.)

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Writing
Activities
Acronym
Poem
Dialogue
Descriptive
text
Short
autobiographical
story
Facebook
comment
Fictional
story
Biopoem
Every
Photo
Tells
a
Story
Body
Map
Memory
from
the
past
Example
of
acronym
poem
Humble
Easy-going
Lovely
Eager
Nice

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14
Fotobabble.com
• Free
software
• 1
photo
• 1
min
to
record
• 1
link
to
share
http://www.fotobabble.com/m/R2lsRnJVSTJORzQ9
Conclusion
Motivation
Creativity
Endless
possibilities
!